This week I had the opportunity to interview television legend, Burt Ward, who played The Boy Wonder on the 1960s series, Batman. Burt has gone from TV superhero to super rescuer. He and his lovely wife Tracy have rescued over 15,000 large breed dogs (and a lot of small pooches as well.) Fellow ailurophiles, not to fret. He’s helped a boatload of kitties as well.
Tag Archives: Dusty Rainbolt
4 Myths about Lost Cats for Lost Pet Prevention Month
July is Lost Pet Prevention Month. Losing a pet is something no one wants to thinks about, but it can happen to anyone. The cat slips past the door when you bring in the groceries or when someone leaves the door ajar.
Cat owners make a number of assumptions about their pets becoming lost, and unfortunately, many of them are wrong, which could have tragic consequences.
Dusty Rainbolt, author of the recently-released award-winning book, Finding Your Lost Cat: The Practical Cat-Specific Guide for Your Happy Reunion, wants cat owners to have a better understanding of the lost cat dilemma.
Statistics from the American Humane Association, indicate that one in three pets will go missing at some point in their lives. According to Rainbolt, an in-the-trenches cat rescuer and expert in feline health and behavior, lost cat recovery statistics are depressing.
Scientific research conducted out of Ohio State University shows that cats are much less likely to be safely returned than dogs.
“That’s because dog and cat owners, as well as bystanders on the street, approach a missing cat differently,” Rainbolt says. “Because of the come-and-go nature of the cat, most owners don’t realize they’re missing until they’ve been gone for days, maybe even a week. By that time, animal shelters may have either euthanized the kitty or signed him over to a rescue group for adoption.”
Should a cat accidentally escape, Rainbolt said the owner should start to search immediately. “Call animal control right away. Go to the shelter and look at the cats in person. Check back frequently.”
Lost cat signs are the most effective thing a cat owner can do to get their cat back, Rainbolt says. “Make them large enough to read from a distance.
According to Rainbolt, here are four common myths about lost cats:
- IF MY CAT GETS LOST, HIS MICROCHIP WILL RETURN HIM.
Not necessarily. “A microchip does have the ability to return a lost pet to his owner,” Rainbolt says. “However, for that to happen, the animal has to be caught and scanned by a shelter, rescue group or veterinarian with a microchip scanner. Even then it’s not a guarantee. The owner contact information must be current for the rescuer to be able to contact you. If you haven’t notified the database company about your new cell phone number, work number or email address, the microchip won’t help at all.” As soon as you have you have new contact information, notify the microchip database. Once a year, verify your contact information is accurate.
“If you don’t know who runs the database your cat (or dog) appears on, take the pet to the vet or the animal shelter and ask them to scan for the chip. They can give you the contact number for the company,” she says.
- PUT YOUR CAT’S USED CAT LITTER IN YOUR YARD SO HE CAN FIND HIS WAY HOME.
This myth is all over the internet. It’s a classic example of, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” However, cat urine contains territorial pheromones that communicates with other cats which territory belongs to whom. The scent of pheromones in soiled litter may attract the aggressive tomcat from down the street, forcing Fluffy from his hiding spot near home and chase him farther away.
- A LOST CAT CAN TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF.
That seems logical. A healthy kitty should be able to eat mice. Unfortunately, if Fluffy didn’t learn to hunt and kill from his mother, he likely won’t be able to kill enough prey to survive on.
- YOU USE THE SAME TECHNIQUES TO FIND BOTH DOGS AND CATS.
“Cats are not little dogs physically or behaviorally. Techniques that successfully recover lost dogs won’t work for kitties because cats and dogs respond differently to frightening situations and strange people,” Rainbolt says. Unlike dogs, cats don’t usually travel great distances; unless something extraordinary happened, they usually stay within three or four houses away from their own hour. They seldom ask people for help. Instead, they often hide, too afraid to respond even when the owner calls for him.
While there are dozens of books about lost pets, Rainbolt combines scientific research and her intimate knowledge of cat behavior to help determine which cat-specific strategies work for your situation and how to implement them most effectively. In addition to her own vast experience, she teams up with the country’s leading missing pet locators (pet detectives), as well as advertising specialists and cat parents who found their feline friends after months and even years. Finding Your Lost Cat’s advice is science-based, but Rainbolt’s light touch and trademark humor makes this difficult topic easier to digest.
Rainbolt has long been an advocate for cats in trouble. Over the past 35 years,she has rescued and rehomed over 2500 homeless cats and kittens. Because of her work with displaced kitties, she was inspired to write, Finding Your Lost Cat.
Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning cat behavior author, veterinary journalist, feline behavior consultant and Fear Free Certified® Professional. She is the author of five feline health and behavior books, including the acclaimed Cat Scene Investigator™: Solving Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, Finding Your Lost Cat, Kittens for Dummies and thousands of articles and columns. Over the years, she has successfully hand-raised over 1500 surviving orphan kittens, and rescued and rehomed more than 2500 homeless cats and kittens. She’s the past president of the Cat Writers’ Association, three-time recipient of the Friskies Writer of the Year, and two-time recipient of the prestigious Cornell Feline Health Center Veterinary Issues Award. Her books, columns and articles have been honored with more than 65 writing awards.
Finding Your Lost Cat: The Practical Cat-Specific Guide for Your Happy Reunion is available in trade paperback and ebook Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Ingram and other major book distributors. The suggested retail prices are paperback/$12.99 and ebook/$6.99.
Ed Lowe and the Evolution of the Cat Litter Box
AIn honor of the birth anniversary of Ed Lowe, the inventor of cat litter, I’m sharing the history of the litter box. Lowe was borne July 10, 1920.
I know most of us grumble as we pick up the litter scoop and approach the cat box. What a pain in the tail! But we do it because we love our kitties, and cleaning the litter box is a necessity just like changing a diaper or washing the dishes.
No one really gives much thought to the impact that cat litter has had on our daily lives. Without it, our day would go very differently.
I learned how differently while researching my paranormal mystery, Death Under the Crescent Moon (Yard Dog Press, 2013). The story is set in 1939, almost a decade before the invention of KITTY LITTER®.
Have you ever thought about the Litter Box Process? I don’t mean the process involving the alimentary canal. I’m talking about custodial maintenance. Today’s clumping and silica gel litters allows us to simply scoop and toss. But our grandparents had to put a great deal of effort into keeping an inside cat.
