<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><br><br>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> "Ginger Kutsch" <<a href="mailto:GingerKutsch@yahoo.com">GingerKutsch@yahoo.com</a>><br><b>Date:</b> August 6, 2013, 7:26:13 AM PDT<br><b>To:</b> "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <<a href="mailto:nagdu@nfbnet.org">nagdu@nfbnet.org</a>>, "New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users" <<a href="mailto:njagdu@nfbnet.org">njagdu@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[nagdu] Betty White Dishes on Her Love of Animals</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <<a href="mailto:nagdu@nfbnet.org">nagdu@nfbnet.org</a>><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Betty White Dishes on Her Love of Animals </span><br><span></span><br><span>August 5, 2013 - 1:15 PM- 4 Comments</span><br><span></span><br><span>By Michele C. Hollow Parade Magazine</span><br><span></span><br><span>pet lifestyle blog Pet News and Views. </span><br><span></span><br><span>Source:</span><br><span><a href="http://www.parade.com/53369/michelechollow/betty-white-dishes-on-her-love-of">http://www.parade.com/53369/michelechollow/betty-white-dishes-on-her-love-of</a></span><br><span>-animals/</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Betty White loves acting almost as much as she loves animals. "I have this</span><br><span>very expensive habit," she says. "Thankfully, my work makes it possible for</span><br><span>me to support and volunteer my time with many different animal welfare</span><br><span>organizations."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Each nonprofit to which Betty lends her name, time, and finances is special.</span><br><span>At the top of the list is The Seeing Eye, the oldest existing guide dog</span><br><span>school in the world. Since Betty first became involved with The Seeing Eye,</span><br><span>she's offered the leading prize at their annual auction; the highest bidder</span><br><span>gets to have dinner with Betty.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Betty has also provided voiceover work for a film that tells the story of</span><br><span>The Seeing Eye's program, from puppy raising, to training the dogs, to</span><br><span>instructing people who are blind in how to use and care for them. She's even</span><br><span>created radio public service announcements for the organization.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Betty and Seeing Eye Dogs</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>When Betty turned 90, The Seeing Eye named a puppy after her. Betty, the</span><br><span>black Labrador, works as a seeing-eye dog. And Betty, the actress, has a</span><br><span>seeing-eye dog of her own. Well, actually, it's a dog that didn't make the</span><br><span>cut. One of the nonprofits she volunteers with had learned about the passing</span><br><span>of her beloved golden retriever. The nonprofit waited about a month and</span><br><span>called her to let her know of an available puppy. The puppy had a severe</span><br><span>skin problem, which would be expensive to fix. "So, they asked me if I</span><br><span>wanted to take the dog," says Betty. "I said 'no' because I was still in</span><br><span>mourning. However, I said I would fly down and take a look."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>"Well, have you ever just taken a look at a golden retriever puppy?" she</span><br><span>asked. "It's impossible to walk away. Pontiac is my beautiful golden. We</span><br><span>thought his surgery would be expensive. He thanked me by not needing the</span><br><span>surgery. He just turned eight on the first of May."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Becoming a Guide Dog Isn't Easy</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>A puppy born at The Seeing Eye has only a 60 percent chance of successfully</span><br><span>becoming a guide dog. Some don't make it because they might have a health</span><br><span>issue (like Pontiac did). Some may be distracted by other dogs, or may have</span><br><span>a penchant to chase squirrels. Luckily, there are other career options: some</span><br><span>of the dogs that don't wind up being guide dogs become search and rescue</span><br><span>dogs, because they have the right temperament, trainability, and desire to</span><br><span>be a working dog. "The Seeing Eye takes training these dogs quite</span><br><span>seriously," says Betty. "By providing well trained guide dogs and training</span><br><span>recipients to work with these dogs, The Seeing Eye empowers and changes</span><br><span>people's lives for the better."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Betty Likes Big Cats Too</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>In December, fans can watch Betty on a National Geographic special covering</span><br><span>the plight of big cats. While filming the special, she got up close to</span><br><span>tigers, lions, and other big cats. "One lion that was in a big cage didn't</span><br><span>like the camera the cameraman was pointing at him," she says. "He growled</span><br><span>and as the cameraman got closer, the lion leapt, and I got lion spittle on</span><br><span>me. The keeper said, 'You must really love animals, because you didn't</span><br><span>flinch.' I said, 'He gave us fair warning,' and I looked around and saw the</span><br><span>cameraman running down the hall. He said he was heading for his car."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>It All Started with an Orange Tabby Named Toby</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Having grown up with parents who loved animals, Betty remembers her orange</span><br><span>tabby cat, which sat on the edge of her crib when she was a baby. "My mother</span><br><span>always told me that if Toby didn't approve, I would have to go back."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Obviously, her parents' love of animals rubbed off. Even her Hot in</span><br><span>Cleveland costars enjoy working with animals. "Last season, we had an entire</span><br><span>episode centered around a litter of kittens," she says. "We were all a mess.</span><br><span>It was hard to get any acting out of us. We just wanted to play with the</span><br><span>kittens."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Her show was picked up for another two years. "These are the greatest gals</span><br><span>to work with-all animal lovers too. Actually, I've been quite lucky with</span><br><span>Mary Tyler Moore and The Golden Girls. I get to have fun, be around lovely</span><br><span>people, and spend time with animals. It's a good life."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>For more information about The Seeing Eye, click here.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Michele C. Hollow writes the pet lifestyle blog Pet News and Views. You can</span><br><span>read her other <a href="http://parade.com">parade.com</a> stories here. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>nagdu mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:nagdu@nfbnet.org">nagdu@nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:</span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/judotina48kg%40gmail.com">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/judotina48kg%40gmail.com</a></span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>