Lucky Dogs book review

You Lucky Dog by Kate Kelly

Famous dogs and how they went from nobody to stars

This book is very interesting, tells the stories about all kinds of dogs….go behind the scenes to the real tales…

It is an uplifting compilation of true stories about homeless dogs that survived and thrived against the odds to become celebrities.

Dogs like Terry, the female Cairn Terrier, who had mean owners. She was born in 1933 in Alta Dena, CA and adopted by a couple from Pasadena with no children and no patience. She was not housebroken so the owners hired Carl Spitz who ran the Hollywood Dog Training School. He got the job done but the owners refused to pay the bill and did not want the puppy back so she stayed with Spitz.

Spitz took Terry on auditions to be in movies and she was hired to be in Shirley Temple’s “Bright Eyes.” Terry performed in five other films. Then Spitz heard about The Wizard of Oz. He trained Terry to become part of the cast. Terry was such a success that she made it into almost all of the scenes in the movie. Terry was paid $125 per week, more than the Munchkins made.

Terry’s performance as Toto was courageous and outstanding. She followed her directions like a pro. By the end of the film, everyone called her Toto and her name was changed to Toto.

Toto was best known for The Wizard of Oz but she went on to do seven more films.

She died in 1945 and a book was written to memorialize her.

Benji was a shelter dog who also became a movie star. A veteran Hollywood animal trainer found the mixed breed dog at the Burbank Animal Shelter. The dog originally worked on the TV show Petticoat Junction. Every week, he learned different tricks. When the movie Benji was being cast, this dog hit the spot. His offspring were cast in the original films sequels.

There are many stories about Rin Tin Tin. Lee Duncan was his owner and trainer and obtained the dog who was born in Germany. When fighting ended, Duncan could not leave without the pups so he brought back Rinty and Nanette (his sister). He came back to California and got a job at a high end sportings good store in Hollywood.

Duncan trained the dog and took him to dog shows. Eventually the dog made 26 films for Warner Bros. Rin Tin Tin worked hard most of his life. Eventually, the stress got to him and he nipped someone on the set of a film. He died in 1932 but Duncan still had contracts for a dog. He kept the dog’s career going with Rin Tin Tin Junior and successive dogs.

Besides famous movie and TV dogs, there are also inspiring stories of dogs with extraordinary stories such as the dog mayor, Civil War mascot, the dog who delivered the mail, a dog who traveled across the USA by train, and a deaf bull terrier named Patsy Ann who became a harbor master in Juneau, Alaska. In Part Two, there are the stories of dogs who lived at the White House, starting with Bo Obama going all the way back to George Washington’s dogs.

hey buddy

Well, xmas is over, whew… looked like a lot of doggies cleaned up with gifts. perhaps some will share their stash with their friends, doggie pals and/or shelter pups?

how many dog toys are still in one piece today? cici has successfully chewed off the eyeballs of one stuffed toy, chewed up its nose and is now working on chewing up her santa’s helper hat… the other toy, mr. rabbit, in her happy cicimas photo got its stuffing and squeaker removed…she went outside and rescued a bone from the doggie buffet but I took it away, awwwwww…

Cici and I watched some of the Lassie movie on TV… was kind of upsetting at how callously the dog was treated by humans… left alone time and time again. Suffice it to say, our society needs to wise UP and start treating our animal friends better.

And that starts with naming pets decent dignified names. Some person who names their dog or cat a name like Diablo or Devil or Bully is setting their pet up for trouble. Names are important. Check out the info below from Petfinder about the most popular names. You don’t have to go along with the crowd to stand out but you also don’t have to name your pet a tough guy name to somehow prove you are strong or macho. Truly strong men are kind to their pets and do not have to prove anything to anyone.