According to Katherine Grier, Ph.D., professor of history at University of Delaware, most cats lived outside until after WWII. They did their business in backyards and neighbors’ flower beds. They lived separated from the people who loved them because of the elimination issue and also because few people altered them. (Intact kitties express themselves in ways not conducive with civilized indoor living.) But it’s a dog-eat-cat world, and increasingly, cat lovers wanted to keep their cats safely inside the home.
People couldn’t help but notice in a natural setting most cats relieved themselves in loose ground, then covered their waste. This tidy nature hid their presence from predators and protected them from disease and parasites. Unlike dogs, cats didn’t require housebreaking; they simply needed loose material.
People began providing inside kitties with “sanitary pans,” usually a 12” by 18” enamel baking pan or 22” by 4” deep galvanized iron roasting pan.
To these dedicated ailurophiles, the sand man had nothing to do with sweet dreams. His dump truck delivered a fresh supply of cat box sand. According to cat care books published between 1885 and the mid-1950s, inside cats might also find fireplace ashes, dirt, absorbent newspaper cat pads, shredded or folded newspaper, or sawdust in their pans. These books recommended changing and washing the sanitary pan twice daily, or once-a-day at the very least.
A commercial precursor to clay cat litter came from an innovator named “Poppy” George Plitt, who sold Kleen Kitty, a cat box filler made from wood ashes. Between changings, cat owners removed the poop with a kitchen frying strainer. Just as today we can tell cat lovers by the telltale cat hair on their clothes, in the 1940s you looked for soot. I imagine gray apparel was quite popular among cat fanatics.
In January, 1947 Kay Draper, a cat lover from Cassopolis, Michigan, couldn’t reach her cat sand pile because of a deep layer of snow, so consequently her Angora cat was tracking sooty paw prints all over the house. She asked her neighbor, Ed Lowe (who sold sand and clay granules), if she could purchase some sand. Fortunately for cat lovers around the world the snow also prevented Lowe from accessing his sand reserves. He suggested she try Fuller’s Earth, kiln-dried clay granules he’d been attempting to sell to chicken farmers as nesting material.
Like a stray cat who found a full food bowl, Kay returned for refills and brought her cat lady friends with her. Lowe wondered if other cat owners would be as enthusiastic. To test the market, he filled 10 five-pound sacks with what he called KITTY LITTER™ and asked a local pet store to sell them for 69 cents a bag. The shop owner doubted his customers would pay that much. After all, in 1947 minimum wage was $0.43 per hour and a gallon of milk was $0.67. But within a few weeks the shop owner placed an order for more. By the early 1950s KITTY LITTER (which later became Tidy Cats™) became widely available in pet stores.
So what did cat care look like in the 1930s? In Death Under the Crescent Moon, Eva Dupree travels to a sanitarium with her cat, Ivan. Her maid, Rose, arrives at the clinic every day to bring Ivan minced chicken giblets and fresh ashes.
While a few brands of canned cat food were available in 1939, most people fed their cats table scraps and bread, and of course cream. (Imagine the smell of that litter box.) Despite the horrible diet provided by their people, I believe cats stayed healthy because they supplemented their diet with rodents.
What goes in must come out. In order to tend to the cat’s bathroom, every day Rose must collect cooled cinders from the fireplace, dispose of mushy used ashes, wash the enamel baking pan, dry it thoroughly and refill it. Of course, where there’s soot, there’s grime. As Ivan exits his sanitary pan he deposits dark paw prints all over the white bathroom tile floor. Daily mopping is just one more step in the process. Ash residue also migrates to the carpet and bed linens. Keeping an inside cat was truly a labor of love.
In the book Rose reveals that she learned about cat care from a real book, A Practical Cat Book for Amateurs and Professionals(Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1939), written by a particularly enlightened biologist of the day, Ida Mellen. Mellen, it turns out, gave me peek into the past while she kept her eyes firmly on the feline future. Mellen encouraged keeping cat indoors, altering pets, going to a humane vet who uses anesthesia for surgery and even gives instructions on how to leash train a cat—trailblazing for 1939.
I have to admit it was fun and sometimes horrifying to look into cat care practices of the past. It certainly makes me grateful for my massive polypropylene litter boxes and my efficient Litter-Lifter scoop and especially my odor-controlling Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract Litter. I will never take the litter box for granted again.
So next time you feel tempted to complain about litter box duty, think about those cat-loving pioneers who made your life more convenient and the air in your home more pleasant. I doubt that the task at hand will seem quite as bad.
Charles Lindbergh and the Kitten
Today is Charles Lindbergh Day. Had he not died in 1974 of lymphoma at the age of 72, he would have been 117. While he’s best know for his groundbreaking solo flight across the Atlantic, Lindbergh and the kitten will be the way I want to remember him.
Lindbergh was conducting a press conference before departing on his transatlantic flight and one of his mechanics handed him a kitten who had been seeking shelter in the hanger and suggested the kitty would be good company during the long flight. He responded that the flight was too cold and the kitten might die.
Contrary to other internet claims, the kitten was not his beloved pet Patsy. Just a stray who had sought warmth in the hanger. Which makes it all the more touching.
The article below, published on May 20, 1927, provides a first-hand account Lindbergh and the kitten.
The Spanish Post Office printed a postal tribute to Lindbergh’s crossing that included an image of the kitten
Here’s the unedited article put on United Press International.
MAY 20 1927
Lindbergh takes off from New York in effort to fly solo to Paris
Aviator Charles Lindbergh, wearing a helmet and goggles, is pictured in the open cockpit of airplane at Lambert Field, in St. Louis, Miss., ca. 1920s. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI
ROOSEVELT FIELD, N.Y., May 20, 1927 (UP) — Charles E. Lindbergh, alone and without ceremony sailed off into the gray of this foggy morning in his Ryan monoplane, shouting to his friends that tomorrow he will be in Paris.
He started at 6:51 1/2 a.m. eastern standard time. When next seen this daring youngster of 25 years was flying so low over Long Island Sound, near Pt. Jefferson, NY that had he been over land, he hardly would have cleared the tree tops. At 8:40 a.m. he was sighted in Massachusetts, flying north.
His plane was wheeled from the hangar and towed from Curtiss Field to the head of the runway Commander Richard Byrd had built at Roosevelt Field and in the spirit of the Aviators’ Fraternity, had invited Lindberg to use.
