I was raised to be an animal lover. I am looking at a picture of my mom and dad before Lenny and I were born. They look so happy. Lol.
Growing up, we had three pets. We had a yellow and green parakeet named Peppy….a gray and white cat named Ms Bing….and a white and beige mongrel dog named Mickey.
My father would take Peppy out of the cage and put him in the palm of his hand. He let my dad rub his belly and head. His legs would be sticking up in the air and Peppy would close his eyes. When he passed away it was the first time I saw my father cry.
Ms. Bing went outside. We had an oleander bush and Ms Bing chewed on the white creamy milk that came out of the stem. That milk was poisonous. She instantly died. I found her and I was in shock.
Mickey was my mother’s dog. When Shirley sat on the chair to read a book Mickey also looked like he was reading the book. One day my mother let him out of the house and he never came back.
Sometimes I think dogs know when they will pass and they do….Not wanting all of us to suffer. When I traveled around the country and I saw someone walking their dog I would ask the owner if the dog was friendly. Then I would sit on the pavement or grass and would pet them. Dogs love when you rub their ears. If I laid down they would walk on my chest and lick every part of my face.
I went out of town and my publicist Arnold L. watched my house. When I came home and went into the living room I found a wicker basket …inside was an eight week old Dalmatian. I named her Scarlett. She followed me everywhere. And at night I would pick her up and put her in my lap.
I didn’t want Scarlett to be by herself. So Arnold gave me the name of the dog breeder. I drove an hour away and met a lady… Donna McClure. She lived on a large piece of property. Her straight hair was braided in pigtails.
She showed me a baby Dalmatian named Ashley. So now I had two babies to raise. One day I left the kitchen door opened and they escaped. I got in my car and drove down the streets calling their names. I was so distraught. Then I remembered they had their collars on with their name and telephone number. A few days later I got two phone calls. One was from a lady in Bel Air When I walked in her home Scarlett was sitting on her couch. When I called her name she came to me.
Another call came in from Laurel Canyon. I rang the doorbell and there was no answer. …so I walked around …and there was a man with long hair and a beard laying in a hammock with Ashley, I made sure I never left a door open again.
I told myself I want another one. So I went back to Donna …she said I only have one puppy left and she is awkward . She had very long legs and a big head. Donna said you can have her for free. I said no thank you. I pulled out $400.00 from my wallet and gave it to her . And I named her Marty short for Martha.
I hired a stud and Scarlett got pregnant. After delivering her puppies I kept one and named her Melanie.
Scarlett had a stroke. Around the corner from my studio was a veterinarian clinic owned by Dr Shipp. He was tall and very handsome . He was from England and I could hear his accent all day long. He took Scarlett home and gave her therapy for two weeks. She did get better but not all the way.
Melanie was very healthy and very rebellious. Again I hired a stud. Melanie had two puppies and I named them Prissy and Pitti Pat. Prissy was born deaf and had epilepsy. When she had a seizure I would hold her and kiss her face. When she felt better she would look up at me and smile. Matter of fact all of my girls smiled. To be continued…
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