What is the deal naming your pet after celebrities???  I like Brad the pit but I would not name a pet after a famous person no matter how cute the person or name. Give the pet a name that defines them in a positive way, easy to remember and suits the pet. How can a dog or cat live up to the name Lady Gaga?  Unless the pet sings and dances and puts on shows from the womb, make your precious pet your own by giving it a special/unique name that fits your family. If you truly want to stand out in our fame obsessed culture, BE YOU and let your pet be your pet. Not some celebrity wannabe.

We all have silly names for our pets besides their real/regular names. I routinely call Cici my polka dot princess, buddha belly, bubba, bug, cookie monster, and more. But those are her pet names, personal from me to her. I did not name her but I  would never name a pet a name that was a joke or so silly that other people would laugh at her. Why subject your pet to ridicule? Would you do that to a human child?

And if your dog is a pit bull, giving them a name that is scary, or dangerous or threatening, just reinforces the stereotype. Why would you do that? Your dog already has enough to deal with. And so do you.

A rose is a rose is a rose, by any other name. Rosie’s a good dog name or Rosey, for a pit bull. Or Petey. Or Buddy. Name your pet a name you can be proud of and set your pet up for lots of praise and happiness.

Now THIS is what we’re talking about… Hector the Pit Bull’s dad singing about Hector’s fur brother Wallace the pit bull…an agility star, love it…

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=476531939654

all together now, 1-2-3…

Cici the polka dot princess

has a very shiny black SPOT

right on the top of her forehead

and if you ever saw it

you would even say it glows

all of the other humans

used to laugh and call her scary

they never let poor cici show off her pretty pink belly

then one sunny afternoon

Santa came to say

Cici with your spots so bright

won’t you show off your belly at the blog hop tonight

Now all the bloggers love her

and they shouted out with glee

Cici the polka dot princess

you’ll go down in history

Cici the polka dot princess

you’ll go down in history

Move over Fido, Buddy is officially the new “top- dog” name. Today, Petfinder.com, the largest online database of adoptable pets, announced its 2011 ranking of the most popular and most unusual names, with an extra category for TV and celebrity “name-a-likes.” For the fifth year in a row, “Buddy” barks at the top as the most trending name for adoptable dogs in 2011, while “Lucy” once again proves to be the purrfect No. 1 choice for adoptable cats.

 

The top five most popular names for dogs have all remained the same this year, while cats are a different story: “Smokey” and “Charlie” sniffed their way up to No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, while “Midnight” jumped down to No. 10 after coming in No. 2 for adoptable felines last year. As people everywhere swarmed the theaters and the Twilight saga continued to unfold in 2011, the popularity of the name “Bella” for both adoptable dogs and cats has remained strong since 2010.

2011 Top 10 Most Popular Dog Names	2011 Top 10 Most Popular Cat Names
1.      Buddy (15,184)	Lucy (4,195)
2.      Max (13,810)	Smokey (4,105)
3.      Daisy (12,948)	Bella (3,978)
4.      Bella (11,773)	Charlie (3,752)
5.      Lucy (11,418)	Tiger (3,735)
6.      Molly (11,049)	Oreo (3,574)
7.      Charlie (10,607)	Daisy (3,371)
Jack (9,949)	Molly (3,355)
Sadie (9,232)	Max (3,346)
10     Rocky (8,475)	Midnight (3,273)

Petfinder.com also handpicked the most unusual, wacky and celebrity-themed names of adoptable pets for 2011 from nearly 300 submissions by shelters and rescue groups across North America. This year’s top creativity honors go to “Dodgy Wodgy Schnookum Doodle” and “Barry Meow-nilow.”

2011 Most Unusual Adoptable Pet Names	2011 Best Celebrity Name-A-Likes
1.      Dodgy Wodgy Schnookum Doodle	Barry Meow-nilow
2.      Polly Picklepuss	Katy Purry
3.      Sukimayapoo	Ally McBeagle
4.      Iben Hooked	Brad the Pit
5.      Blue Sparkles McGillicutty	Rascal Catts
6.      Killer the Dog Dominating Declawed Cat	Ringo Starr
7.      Purr-etzle	Cindy Clawford
Fluff Dog Millionaire	Cindy Dogford
Jimmy Chews	Vera Fang
10     Ishkabibble	Lady Gaga

Animal behaviorists tell us it’s okay to change their names.  Here’s how: Add their new name to their old name for a few weeks, then gradually phase out the old one.”