Mechanics went over it for the last time and fueled the tanks. Lindbergh sought seclusion from a shower of rain in a nearby auto. He wasn’t the smiling youth of yesterday, happy with a roller coaster at Coney Island or with a toy giraffe for his hat. He was grim, nervous and his friends kept the crowd away from him. This was solemn business.
The mechanics pronounced the machine ready. Lindbergh stepped into the cockpit, looked over his cargo and came out to walk once more around the plane, trying this and that. Someone spoke of the kitten that had been given him as a mascot.
“No, don’t put him in, it will be too cold”, he pronounced. “The kitten might die.” He thus expelled his only possible living companion for the 30 to 40 hours he hoped to be flying alone in terrible monotony.
“I will be in Paris tomorrow,” he assured B.F. Mahoney, the 26-year-old president of the Ryan Airlines of San Diego, Cal, builders of Lindbergh’s plans as they exchanged a final hand shake.
Grover Whalen, Commander Richard E. Byrd and Anthony Fokker in turn wished him luck.
“I will see you in Paris,” said Byrd.
Chief of Police A.W. Skidmore of Garden City, who had become a close friend of the daring Westerner, came up.
“Well, kid, you are about to go,” he said. “If you come back you will get a good reception right here.”
“When I get into the cockpit,” answered Lindbergh slowly, “it’s like getting into a death chamber. And if I get out in Paris, it will be like a pardon from the governor.”
He climbed back into the machine, speeded his motor and looked out at the crowd that was standing silent or speaking only in whispers, all eyes intent upon this one audacious youth who sat there ready to challenge the Atlantic alone and unaided.
He turned to his controls. He glanced again at his instruments. He speeded his engine. The plane slowly began to move. The crowd cheered. Lindbergh could be seen all nervous intensity and not a sign of the smile which has been so familiar.
Gradually the machine picked up speed and rolled away. Nearly half a mile down the runway it bumped and bounced.
“He can’t make it,” men who ought to know gasped. “He is going too slow. For God’s sake, why don’t he speed up?”
Lindbergh was doing the audacious thing once more. He was moving east on the runway. If he failed to rise, he would crash into the wires and trees and houses. He could as well have gone the other way and had a clear field ahead of him; yet, it seems one of the perversities of this man to challenge fate. But Lindbergh knew what he was doing. The machine bumped heavily twice more, digging great ruts in the water-soaked and slimy mud of the runway. Then it began to rise. The crowd cheered as daylight could be seen beneath the plane. A thousand persons began running, as if they might catch up with him.
By feet, the plane rose, cleared the wires, tree tops and houses.
“God be with him,” murmured Commander Byrd.
“He’s off,” shouted the crowd.
Five planes left the ground in rapid succession and followed this lone man as he sped away.
Lindbergh’s plane grew smaller and smaller. Then its silver gray wings merged into the morning clouds.
Charles Lindbergh called “Slim” and “Lucky” by his friends was away on his supreme adventure alone.
For the next 30 to 40 hours, he hopes to sit there unable to rise, his hands on the controls, his eyes on the instruments, unable to see except thru uncertain periscopes, and with only the monotony of the restless Atlantic beneath him and the hum of his motor to hear.
A few moments later five planes, including Commander Byrd’s Fokker, were off as an escort of honor. The first to return told of Lindbergh’s passing Port Jefferson. A little later Arthur Caperton, a Curtiss flyer came back. He reported:
“He was going fast and every cylinder of his engine was hitting perfectly. He must have been making better than 100 miles an hour.”
His course took him up Long Island sound, toward the end of which the morning fogs were giving way to a bright, clear morning. Then he planned to head for Cape Race, Newfoundland, flying a straight course if weather favored it, but otherwise going out to sea or inland, high or low, wherever conditions were best.
From Cape Race, Lindbergh planned to describe a great circle, leading in a curve into the north where it might be cold and dreary and then down over Ireland, England and then to Paris.
If luck is with him, Paris will welcome the first man to fly from New York to France, sometime late tomorrow.
“I will probably go to sleep,” was Lindbergh’s promise on what he would do when and if he gets there.”
Study Suggests Kitties and Their Humans have Similar Purrsonalities
IN THE MEWS
LIVERPOOL, UK. Ever noticed that dog owners and their pets look alike? (It’s the stuff of nightmares, isn’t it?) Well a recently study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, found a correlation between cats’ personalities and their humans’.
Researchers asked 126 humans to score their own personality traits as well as the questions about Fluffy’s temperament. (I’m somewhat offended that they didn’t quiz the kitties themselves.) The questionnaire asked about three of the human’s Big Five traits (agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism), dominance, impulsiveness, the Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy). It also asked about human satisfaction with their feline housemate. The cat section assessed the Feline Five (agreeableness, dominance, extraversion, impulsiveness, neuroticism). Humans who showed to be highly dominant were more likely to live with dominant, impulsive, extroverted, and neurotic cats, while impulsive humans frequently saw their own impulsivity in their Fluffies.
Like Their Kitties
Cats described by humans as dominant, neurotic, and impulsive were more likely to live with humans who scored higher on the Dark Triad traits.
“Dominant cats are greedy, defiant, and aggressive and bullying towards people/other cats, which could be attractive to potential owners who have similar tendencies in their own social interactions,” the study suggested. “Impulsive cats are excitable and erratic, which could be pleasing to impulsive owners.”
The researchers concluded that humans are drawn to cats who reflect their own personalities, or are more likely to keep a kitty who’s similar to them.
If this is true, why won’t my human go rat hunting with me?
You can read the study, “The purrfect match: The influence of personality on owner satisfaction with their domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus)” at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328430244_The_purrfect_match_The_influence_of_personality_on_owner_satisfaction_with_their_domestic_cat_Felis_silvestris_catus
About the Author
JeffyJeffy BadBoy is a rescued kitten with a nose for news. His unique talent has qualified him to be the official journalist for Stupid Gravity Press. Follow Jeffy’s Daily Mews on Facebook and Instagram.
Martin de Porres Patron Saint of Treks & Vets
St. Martin de Porres
Patron Saint of Veterinarians, Rescuers, People of Color, Television, Hair Dressers & Trekkies
What do veterinarians, people of color, Trekkies and hairdressers have in common? In times of need they can all call upon St. Martin de Porres. He is one of the coolest saints around. The Dominican brother is recognized as the first black saint from the Americas.
