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Willy the Pug: The Hollywood years
By Dr. Marty Becker
March 12, 2010
Calling them the Hollywood “years” may be stretching it, but Willy the Pug is definitely enjoying his Hollywood days.
My daughter, Mikkel Becker Shannon, and I are in Los Angeles talking to producers about a possible new television show. We brought along our number one spokespug, Mikkel’s dog Willy. We figured we can’t resist him, so most likely the producers wouldn’t be able to, either.
We flew down with him from Spokane, and because he’s both small and well-trained, he was able to fly in the cabin with us. Even before we boarded he was charming his fellow passengers. From Mikkel:
We flew from Spokane to Salt Lake City, and then to Los Angeles. I thought that flying with a dog in the cabin would be stressful and that I’d have to keep him in his carrier while we were in the airport, but I was able to have him out with no hassles other than a few barks exchanged with another dog.
Most travelers and staff at airports are hurried and distracted, but dozens of people, including many airline employees, stopped to get some mutt lovin’, and they each had stories of their own dogs. It was best training experience for Willy, as he was totally immersed in new experiences — all types of people, sounds and different footing, from slick tile to escalator steps.
T
he best thing of all about the travel portion of our trip was what we found at Los Angeles International Airport: a completely fenced dog yard with a water fountain and bowl, pooper scooper bags and, of course, the essential fire hydrant.
We checked into the Ritz Carlton at Marina del Rey, where Willy’s rock star treatment continued. They even gave him his own specially bottled doggy water and gift box.
This was Willy’s first time on a plane, first time dipping a paw in the ocean (and tasting it, not a particularly successful experiment), and first time wheeling and dealing with the Hollywood power machine.
He visited Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, the Polo Lounge (outside only, due to public health laws he’s working on having overturned), Grauman’s Chinese Theater and Universal Studios.
Traveling with pets isn’t always as easy as it is with Willy. He has the right temperament and he’s had the best training and socialization. He’s even a Delta Society registered Pet Partner:
Delta Society’s Pet Partners program trains volunteers and screens volunteers and their pets for visiting animal programs in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, schools and other facilities.
The Pet Partners program was established in 1990 to ensure that “both ends of the leash,” people as well as animals, were well-prepared to participate in animal-assisted activity and animal-assisted therapy programs. Pet Partners is the only national registry that requires volunteer training and screening of animal-handler teams.
Delta Society’s national network links volunteers with facilities in their own communities that request visiting pets and helps Pet Partners contact facilities to begin visits in new locations.
And he’s pretty good with the Hollywood moguls, too.
Photos by Dr. Marty Becker. You can view more photos from Willy’s Hollywood adventure on Dr. Becker’s Facebook fan page.
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These photos are great! I didn’t know some airports have a dog area.
Goodness, Willy must have been a breath of fresh air for the Hollywood moguls. They have had enough of Tinkerbell and her entourage.
Bring on the Pugs and all Delta Cert.dogs!
Comment by ericka — March 12, 2010 @ 8:15 am
See, I just saw this article…Barbie has three new pets. A Poodle, a cat, and Chihuahua.
Why not a Delta dog? Or a pug?
And…they have a pet vet DVD coming out. Um, I think Dr. Becker is needed here. Help this plastic doll get a vet make-over.
——-article below——
Barbies’ pets include poodle, Chihuahua and kitten
— Kids Today, 3/9/2010 8:15:00 AM
Russ is introducing Barbie Pets, a line of three plush toys.
Licensed from Mattel Inc. under the Applause brand by Russ, Barbie remains the No. 1 fashion doll and a pop-culture princess.
The new Russ line presents Sequin, a white poodle; Blissa, a kitten; and Lacey, a Chihuahua puppy. Each pet has its own story and provides details about how they became friends with Barbie.
Russ has developed an extensive collection of outfits, carriers, beds and more to complement the personality of each pet. Measuring approximately 10 inches, the pets will be sold wearing an outfit and in its own carrier. “This new partnership between Russ and Mattel adds an exciting new dimension to the Barbie franchise allowing girls to build their existing collection and play with Barbie doll’s pets,” according to a Russ press relase.