 

About Petfinder.com

Petfinder.com is the largest online, searchable database of animals that need permanent homes. With more than 360,000 adoptable pets from over 13,600 animal shelters and rescue groups throughout the USA, Canada and Mexico, Petfinder.com has facilitated more than 17 million adoptions since it was launched in 1996. In addition to being an adoption database, Petfinder.com is an all-inclusive resource guide for how to select the right family pet and build a successful, life-long relationship. Thanks to its sponsors, the site is free to both visitors and to its animal placement organization members.

memory lane

Completely off topic… but had to do something fun and light and I was reading other people’s recollections of growing up in the 50 and 60’s…because have been trying to remember this game we played with bottle caps, or maybe it wasn’t a game, but it was something with bottle caps from soda…

so here is what I recall from growing up in Bayside, Queens, NYC  we lived near Bell Boulevard and Union Turnpike and Springfield Boulevard in the Windsor Oaks apartments near to the Windsor Park apartments

local places: Pee Pond (Alley Pond Park), Kiddy City, Ice Skating at Roosevelt Field, Bowling Alley, Fresh Meadows, World’s Fairgrounds, Creedmoor (State mental hospital), Mays in Glen Oaks and Lake Success (Longyland) plus the pizza place, delis, candy stores, luncheonette, diners, five and dime (Woolworth’s) and the hamburger joint near Mays which brought food on Lionel trains

we not only had an assortment of ice cream trucks that came around from Good Humor to Mr Softie all with different sounds, but we also had Chow Chow Cup (Chinese food that came in an edible bowl. The bowl was made of a fried eggroll wrapper), Pizza, Knish Knosh and other foods

we had milk delivered to our apartment, it came in bottles
we also had donuts and cake delivered
we got our ice cream from cows from a farm my dad passed by called Gouz (rhymes with cows)

candy:

maryjanes
candy cigarettes
little bottles with sugar water colored
ootton candy
toasted marshmallows
rawhide (apricot) and licorice ropes
filled jelly candies from lower east side nyc
necco
pez

desserts/ice cream stores:
Carvel’s
Dunkin Donuts
Jahn’s ice cream parlor, free ice cream sundae on your birthday
charlotte russes (sponge cake topped with whipped cream)

we lived in what we called a court (yard) of garden apartments. we had lots of trees  and grass behind the apartments and played a lot of different street games… including:

ringolevio
stoop ball
jacks
checkers
something with bottle caps
freeze
table hockey
monkey in the middle
softball
jump rope
card games like War, Spades,  Hearts, Casino, 21, Poker, and Rummy
cowboys and indians
forts
king of the mountain/jungle
tag
ball games such as A my name is Alice and I come from Alabama and I make apples (with your spaldeen you bounce the ball and raise your leg over the ball every time the A (or B C D etc) is said, A Alice Alabama Apples
hopscotch
arm wrestling
sledding in winter

we used a hose to cool off…or went to Jones Beach or Far Rockaway

caught caterpillars and fire flies in jars
did not step on sidewalk cracks (it would break your mother’s back)

get dressed up for Halloween
mean boys (usually, sometimes girls) would put huge chunks of hard chalk inside socks and hit you with it

when we were bored inside on snow days :

we’d make phoney phone calls, call people we did not know up and ask if their refrigerator was running and hang up
listen to the radio and make dedications, ask for a particular song to be played for a particular person and hear our names on the radio

came home from school to watch and dance to:

American Bandstand
Soul Train (later)

we played in the playgrounds:
in the sandboxes
on the monkeybars
swings
slide
see-saw or teeter/totter

sang songs and made up songs:
Susie and Johnny sitting in a tree K I S S I N G
First Came Love Then Came Marriage
Then Came Susie with a Baby Carriage

we put on shows, circuses, sometimes to raise money
adults had BBQ’s and Mock Marriages where people would pretend to marry other people’s husbands/wives after they got tipsy drunk
the housewives were Yenta Center (where all the women would sit outside and gossip about everyone in the neighborhood)

played mah jongg

board games like Monolpoly, Chinese checkers

played with

hula hoops
pogo sticks
bubbles

collected and traded:

marbles
baseball cards
dolls

we were crafty:

made laniards
pot holders
crocheted baby items
braided chewing gum wrappers into necklaces
pop-it beads
cut out paper dolls
sea shells

imaginary games:

write down how we’d spend a million dollars when the Millionaire John Beresford Tipton came to our house

tea parties

watched TV shows:

Howdy Doody
Little Rascals
Bowery Boys
Lone Ranger
Sky King
Wagon Train
I Love Lucy
Milton Berle
Ed Sullivan
Lassie
Mickey Mouse Club
Capt. Kangaroo
cartoons (Rocky and Bullwinkle; The Jetsons)
Twilight Zone
Superman
Loretta Young
Merv Griffin
Dragnet
Roy Rogers
Donna Reed
George Burns and Gracie Allen
Beat the Clock
Hopalong Cassidy
Jack Benny
Truth or Consequences
Honeymooners
You Bet Your Life (Groucho Marx)
Kukla, Fran and Ollie
The Red Skelton Show
My Little Margie
Make Room for Daddy
Life of Riley
Ozzie and Harriet
Father Knows Best
Leave It to Beaver
The Real McCoys
Dobie Gillis
Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
Soupy Sales
I’ve Got a Secret
Topper
Dr Kildare
Ben Casey
Abbott and Costello
77 Sunset Strip
Three Stooges

Movies:

Old Shirley Temple movies

West Side Story

Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon beach movies

Elvis movies

Musicals: King and I, Sound of Music, Oklahoma

Ben Hur

Spartacus

The Time Machine

Songs:

Purple People Eater

Lion Sleeps Tonight

Louis, Louis

Duke of Earl

In the Still of the Night

Itsy Bitsy Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

You Don’t Own Me

Que Sera Sera whatever will be will be

Tears on My Pillow

A Teenager in Love

Hey Paula

Book of Love

Who Put the Bop in the Bop de Bop Rama Lama Ding Dong

Tell Laura I Love Her

You Belong To Me

Sherry

Peppermint Twist

Songs by: Lesley Gore, Dion and the Belmonts, Frankie and the 4 Seasons, Beatles, Supremes, Monkees, Dave Clark 5, Rascals, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Melanie, Roy Orbison, Johnny Mathis, Peter, Paul and Mary, 5th Dimension, Mamas and Papas, Herman’s Hermits, Paul Anka, and others

Dances:

Twist

Cha Cha

Monkey

Mashed Potatoes

Read comics:
Archie
Superman

Nancy Drew

we had:

rank out sessions (traded insults) your mother wears army boots;
gave people knucks (hit knuckles hard with baseball cards)

slam books (wrote who was most popular, best dresser, smartest person, etc in class)

cats (alley) who we named and took care of although we were not allowed to have pets in the garden apartments… my cat’s name was Ginger

camping out in November… raining cats and dogs…

Cici and I are camping out again… it rained last night but here in the desert, near Palm Springs, in a back yard, it is still pretty warm…  Cici has to stay outside in the yard, so I set up our camping gear, a tent with air bed, blankets, her special pillow, for her to sleep and rest inside… and I slept there last night with her just to get her used to the idea that for a little while, she cannot come inside the house (people are allergic)…

found out about Borrego Springs, about an hour from here, we may go visit there and Julian and the beach soon, depending…

but it occurs that with winter and rainy nights… that there are also rainy days, so what do you do with your dog when it is raining cats and dogs outside, hee hee?  here are 11 suggestions…