Officially, he’s the patron saint of barbers, hair stylists, innkeepers, Mexico, black people, people of mixed race, Peru, poor people, public education, public health, and television (yes, the boob tube). He stands for interracial and social justice and racial harmony. (Certainly use his intercession with today’s racial strife.) People also invoke his name for protection from rats. Unofficially he represents veterinarians, Trekkies, holistic healers and people who are bullied.
Juan Martin de Porres was born 435 years ago today, on Dec. 9, 1579, in Lima, Peru. He was the illegitimate son of a woman of color (a freed Panamanian slave) named Ana Velázquez and the Spanish knight, Don Juan de Porres. Papa never married his baby mamma, and wasn’t proud that little Martin inherited his mother’s dark complexion. The “nobleman” abandoned his family three years later, after the birth of their daughter, Juana. What a guy! After Dad disappeared, poor Ana struggled to feed her kids by taking in laundry. Eventually Don Juan stepped up and sent his son to a primary school for a couple of years, after which 12-year-old Martin apprenticed as a barber.
As a trainee, he learned more than how to coif a mullet and sculpt a soul patch. In those days, barbers’ finely honed blades also opened veins for cozy sessions of bloodletting. Martin learned to perform surgeries, dig out ingrown toenails, lance boils, set bones, dress wounds, treat disease and compound medicine from herbs. The training gave him the ability to care for the sick and destitute without charging a fee.
Just like Mr. Spock, St. Martin de Porres was able to be several places at once.
When he turned 15, Martin entered the Holy Rosary Dominican Priory in his hometown. At that time, Peruvian law prohibited descendants of Africans and Indians from becoming full members of religious orders. So Martin wore the monastery’s habit and performed worked in the infirmary as a barber-surgeon as well working on the farm and performing menial tasks in the kitchen and laundry.
In and outside the convent, Martin became known for his miraculous cures; he treated noblemen and slaves alike without regard for their race or social status.
When he turned 24, Martin took charge of the friary’s infirmary, where he worked until he died. He opened a children’s hospital for kids living in the slums and the Orphanage of the Holy Cross. Eventually the Dominicans ignored the racial restriction and allowed Martin to take vows as a Dominican brother.
A Real Dr. Doolittle
St. Martin’s compassion wasn’t restricted to humans. He was a 16th-century Dr. Doolittle, with the ability to communicate with animals. Like St. Francis, Martin treated animals as if they were brothers and sisters. Only a Hannibal Lecter would chow down on his family, so Martin never ate meat. Centuries ahead of his time, the barber-turned-veterinarian treated sick and injured cats and dogs at his animal hospital set up at his sister’s home in the country. He also founded a shelter for stray pets.
While officially St. James the Greater, St. Eligius and St. Blaise are the patron saints of veterinarians, people with sick kitties and poopy pooches might want to have a conversation with Martin de Porres. After all, this guy was a practicing vet.
Of mice and Martin
Even potentially plague-carrying vermin benefited from St. Martin’s mercy. A mischief of mice set up housekeeping in the priory’s linen wardrobe. (And we know, nothing conveys the concept of “holy” like altar linens covered in mouse poop.) The monks wanted to poison the furry invaders, but St. Martin had other plans. Reminiscent of St. Francis’ negotiations with the killer wolf of Gubio, Martin simply promised not to promote the mice to Glory if they would relocate to a little den at the end of the garden. Martin even offered to cater their meals. Then, in a Peruvian version of the Pied Piper, he led Mickey’s cousins to their new digs. The mice stayed away from the linens, and Martin kept his part of the bargain.
Beam me up, Marty
Martin is the official patron saint of television and (appointed by me) unofficial saint of Trekkies. Stick with me on this.
While Martin wanted to serve as a missionary, this was not to be. But stories persisted describing Martin visiting those in need through bi-location (meaning he could safely fold clothes in the laundry in Peru while treating a patient in Algeria).
Five centuries before Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott was a gleam in Gene Roddenberry’s eye, Martin managed to transport himself around the globe. The word “television” means “vision from afar” in Greek. A man who bi-locates certainly represents that concept.
You might wonder if being in two places at the same time has something to do with those herbs he learned to compound in barber school. Probably not. The claims of his visitations came from the people he helped. Even though Martin never left Lima, people said the saint appeared to them in Algeria, China, France, Japan, Mexico and the Philippines.
Locked doors couldn’t keep Martin from caring for the sick. During an epidemic, sixty novice friars living in a locked section of the convent fell ill. Several of them reported seeing Martin pass through locked doors like Captain Kirk in the “Tholian Web.” These claims were even verified by monastery superiors.
In icons, St. Martin is usually depicted along with a cat, dog, and a mouse eating from the same bowl. He’s also associated with a broom (because of his love of manual labor), a crucifix, a rosary and/or a heart.
Nov. 3, 1639, Martin teleported from his corporeal body for the final time. He died of quatrain fever at his beloved Rosary Convent at the age of 59. The man who was rejected by society, and even his own father, was carried to his resting place by church prelates and noblemen. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1962.
So next time you go to the vet, feel bullied, or watch a rerun of Star Trek, you might have a conversation with St. Martin de Porres. After all, he communicated with animals and bilocated to exotic places. He’s not likely to let a little thing like a grave come between him and someone in need.
If you want to learn more about this amazing man, visit Saint Martin de Porres – Patron of Social Justice.
The Christmas Dragon: A new Christmas Classic
The Christmas Dragon: A Christmas Fantasy
Stupid Gravity Press is thrilled to announce the release of the next children’s Christmas classic, The Christmas Dragon by Richard Hazlewood.
Snow-Wing was an ordinary dragon, living in a cave above a clearing. Like all dragons, when people first encountered the massive creature, they feared him. One day, he was called upon to do something mighty, something that would change not only his life…but human history.
The Christmas Dragon is the perfect book for young readers, aged 9-12 or for parents to share with younger children. Buy the paperback for only $7.99 or Kindle for $2.99 from Amazon.com.