Concurrent with the new Russ line, Random House is publishing two Barbie books during 2010 that will feature these pets. My Fabulous Friends, launching this spring, includes all three pets in within its storyline. And as part of the national I Can Be… campaign, Random House will release Barbie: I Can Be a Pet Vet in Summer, featuring Lacey, the Chihuahua. A fall DVD release, Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale, introduces Sequin, the poodle.
——-end article—-
(P.S. note the spelling errors… theirs! I know MY typing, grammar and spelling suck…but don’t THEY have copy editors? No, Barbie must have written this herself. )
Comment by ericka — March 12, 2010 @ 8:23 am
I know MY typing, grammar and spelling suck…but don’t THEY have copy editors? No, Barbie must have written this herself. )
Comment by ericka — March 12, 2010
Hahahahahaha!!!! Yes, I think she did. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 12, 2010 @ 8:55 am
You gotta give Barbie credit for naming the poodle Sequin, though. It’s a great name for a flashy white or silver pocket pet. Not that I condone pet arm candy, but if Babs must have such a pet, at least this is an appropriately shallow name.
Comment by Rori — March 12, 2010 @ 9:54 am
Ericka: Check out this column. “Relief for pets at airports” has a link to where you can find pet relief spots at airports all over the country.
Oh, and I’m curious as to whose star Willy liked the most. Was it really Norma Jean? I’m almost positive Lassie and Rin Tin Tin each have stars - though Frank from Men in Black doesn’t.
Comment by David S. Greene — March 12, 2010 @ 1:53 pm
Great article! I fly with my little maltese/bichon several times a year - and just like Willy, she became quite the attraction. One time we had a group of about 8 people passing their phones around showing off pictures of their dogs to each other. Great way to forgot about the ‘hussle and bustle’ and meet new people.
Also, thanks for the mention of Delta Society! We are proud to have Mikkel and Willy as one of our Pet Partners teams!
Comment by JoAnn Turnbull — March 12, 2010 @ 4:12 pm
David- thx for the link to the airport relief article. My snowbird friends who travel back and forth to S. Florida are gonna love it when I email this to them!
I also loved the Disapproving Rabbit link. OMG, that is a funny LMAO site.
I have an outdoor two story hutch (hamemade, hurricane shutters, self watering) with rabbits. I can’t wait to send some pictures to Disapproving Rabbit.
My lot of rabbits is pretty tame at the moment. Over the years I have had some interesting bunnies because C.R.O.W. (Center Rehabilitation of Wildlife) on Sanibel Island often bring me their rabbits. I get the buns who can’t go back into the wild due to domestication or head tilt, etc.
Now I have somewhere to sends my funny rabbit pix, instead of my friends and family who are so bored with my ‘look at THIS cute animal’ photos.
Comment by ericka — March 12, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
FABULOUS that you mentioned Delta Society. LOVE that Willy is a registered Pet Partner ~ it’s all about the human-animal bond! Most grateful that you’re promoting Delta Society and that you & your daughter are supportive of the mission!
(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´…ღⓛⓞⓥⓔღ
Comment by Lori Moak-Kean — March 13, 2010 @ 5:36 pm
I used to fly cross country a lot with a Labrador puppy when I was a volunteer puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I so wish they had the relief area for pets then, and so glad to see they do now. He always did great and people were terrific around him. But, it was also stressful because of his size. They’d usually put us in bulk head and he took up the leg room for three of us by the time he was 14 months old. One funny incident (not so funny at the time). We always had a layover in Chicago, but one time we had two layovers. I had enough time to take him outside between flights and after the second flight, he was just determined to not go back into the airport. He looked at me to say “We just flew on two airplanes. I don’t care where we are. But, we are staying here.”
Congrats to Willy for flying so well and for being a Delta Society registered Pet Partner.
Comment by Lisa Spector — March 13, 2010 @ 5:48 pm
Love this article… I’ll definitely share this at my blog
Comment by small dogs — March 15, 2010 @ 6:29 am
Wonderful story and shows the value of the human-animal bond. As one of our Delta Pet Partners said recently,”the human-animal bond has power in its simplicity.”
Bill McCulloch,DVM
Co-founder, Delta Society
Comment by Bill McCulloch, DVM — March 15, 2010 @ 12:08 pm