Pure Joy (10 page)

You would think that my jangled nerves over the gift to Isabella would have cured me, despite the happy end result, but it didn’t. When my son lost his beloved childhood dog, Annabelle, I waited seven months while he mourned her, and although he said he would never have another dog, it made my heart ache to know how much he missed her (she had gone everywhere with him for fourteen years. He had gotten
her when he was ten). And I succumbed to my own instincts and got him a Boston bull puppy for his birthday, the sweetest little puppy. She was much smaller than Annabelle and looked very different, which I thought was a good thing, and the breed suited him so well, and the whole family said I was out of my mind. He was shocked when he first saw her and spent a tough night wrestling with his sense of loyalty to the dog he had loved so much and lost. I kept the puppy while he thought about it, and the next day he called to claim her, and they have been inseparable ever since. Her name is Nancy, and she is irresistible and so loving.

And my last brave gift was this past Christmas. Once again I wrestled with the decision, but my ex-husband had been ill for many months, his ridgeback died a few years ago, and he had said repeatedly how much he missed having a dog. That’s a dangerous thing to say to me. I thought about it for several months and finally decided to do it. I got him a King Charles spaniel for Christmas, and once again with huge trepidation, I brought it to him. He’s a man, and when feeling well, he likes his freedom and to travel. I wasn’t at all sure how he would respond to the gift, but once again he fell in love immediately. The puppy climbed into his lap, and he tells me constantly how perfect Perky is and how much he loves him. God smiled on me again on that one! I have to stop doing these things—
one of these days it could go wrong. But in all of these instances, it was the right thing to do, and I’m so glad I did.

Maxx’s new Boston bull, Nancy, as a puppy
Cassio Alves

Perky, my gift to Tom
Robin Reynolds

Saukee, the Maltese I gave to my friend Ginny after the one she missed at auction
Cassio Alves

My other experience “giving away” dogs (or in this case selling them for charity) was at our benefit for the foundation honoring my son Nick. Sadly, we lost my son Nicky at nineteen, and in his honor established a foundation to fund organizations that provide treatment and therapy for people with mental illness. And every two years, we gave a gala benefit to raise money. We called it the Star Ball. The benefit was a major event to coordinate, with six hundred and fifty guests who paid a fortune for tickets. We had stars who attended, always an important musical act (Elton John the last time), dinner, dancing, and an auction (of jewels, trips, cars, and some very exciting items). We discovered at our last two benefits that a fantastic way to raise money was to auction off a dog. We got two puppies the first time, and they were such a huge hit that we planned to auction three the last time. Two small dogs, and a large one (two Maltese and a boxer). A model would walk the puppies around all evening before the auction, and people went crazy for them and paid high prices for them. (They paid as much as twenty thousand dollars, for the benefit of the foundation of course, but they got to go home with a puppy. And another foundation I know of has auctioned puppies for as much as thirty-five thousand dollars.) The bidding
was heated for both Maltese, and a beloved friend of mine was disappointed when she missed out on the Maltese puppy … so you guessed it, I gave her a Maltese puppy a few months later. I hear about her all the time and how much she loves her (Saukee). I lucked out again! (And a few months ago, light-years after Saukee, I gave her a second dog, also a Maltese, which she named Winni.)

And although the puppy auction was my favorite part of the benefit, it had its rocky moments. I loved watching the look of excitement on people’s faces as they bid on a puppy they had been flirting with all night. Husbands and wives argued over the big dog (a Lab the first time) versus the small (a Yorkie or Maltese puppy), and real dog lovers were willing to go to any lengths and price for the dog they wanted. (As a side note, the benefit also auctioned me off for dinner. And the dogs went for a higher price! Go figure!)

We always chose the dogs carefully from reliable sources to make sure they were healthy. On the day of our last benefit, while I was checking the lighting, tables, sound, and room, hours before the ball, I got a frantic call from an assistant to tell me that the boxer we were auctioning off that night had diarrhea. “What should we do?” What should we do? Were they kidding? How did I know? Put a cork in her maybe? I said to call a vet, but I also made an immediate decision. I was not
going to auction off a sick dog. It could have been nothing, or it could have been a sign that she was more seriously sick. I didn’t want to risk our thus-far-impeccable reputation on a sick dog. And we stuck to that decision. We didn’t auction off the boxer, waited a week to make sure she was fine, had her checked out by the vet again, and gave her to a local San Francisco chef we knew and loved who wanted her desperately, and he was thrilled. (He named her Nicky.) She is still his beloved dog today. So all’s well that ends well.

Saukee and Winni
Virginia Harris

Ginny, with Saukee and Winni
Reed Harris

Nicky, the beautiful boxer we did not auction (because of tummy problems)
Cassio Alves

I don’t know if I’d recommend giving a dog as a gift, it’s a scary thing to do, and you have to know the recipient well, and how seriously they want a dog. But when it’s the right thing to do, there is nothing better and nothing sweeter than seeing the sheer joy on someone’s face when you give them a dog. I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again, but I cherish the memories of those I have given, and of how happy my friends and children were when they got them. It was really a blessing for them, and for me, and one that continues to bless for so many, many years.

Maxx’s beloved Annabelle
Cassio Alves