What authors are saying about The Christmas Dragon
“Richard Hazlewood creates a sweet and simple fable for early readers in The Christmas Dragon. Anyone who thinks life lessons can’t be learned from a young dragon finding purpose from his encounter with an even younger Jesus will be converted by this gentle creature’s tale.” ~Carole Nelson Douglas, USA Today bestselling author of the Midnight Louie feline PI mysteries
“The Christmas Dragon blends Christianity and fantasy in a sweet retelling of the Baby Jesus and one of his most devoted followers.” ~Cat Rambo, author of The Tabat Quartet Series
About Richard Hazlewood
Richard Hazlewood has a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering. He spent eight years in the US Navy operating nuclear reactors on submarines. Richard has written more than a dozen supplements for various RPGs including the award-winning The Space Patrol for Traveller. The Christmas Dragon is his first fiction book. He has two children and three grandchildren. He lives in Texas with his wife and three dogs. Visit him at www.xmasdragon.com
Cat Halloween Costumes–Or 4 Ways to Embarrass Your Pet
By Jeffy Jeffy Bad Boy Cat Halloween Costumes
Cat Halloween Costumes
Halloween is a scary time for cats. Yes there are horrible wackos out there who want to do unspeakable things to kitties, but there’s also a threat closer to home—namely, home. It’s time for kitty costumes. All over the country cat (and dog owners) are purr-using the internet looking for “adorable” cat Halloween costumes for their future-formerly dignified pets. In an attempt to combat this, kitties use the computer keyboard as a treadmill hoping to block access to online costume markets. Unfortunately that strategy didn’t work at my house. The human still managed to get a hold of contraband pet clothing from PetKrewe.com and so the embarrassment begins.
I admit, unlike the other members of the household, I was too young and naïve to realize what was happening. The other kitties hid (which run did not save them from humiliation). One minute I was happily hanging out, the next I was shanghaied and inducted into the navy.
Since my dignity is now resides in the bottom of the trashcan beneath yesterday’s litter clumps, I may as well come out of the costume closet.
One final note: No cats were harmed in the taking of these photographs, we were, however, abased and embarrassed. I wasn’t a fan of the hats at first, but after a lot of treats I finally got used to them. The human posted these shots cuz they’re funnier. (All the costumes below came from PetKrewe.com except for the prisoner costume. They cost around $15.95. There’s info about the costumes at PetKrewe.com)
Hello Sailor
As they ask in the military, “With all due respect, are you crazy?” I have to admit, I look hot in Pet Krewe navy dress whites for cats and small dogs. Although officers might gripe that I’m out of uniform, I didn’t mind the Anchors Away look once we lost the hat.
Hopefully I’ll get less time time for good behavior
Somehow this innocent mug of mine wound up with the name Jeffy Jeffy Bad Boy. So the human decided I should model this little ditty because of my propensity to get into things she says I shouldn’t. I look good in stripes, don’t you think? This Lighthouse prison costume for cats and small dogs comes with a hat (which I refused to wear.) It costs under $10.
It’s a pirate’s life for me Cat Halloween Costumes
Yo ho, or is it “yoohoo”? Burt the dog works this striking Pet Krewe pirate ensemble complete with hooked hands and a pirate hat. It comes in small, medium and large sizes. Just add your own eye patch.
I’m not lion; it’s the mane event
Cats are actually related to the King of the Jungle, not dogs, but Burt sports a lion’s mane that could make a canine want to purr. The Velcro™-style strap holds secure. Doesn’t it make you want to kiss his nose…or not. Available in small sizes for kitties and medium and large dogs.
Pet Krewe had a cute shot of their kitty.
Notable 2017 Animal Deaths
Last week I listed the celebrities, scientists and cool people who left behind their earthly shell in 2017. We lost not only human celebrities, we also said goodbye to numerous animal superstars. From wrong-way snails to an influential feline politician, here’s the list of 2017 notable animal deaths.
January
Jan 6 Tilikum (December 1981 – January 6, 2017), nicknamed Tilly, was a 35-year-old captive orca, literally a killer whale. He was involved in the deaths of three people: a trainer at the now-defunct Sealand of the Pacific, a man trespassing in his tank at SeaWorld Orlando, and a SeaWorld Orlando trainer. Tilikum died from a bacterial infection.
Jan 10. AJ. Oldest aardvark in the United States has passed away at the Philadelphia Zoo. The 28-year-old male aardvark died from age-related heart failure.
Jan 12 Tuna, percussionist for the Rock-Cats of the Amazing Acro-Cats. A rescue kitty, she joined the group in 2011. She lost her battle with oral cancer.
Jan 17. Colo, the oldest living gorilla in captivity. (December 22, 1956 – January 17, 2017) A western gorilla, she was also known as the first gorilla to be born in captivity anywhere in the world. She celebrated her 60th birthday less than a month before her death. The Columbus Zoo reported that Colo died in her sleep.
February
Feb 9. Packy, a 54-year old Asian elephant. (April 14, 1962 – February 9, 2017) He was the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest male Asian elephant in North America. Packy was also one of the tallest elephants in the U.S., with a shoulder height of 10 feet 6 inches and overall height of more than 12 feet. Packy was euthanized after being diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Feb 10. Royal Delta. The 9-year old racehorse died from foaling complications.
Feb 13. Lucky Pulpit. The 16-year old racehorse died of a heart attack.
Feb 19. Charismatic. This 20-year-old 1999 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner died of pelvic hemorrhage.
Feb 21. Long John. (2010 – February 21, 2017) The 6-year old Professional Bull Riders 2015 World Champion Bull became ill and died before surgery could be performed. Long John came in 50th in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Animals of 2016.
Feb 26 Cabral (2001 – 2017), also known as “JP”, was a gold medalist dressage horse. He was also a Paralympic gold winner (2012). Cabral was 16 when he was put down after contracting a bacterial infection.
March
Mar 1 Kiki. Rainbolt Test Kitty and cover girl. This cutie appeared in Whole Cat Journal, Catnip and in numerous brochures and product labels. Kiki was euthanized March 1 likely from cancer at the age of 12. Originally Kiki was diagnosed with pancreatitis.
Mar 5. Vince. (22 September 2012 – 5 March 2017) 4-year-old Dutch-born southern white rhinoceros was shot by poachers inside a zoo near Paris, France.
April
April 14. Shepherd Hills Tested. (2008 – April 14, 2017) was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bucking bull of the 2013. In 84 times out of the chute only four cowboys had qualified rides. He died from injuries sustained from an accident.
May 17. Unusual Heat. The 27-year-old American racehorse was euthanized.
May
May 22. Devil His Due was a 28-year-old American racehorse who was euthanized.
May 30 Sam. (7-26-2000 – 5-30-2017) Bottle baby turned acclaimed super model, feline/feline and feline/canine ambassador and all round sweet boy was euthanized one week before his 18th birthday as a result of likely lymphoma. This Rainbolt Test Kitty welcomed every new pet regardless of species by curling up with them on their first night.
