[Cagdu] Fwd: [nagdu] Betty White Dishes on Her Love of Animals

[tina thomas]

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Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Ginger Kutsch" <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
> Date: August 6, 2013, 7:26:13 AM PDT
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>, "New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users" <njagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [nagdu] Betty White Dishes on Her Love of Animals
> Reply-To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> 
> Betty White Dishes on Her Love of Animals 
> 
> August 5, 2013 - 1:15 PM- 4 Comments
> 
> By Michele C. Hollow Parade Magazine
> 
> pet lifestyle blog Pet News and Views. 
> 
> Source:
> http://www.parade.com/53369/michelechollow/betty-white-dishes-on-her-love-of
> -animals/
> 
> 
> 
> Betty White loves acting almost as much as she loves animals. "I have this
> very expensive habit," she says. "Thankfully, my work makes it possible for
> me to support and volunteer my time with many different animal welfare
> organizations."
> 
> 
> 
> Each nonprofit to which Betty lends her name, time, and finances is special.
> At the top of the list is The Seeing Eye, the oldest existing guide dog
> school in the world. Since Betty first became involved with The Seeing Eye,
> she's offered the leading prize at their annual auction; the highest bidder
> gets to have dinner with Betty.
> 
> 
> 
> Betty has also provided voiceover work for a film that tells the story of
> The Seeing Eye's program, from puppy raising, to training the dogs, to
> instructing people who are blind in how to use and care for them. She's even
> created radio public service announcements for the organization.
> 
> 
> 
> Betty and Seeing Eye Dogs
> 
> 
> 
> When Betty turned 90, The Seeing Eye named a puppy after her. Betty, the
> black Labrador, works as a seeing-eye dog. And Betty, the actress, has a
> seeing-eye dog of her own. Well, actually, it's a dog that didn't make the
> cut. One of the nonprofits she volunteers with had learned about the passing
> of her beloved golden retriever. The nonprofit waited about a month and
> called her to let her know of an available puppy. The puppy had a severe
> skin problem, which would be expensive to fix. "So, they asked me if I
> wanted to take the dog," says Betty. "I said 'no' because I was still in
> mourning. However, I said I would fly down and take a look."
> 
> 
> 
> "Well, have you ever just taken a look at a golden retriever puppy?" she
> asked. "It's impossible to walk away. Pontiac is my beautiful golden. We
> thought his surgery would be expensive. He thanked me by not needing the
> surgery. He just turned eight on the first of May."
> 
> 
> 
> Becoming a Guide Dog Isn't Easy
> 
> 
> 
> A puppy born at The Seeing Eye has only a 60 percent chance of successfully
> becoming a guide dog. Some don't make it because they might have a health
> issue (like Pontiac did). Some may be distracted by other dogs, or may have
> a penchant to chase squirrels. Luckily, there are other career options: some
> of the dogs that don't wind up being guide dogs become search and rescue
> dogs, because they have the right temperament, trainability, and desire to
> be a working dog. "The Seeing Eye takes training these dogs quite
> seriously," says Betty. "By providing well trained guide dogs and training
> recipients to work with these dogs, The Seeing Eye empowers and changes
> people's lives for the better."
> 
> 
> 
> Betty Likes Big Cats Too
> 
> 
> 
> In December, fans can watch Betty on a National Geographic special covering
> the plight of big cats. While filming the special, she got up close to
> tigers, lions, and other big cats. "One lion that was in a big cage didn't
> like the camera the cameraman was pointing at him," she says. "He growled
> and as the cameraman got closer, the lion leapt, and I got lion spittle on
> me. The keeper said, 'You must really love animals, because you didn't
> flinch.' I said, 'He gave us fair warning,' and I looked around and saw the
> cameraman running down the hall. He said he was heading for his car."
> 
> 
> 
> It All Started with an Orange Tabby Named Toby
> 
> 
> 
> Having grown up with parents who loved animals, Betty remembers her orange
> tabby cat, which sat on the edge of her crib when she was a baby. "My mother
> always told me that if Toby didn't approve, I would have to go back."
> 
> 
> 
> Obviously, her parents' love of animals rubbed off. Even her Hot in
> Cleveland costars enjoy working with animals. "Last season, we had an entire
> episode centered around a litter of kittens," she says. "We were all a mess.
> It was hard to get any acting out of us. We just wanted to play with the
> kittens."
> 
> 
> 
> Her show was picked up for another two years. "These are the greatest gals
> to work with-all animal lovers too. Actually, I've been quite lucky with
> Mary Tyler Moore and The Golden Girls. I get to have fun, be around lovely
> people, and spend time with animals. It's a good life."
> 
> 
> 
> For more information about The Seeing Eye, click here.
> 
> 
> 
> Michele C. Hollow writes the pet lifestyle blog Pet News and Views. You can
> read her other parade.com stories here. 
> 
> 
> 
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