Animal Lover’s were in full force this past week at the Guild Hall’s Academy of the Arts 24th Annual Lifetime Achievement Awards at Cipriani 42nd Street, honoring actress extraordinaire and dog lover that cares, Boston Legal’s Candice Bergen, she plays loving guardian in real life to Lois – part Wire Haired Terrier/part Basset-Hound & Larry – a King Charles mix.
At the event, Lucky & I ran into Long Island native and 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin who truly hopes President Obama names his future rescued Portuguese Water Dog, ”Surplus”. Certainly with this ruff economy, the entire country and every dog I am sure could use a little more “Surplus” and treats in their lives.
Speaking of breed rescue, Oprah Winfrey has adopted an 8-week-old blonde-colored Cocker Spaniel on Sunday. The pup — one of a litter of six — was named Amanda by the shelter staff, but the rep for PAWS Chicago shelter, Lisa Nowak, wasn’t sure if Winfrey renamed her.
Winfrey’s two Cocker Spaniels, Sophie and Solomon, died last year. Her Golden Retriever, Gracie, unfortunately choked on a plastic ball in 2007. She still has two other Golden Retrievers, Luke and Layla. The host vowed to adopt her next pooch after dedicating a show to the horrors of puppy mills sprouting up all over the country. Ms. Winfrey also donated money in Sophie’s name to maintain the upkeep of PAWS Chicago.
PAWS Chicago (Pets Are Worth Saving – pawschicago.org) is Chicago’s largest No Kill organization, focused on alleviating Chicago’s tragic pet homelessness problem. Since PAWS Chicago’s founding, the number of homeless pets killed in the city has been reduced by more than half. Perhaps President Obama will rescue his new dog from PAWS as Oprah did, since they seem to run in the same circles.
This past weekend Lucky and I could not refuse the invitation to jet off to Palm Springs, California to judge a dog look-a-like contest (I must admit I don’t come close to the cuteness of Lucky). The Dog Look-a-Like winners were dog trainer Andrea Smith and her 2-year-old Rhodesian/Pit Mix Rescue dog named Miley, who never would have survived the shelter life unless rescued! Miley can’t howl like Miley Cyrus can but certainly is as handsome with an overabundance of animal magnetism – www.visitpalmsprings.com. We stayed at the very pet friendly www.andreashotel.com where Lucky certainly relaxed.
Of course, though you know Palm Springs is where the Hollywood elite goes to relax and getaway (from all the bright lights, fanatic fans and puparazzi). It was so funny we ran into Kathy Griffin getting her Palm Springs’ “Star of Fame” (Lucky did not want to get her paws dirty so declined the D list star from getting into the cement (although Lucky really knows she is the D star – Dog TV star that is). Probably second to Lucky as a famous Maltese was crazy Bubba from Cesar Milan’s first season of The Dog Whisperer. Bubba’s mom Heidi was trying very hard to buddy up to Lucky. Sorry to all those Maltese but Lucky has been spayed. (www.animalfair.com). To find the best Palm Springs pet travel bag go to www.petsmart.com.