June
June 7. Holy Bull. 26-year-old Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1994 American Horse of the Year was euthanized.
June 27. Better Talk Now. 18-year-old racehorse, winner of the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Turf was euthanized.
June 27. Toytown was a 12-year-old British event horse.
July
July 18. Racehorse, Ben’s Cat, 11, was euthanized.
July 20. Pudsey. (28 December 2005 – 20 July 2017) A Border Collie-mix who won Britain’s Got Talent and appeared in Pudsey: The Movie and Mr. Stink died of blood cancer at 11.
July 20. Xanda. The 6-year-old a son of Cecil the Lion (the beloved black-maned lion shot by hunters in 2016) was legally shot by trophy hunters in Zimbabwe.
July 21. Mayor Stubbs (1997 – 2017) the cat has been the honorary mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska since 1997. A political Independent, Stubbs was elected as a write-in candidate in 1997 because of an absence of human candidates. Like many in office, Stubbs had no real legislative power, which is probably why he always did well in the polls. His career had its ups and downs. He was near-fatally wounded by a neighborhood dog in 2013. Although it was touch and go, Stubbs recovered, but was worse for the wear. Before dabbling in politics, the mayor of Talkeetna was the manager of the town’s Nagley’s Store and West Rib Pub & Grill. The Mayor passed in his sleep from natural causes on July 21 at the age of 20 years and 3 months.
July 23. Snooty. (July 21, 1948 – July 23, 2017) The 69-year-old manatee mascot of Manatee County, Florida, and the first recorded manatee born in captivity, drowned.
July 27. Cena N641 was a 10-year old black Labrador retriever bomb detection dog in the US Marine Corps who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan. After leaving the service he became a PTSD therapy dog for one of his Afghanistan handlers. He was euthanized after losing his battle with bone cancer.
August
Aug 9 Shady. This former stray was adopted as a kitten by a woman through Animal Allies of Texas. The woman declawed Shady, then adopted two rambunctious male cats (not declawed) who tormented her mercilessly. At the age of 4 she was returned to the organization declawed and weighing in at 22 pounds. She took up residence with Dusty and Weems and became Weems’ “good buddy.” She participated in a Hills Metabolic weight loss program and lost 6 pounds. Earlier this year Dusty discovered a tumor on her throat diagnosed as hemangiosarcoma. The mass was removed but returned. Shady lost her battle with hemangiosarcoma at the age of 9.
Aug 7. Chantek, a male hybrid Sumatran/Bornean orangutan who learned American Sign Language died of heart disease at 39.
Aug 15. Kasatka. (1976 – August 15, 2017) Kasatka was an orca who lived at SeaWorld San Diego. She was euthanized after suffering untreatable pneumonia at 40.
September
Sept 13. Basi. (1980 – 13 September 2017) The world’s oldest living panda died in China of cirrhosis and renal failure at 37.
Sept 15. Wiarton Willie III. Was a prognosticating 13-year-old albino Canadian groundhog from Wiarton in Ontario who predicted the time of spring’s arrival every February 2, on Groundhog Day. Cause of death is unknown.
Sept 30 BK. This bottle baby came from Lewisville Animal Services with his three sibling at two weeks. Sick as a dog, BK suffered eye damage as a result of feline herpesvirus. Because of his health issues he became permanent Rainbolt Test Kitty. Despite being nearly blind, BK bullied even the largest feline housemate; 15-pound cats cowed in his presence. BK stood for Blind Kitty, Black Kitty, Bully Kitty, Boy Kitty, Baby Kitty. He was euthanized at the age of 12 because of an inoperable mass in his belly.
October
Oct 11. Jeremy was 2-year-old left-coiled sinistral garden snail with a rare genetic mutation that caused his shell to coil counterclockwise. He was discovered in southwest London. Cause of death is unknown.
Oct 12. Grape-kun. (April 16, 1996 – October 12, 2017) was a Humboldt penguin at Tobu Zoo located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, who had fallen in love with a cutout of a character from Anime. He died at the age of 20, which officials said was the end of the Humboldt penguin lifespan.
Oct 14. Inside Information, a 26-year-old American racehorse.
November
Nov 7. Paddles. (2016 – 7 November 2017) The First Cat of New Zealand, a ginger and white polydactyl cat, owned by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, was hit by a car.
Nov 12. Two cats listed in Guinness World Records died of smoke inhalation when their Farmington Hills, Michigan (near Detroit) home caught fire. Arcturus and Cygnus were reported missing and their bodies were found a month later in the basement. The owner tried to locate them during the blaze but emergency personnel forced him to vacate. Arcturus was the world’s tallest domestic cat, measuring at about 19 inches, and Cygnus was the domestic cat with the world’s longest tail, at more than 17 inches.
Nov 14. Little Mama (born between 1937 and 1942, died on November 14, 2017), an African-born chimpanzee was the oldest chimp on record. She died of kidney failure. Her age was estimated to be 79.
Nov 16. Gary the Goat. A comedic performing goat in Australia. Gary the Goat was euthanized at the age of 6 after being diagnosed with bleeding from an acute heart tumor. The body of Gary the Goat was taxidermied.
December
Dec 28 Bettie Bee. Janus (two-faced) kitten died of pneumonia when she was only 18 days old.
Who did I leave off? Tell me in the comments below.
About Dusty Rainbolt
Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released award-winning cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.
Glen Campbell and 2017 Celebrity Deaths Remembered
The New Year has overtaken us yet again. But before we leave last year in the rear view mirror, I’d like to take a few minutes to say goodbye to important folks we lost. Here’s my 2017 celebrity deaths list. There were some real heart-breakers.
Glen Campbell passed away Aug 8. It was like losing a friend. I had the honor of meeting Glen twice—once in 1973 when I was 18 and again in my mid-20s. The first time, my dad took my friend Sharon Fest (Sinkey) and me to a concert at Hemisfair Arena. I was as giddy as, well, a teenage girl.
Glen was on his – game that night and all too soon the intermission arrived. Scanning the arena, I recognized Glen’s parents, Wes and Carrie, in the audience. Dad gave us permission to say hi to the senior Campbells. They were sweet and kind. After a few minutes, I screwed up my courage and asked Wes if he would get my program book autographed. I was shocked by his answer. “No, honey. If you want that book signed, you’re going to have to do it yourself.”