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november292008/doggie_beaches_11-29-08.php

Take your dog to the beach anyway, who cares, let it rain, let it pour, the water in the ocean is wet and splish splash…

give your dog a treat and watch a doggy movie together like Lassie, Big Yeller, or 101 Dalmatians… woof woof woof…chestnuts roasting by the fire, cuddle up by the fireplace, if you have one and enjoy popcorn and doggie treats…

Visit the pet store, outlet mall or indoor mall where you can roam around with your pooch… Cici loves to visit folks so this has been a big hit when it has been too hot outside to breathe, but can also work on rainy days

Play fetch, tug of war or whatever your dog’s favorite game is inside, if you have the room/space…  when we were cooped up last winter, we still played games in the house… it was fun and Cici could zoom around the living room, now she zooms around the yard for exercise

Train your dog, catch up on teaching Fido new tricks, or just the basics, depending upon your dog’s ability level… Cici knows some things and can still learn… dogs are always up for anything that gets them some treats and attention

Take photos of your pooch, and post them online at your blog, or website, ot make a t-shirt, calendar, or screensaver out of the photos… or video your pooch and post the fun ones on youtube… be creative !

paint with your dog, get some watercolor paints and put pooches paws in the paint and onto some paper, like you would with a 2-3 year old and make some masterpieces… sell them for charity or show them off to friends… hang on the kitchen fridge… awwwwww….

have a spa day, give your pooch a bubble bath, clip her toenails, doggie massage, doggie yoga, and…

Bake a cookie, treat day, make some homemade doggie food, dog treats, and your dog will enjoy being chief sampler and tasting assistant…

catch up on your zzz’s, take a nap, snooze away, dreaming of a sunny day at the beach ….  zzzzzzz

dance with your dog, put the music on and dance and sway to the beat of the music… aloha…

Does your Dog have what it takes to become a mooovie star? you’re the one that I want…hoo hoo hoo

another Pup-Lick Relations tip from Cici the wonder dog…

Maybe you have a doggie business, are a dog owner with a business, or just love animals and have a business. Whatever your situation, you might consider branding your business with an animal mascot, animal media spokesperson or by training your animal to become a media star, to do commercials, movies, or TV shows.  Shades of Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Petey, Benjie, the dog on Frasier, Paul Anka on The Gilmore Girls, the cat on Charmed, Mr. Ed (the horse that spoke to Wilbur), Air Bud, and many others.  

There is a good reason why Geico has a Gecko in their TV commercials as media spokesperson. How about Tony the Tiger, Morris the cat, Ford Mustang, Taco Bell’s Chihuahua or Smokey the Bear. During the recent Superbowl, the average price for a 30-second spot was $2.5 million. In these ads, many companies had memorable cute, fun, cuddly, furry animals convey their message.

Animals, dogs, cats and others can enhance the message that you use to tell the world who you are and what you represent. Why? One reason is that Americans love animals.

Now is the time to train your dog to become a celebrity, bring home the bacon, work for their keep and supply you with an abundance of bling bling bling…

http://www.ehow.com/how_18747_dog-commercials.html

http://www.dogstars.co.uk/

Charity Rents Animals Out for CommercialsBy PHILIP H. DOUGHERTY
Published: December 19, 1984

Because charitable organizations are always in need of funds and since commercials frequently need animals in their casts, Green Chimneys, a treatment center for troubled children that is also a working farm, has gone into the rent-a-pig business. And that is only the beginning, since there are also horses, cows, sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits.

Robert Schechter, who is on the board, promises that the prices will be reasonable and that handlers will be provided.One of his fellow board members is Gordon Bushell, recently named chairman and chief executive of the William Esty Company. So with that much recognizable talent on hand, no wonder the new program has been named ”Farm on the Moo- ve.” 

Now, this dog has all the right moooves…

http://www.koreus.com/video/chien-danseur.htm

my paw print will soon be on Hollywood boulevard…