[Njagdu] Betty White Dishes on Her Love of Animals

[Ginger Kutsch]

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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