What did that mean? All of a sudden, he smiled at his wife, stood up and pointed to the stairs. I almost passed out. Mr. Campbell took us backstage past the security guards right up to Glen himself. Wes smiled at his son, and Glen smiled back. “There ya go,” he told us. Then he was gone. I was so shocked, I don’t remember thanking him. I hope I did!
Glen in the flesh
Glen was very kind. He autographed the book, joked with us and then posed for a couple of photos. I even got one of me kissing him on the cheek. Woohoo. (I wish I knew what happened to that picture.) Sharon even got to spend a few minutes with Jerry Reed.
Years later I had moved to Dallas with my Future Ex who worked as an engineer at radio station KLIF. We got the word that Glen would be at the studio for a few minutes while promoting his latest album. When Glen arrived, I was waiting. Once again Glen was kind and gracious. Nervously I said the first thing that popped into my head. “This is my second time meeting you.” He could have blown me off, but Glen laughed and said, “For me too.”
Not only was he nice, I loved him because he had a beautiful voice and insane guitar skills. Rest in peace, Glen. Thanks for the memories.
Other 2017 Celebrity Deaths
My upcoming blog will acknowledge the notable animal lost in 2017. Here’s a list of notable people we’ve said goodbye to in 2017:
JANUARY
Jan 8 Pioneer Cabin Tree (also known as The Tunnel Tree) was an American giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California. It was estimated to have been more than 1,000 years old. It measured 33 feet in diameter, but its age and height were unknown. The tree fell and shattered during a storm on January 8, 2017.
Jan 12 Tommy Allsup, guitarist best known for missing the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper on “The Day the Music Died,” died Jan. 12 at 85.
Jan 13 Dick Gautier, who played the robot Hymie on Get Smart died after a long illness at 85.
Jan 16. Eugene Cernan, an astronaut on both the Apollo 10 and Apollo 17 mission died at the age of 82. He was the last person to walk on the moon. I could find no cause of death.
Jan 19. Miguel Ferrer, actor in Twin Peaks, NCIS: Los Angeles and RoboCop, died of cancer at age 61.
Jan 20. Ronald “Bingo” Mundy. The vocalist best known for doo-wop hit “Blue Moon,” died of pneumonia at 76.
Jan 25. Sir John Hurt. (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) British actor known for Alien, The Elephant Man, 1984 and Harry Potter died of pancreatic cancer at 77.
Jan 25. Mary Tyler Moore. The iconic actress best known for her roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Ordinary People. The seven-time Emmy winner died at the age of 80 of cardiopulmonary arrest. Mary Tyler Moore made me want to be a reporter.
Jan 26. Mike Connors. Best known for playing TV’s Mannix, passed away at the age of 91 from leukemia.
Jan 26. Barbara Hale. American actress who played Della Street on Perry Mason and Sarah Demarest in Airport died of complications from COPD at 94.
Jan 28. Richard Portman was the Oscar-winning sound mixer on Star Wars, The Godfather and The Deer Hunter. He died at the age of 83 from complications from a fall.
Jan 31. Rob Stewart (December 28, 1979 – c. January 31, 2017) a Canadian filmmaker known for the movie Sharkwater, drowned a 37.
FEBRUARY
Feb 5. Betty Collette (December 5, 1930 – February 5, 2017). An American veterinary pathologist. She was the only African-American pathology researcher at Georgetown University School of Medicine in the 1950s. Her research focused on hypertension in animals. She passed away at the age of 86.
Feb 7. Richard Hatch. American actor played Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica. He also appeared in The Streets of San Francisco and All My Children. He died of pancreatic cancer at 71.
Feb 12. Al Jarreau. Grammy-winning jazz singer, died Feb. 12 at 76.
Feb 13. Trish Doan. The bassist for metal band Kittie, died at 31. No cause of death could be found.
Feb 25. Bill Paxton. 61-year-old Paxton, who starred in Twister, Apollo 13, Aliens and Titanic, died of complications from heart surgery at age 61.
Feb 26. Judge Joseph Wapner. The real-life judge on The People’s Court TV series, died at 97 of respiratory insufficiency.
MARCH
Mar 1. Gustav Metzger. Auto-destructive’ artist who inspired The Who’s Pete Townshend to smash his guitars. He died at 90.
Mar 6. Robert Osborne. Turner Classic Movies host and film historian passed away in his sleep of natural causes just two months from his 85th birthday on May 3. His body was donated to New York University for medical science.
Mar 17. Lawrence Montaigne. (February 26, 1931 – March 17, 2017) Star Trek fans will remember the 86-year-old actor for his roles of Stonn in “Amok Time” and Decius in “Balance of Terror.” He was also in The Great Escape and Escape to Witch Mountain.
Mar 18. Chuck Berry. American Rock ‘n’ Roll icon and Hall of Fame guitarist, singer and songwriter known for “Johnny B. Goode”, “Maybellene”, “Roll Over Beethoven” died of a heart attack at age 90.
Mar 19. Jimmy Breslin. Pulitzer Prize-winning author of one of my favorite books as a teenager (The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight) died from complications from pneumonia at the age of 86.
Mar 21. Chuck Barris. The Gong Show host-creator and producer of The Dating Game,” died of natural causes at 87.
Mar 23. Alan Colmes. Former co-host of Fox News’ ‘Hannity & Colmes,’ died of lymphoma at 66.
APRIL
Apr 6. Don Rickles. Insult comedian, who reminded me of my Uncle David Rainbolt died at age 90 of kidney failure.
Apr 22. Erin Moran, who played Joanie Cunningham in Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi succumbed to tonsil cancer at the age of 56.
MAY
May 8. Douglas Netter producer of Babylon 5 died at the age of 95.
May 18. Roger Ailes. Television executive, Chairman and CEO of Fox News from 1996–2016 died from a subdural hematoma at 77.
May 23. Roger Moore. He played James Bond in seven 007 movies died at age 89 after a short battle with cancer.
May 30. Elena Verdugo played Marcus Welby, MD’s secretary. She died at 92 of natural causes.
JUNE
June 9. Adam West, TV’s Batman (also Family Guy, Robinson Crusoe on Mars) died at 88 after a short battle with leukemia.
June 15. Bill Dana, 92, comedian, actor and screenwriter (The Bill Dana Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Nude Bomb).
June 16. Stephen Furst of Babylon 5, Animal House, St. Elsewhere died at 63 of complications from diabetes.
June 25. Skip Homeier. Skip appeared in Star Trek as Dr. Sevrin in “Way to Eden” and Malakon in “Pattern of Force.”
JULY
July15. Martin Landau, Oscar-winning actor in Ed Wood and TV’s Mission: Impossible, died of cardiac disease at age 89.
July 21. John Heard. Actor known for Home Alone, Big, Prison Break, died after a cardiac arrest at 72. He was best known for his role as the dad in the original Home Alone movies.
July 27. Stan Hart. The 88-year-old writer at Mad Magazine died as a result of progressive supranuclear palsy.
July 27. Sam Shepard. The Oscar-winning actor, playwright, and 1979 Pulitzer prize winner died at 73 from complications from ALS. I loved his portrayal of Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff. He was also in Black Hawk Down.
AUGUST
Aug 3. Ty Hardin. 87, American actor starred in the TV series Bronco, and appeared in Berserk!, Battle of the Bulge, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, Maverick and PT-109.
Aug 7. Haruo Nakajima. Godzilla is really dead. Japanese actor best known as the man in the painfully hot rubber Godzilla suit who stomped over miniature bridges and buildings of “Tokyo” died of pneumonia in Japan at 88. He starred in Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) and Seven Samurai (1954).
Aug 8. Glen Campbell. Music legend Glen Campbell, Grammy winner, Country Music Award winner died at 81 after a 10-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He sold more than 45 million records, amassed nine Grammy awards, had his own weekly TV show and reached the top of the charts with hits that included “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Wichita Lineman.” He co-starred with John Wayne in one of my favorite movies of all time, True Grit and later starred in another Charles Portis movie, Norwood.
After receiving his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he and his wife bravely shared their painful journey with the world. He even went on a farewell tour and appeared in a documentary which chronicled the progression of the disease. His final album Adiós, was released in June.
Aug 15. Liam Devaney, an Irish hurler died at 82. Don’t know who he is, but I love the idea of an Irish hurler.
Aug 21. Thomas Meehan. Tony Award-winning playwright of The Producers, Hairspray and Annie died of cancer at 88.
SEPTEMBER
Sept 8. Jerry Pournelle. Journalist and science fiction author of CoDominium died at home of heart failure at 84.
Sept 15. Harry Dean Stanton. Actor who appeared in Twin Peaks, Alien, The Green Mile, Big Love died at 91 of natural causes.
Sept 27. Anne Jeffreys. Anne played Marion Kerby opposite her real-life husband Robert Sterling as “the ghostess with the mostess” on the 1950s television series Topper. She was also on General Hospital, and appeared as David Hasselhoff’s mom on Baywatch. Anne “died peacefully in her sleep” at 94.
Sept 30. Monty Hall. Let’s Make a Deal game show host died of congestive heart failure at 96.
Sept 27. Hugh Hefner. Died of cardiac arrest (of course) at 91. Wonder how many STDs he had?
OCTOBER
Oct 3. Tom Petty. The 66-year old American Hall of Fame musician (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Traveling Wilburys) and King of the Hill voice actor succumbed to a heart attack.
Oct 17. Mychael Knight, a third-season contestant on Project Runway, died at 39 possibly from complications associated with irritable bowel disease.
Oct 24. Robert Guillaume. Emmy (1979, 1985), Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor known for Soap, Benson, The Lion King and Sports Night succumbed to prostate cancer at 89.
Oct 24. Fats Domino. The Hall of Fame pianist, vocalist and songwriting rock legend famous for “Blueberry Hill”, “Ain’t That a Shame” and “I’m Walkin’”) died of natural causes at age 89.
Nov 9. John Hillerman, Emmy-winning Magnum P.I. actor died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure at the age of 84. The native Texas was so masterful in his role of Jonathan Quayle Higgins many fans in Great Britain were shocked to learn he was from Denison, Texas. He perfected his English accent by listening to recordings of Laurence Olivier reciting Hamlet.
He once said, “In my humble opinion, Higgins is one of the best parts in all television.”
In Blazin’ Saddles, playing the part of Howard Johnson, he was able to fully embrace his inner Texan.
Nov 12. Wendy Pepper. Project Runway fashion designer “died peacefully on November 12, 2017, surrounded by her loving family” according to her obituary. She was 53. No official cause was given, but there were rumors about stage 4 cancer were circulating around the internet.
Nov. 19. Mel Tillis. Tillis, a regular on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and Country Music Hall of Famer, died of respiratory failure due to diverticulitis at 85.
Nov 19. Della Reese. Singer-actress best known for Touched by an Angel, died 86. Although no cause was given, she suffered from Type 2-diabetes.
Nov 21. David Cassidy. Partridge Family actor-singer and ’70s teen idol, died of liver failure at 67.
Nov 29. Jim Nabors. Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. actor and amazing tenor, died of natural causes at 87.
Nov 29. Willie John Daly, a 92-year old Irish hurler has no official cause of death.
Nov 30. Alfie Curtis. (28 July 1930 – 30 November 2017) British actor appearing in Star Wars, The Elephant Man and Cribb died at the age of 87 of unknown cause. He was best known for the minor role as Dr. Evazan in original Star Wars (1977), the deformed man at the Mos Eisley Cantina whom Luke Skywalker is confronted with Curtis’ line “I have the death sentence on twelve systems.” The confrontation prompted Obi-Wan Kenobi to intervene and resulting in the first use of a lightsaber in combat.
DECEMBER
Dec 6. Conrad Brooks. Actor known for his roles in the Ed Woods’ campy classics Plan 9 from Outer Space, Glen or Glenda, as well as The Beast of Yucca Flats. He died of blood poisoning at 86.
Dec 13. Vanessa Greene, a 63-year-old British-American television producer (Deadly Desire, Our Son, the Matchmaker) and writer (Star Trek: The Next Generation) died of breast cancer.
Dec 21. Bruce McCandless II. McCandless was the first American astronaut to fly untethered in space on STS-41-B. He died at the age of 80. No cause of death was disclosed.
Dec 28. Sue Grafton. The author of “B” Is for Burglar, Keziah Dane and The Lolly-Madonna War died of cancer at 77.
Dec 28. Rose Marie. The actress best known for her role as television comedy writer Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show. (Sally Rogers piqued my interest in writing humor.) She also appeared on The Hollywood Squares and The Doris Day Show. She died of natural causes at 94.
Next week I’ll remember the celebrity animals who passed in 2017.
These are the celebrities who meant something to me. Who would you like to remember? Tell me in the comments below.