Dr.
Willie & dirt
A
treat for fans of Dr. Willie:
E-mails from Clyde
(AKA “dirt”) - since Willie’s 8-05 webpage
creation
8-26-05:
Dr. Willie and I both think his page looks great on the Little
Pearls site….....even though he teaches reading, I had
to read it to him because he has misplaced his glasses.....
dirt
1-18-06:
Yep, Willie is rolling in his laurels, yet doing it with a quiet
dignity. I have been meaning to send out an announcement that
Willie has been approved as an official READ dog (reading education
assistant dog). He now has the badge and all.... it probably
would never have happened if you had not introduced him to
Art Space school......... his little work vest is simply covered
with ID patches and badges.... but of course you know that
for the last 4 years he has been voted as the BEST CREATURE
IN THE UNIVERSE WITH A TAIL. It is a universal honor
bestowed by the galactic committee of greatness.......... dirt-0-matic
6-24-06 after Clyde’s neck surgery:
My dog, Doctor Willie, has been making daily house calls and
giving me therapy…. he is pleased with my recovery but
has not released me from his care. In the past doc Willie
has been opposed to radical surgery, but in my case he has
reluctantly agreed that it was necessary to remove part of
my neck... so I’m just holding up here like a groundhog
and Willie and I are licking my wounds.
I would like to point out that unlike the human doctors, Doctor
Willie has refused to take any money for his services... he's
always on call... he's happy to make house calls... he does not
believe in chemical drugs… and he endorses cuddling unlike
his human counterparts…..
The only thing that bothers me is that he licks his butt just
before treating my condition.... he truly does practice alternative
medicine..... but one must trust his doctor if one is to get
better…. and Willie has obviously pulled me through some
rough times lately… who am I to complain about his methods.....
7-29-06:
I am so happy to hear that things are moving in so many directions
for Little Pearls right now... I told Willie and he would like
to donate a month’s salary again........ so I will be
sending $1.39 to you soon.... Willie is considering retiring
from formal public work...... what with my rehab and recovery
and his aging and bad teeth.... he is scheduled to go to the
vet and get a teeth cleaning soon....... they have to put him
under and scrape his teeth... the problem is that when he was
run over by the truck, his jaw was broken and he can not open
his mouth fully so his back teeth never get any chewing and
cleaning action... it is a habitual problem... anyway, Dr.
Willie is considering retirement and a villa in Costa Rica...............
dirt and dog
8-20-06:
Folks..... my dog Dr. Willie is worried about the economy because
Alpo dog food is up to nearly $3.00 a can..... that is $21.00
in dog money.... also the number of unemployed dogs continues
to rise each month.... single mothers raising pups are increasing.....
homeland security has spawned a host of new leash laws, and
the rabies tax is up.... it's hard to see how this is all happening
considering the fact that EVERY POLITICIAN IN WASHINGTON IS
A DOG.
9-13-06:
There is a little article about me in this issue, September,
of "Our State" magazine... but of course Little
Pearls discovered me first, you are way ahead in spite of your
tiny budget...
9-14-06:
Folks.... this is to let you know that my therapy dog Dr. Willie
will be retiring after more than 30 dog years of medical service
to Memorial Mission Hospital patients and teaching reading
in the Buncombe County schools.... Dr. Willie has worked hard
at his chosen profession and has helped many patients and children.....
but do not fear….
Dr. Willie will continue to practice therapy here at home for
anyone needing it... and of course he is my private therapist,
which keeps him very busy... the demands of medical service are
beginning to be too much for him and he wants to retire to a
simpler life in a rustic cabin in the North Carolina mountains. Former
patients of Dr. Willie may still call on him here at his residence
for private help... if the need arises...
Dr. Willie plans to enjoy his retirement by hunting, hiking,
swimming, and relaxing on the porch... anyone wishing to see
a short video of Dr. Willie in action can go to www.littlepearls.org
and then click on Portfolio... there you will find a piece and
a film about the good doctor...
Dr. Willie has asked me to thank you all for your support of
his medical and teaching careers.... a doctor of Willie’s
caliber only comes around once in a lifetime... for those of
you who don't know, Dr. Willie specialized in neuroscience at
Memorial Mission Hospital. It is there that he made his
rounds and treated people with strokes and brain injuries in
the neuroscience ward.
He was an excellent doctor with an unusual bed side manner....
Dr. Willie always climbed right in bed with his patients and
snuggled up close while licking their hands and face.... not
the usual doctor... Thank you all for your support… Dr
Willie and his helper Clyde
10-28-06:
Folks... I am writing this to you as Dr. Willie’s personal
secretary and valet... for those of you who have not met Dr.
Willie, he is the certified hospital therapy dog that is assigned
to me...... he allows me to also live with him here at piddle
creek farm...
for the last few parsecs of galactic time, we have been hearing
rumors that Willie was again being considered for "best
creature in the universe". And today we were officially
notified via royal galactic envoy that Dr. Willie had indeed
been selected again for an unprecedented 5th time as "best
creature"... this is the first time in more than 3.5678
million earth years, that any creature anywhere has received
this honor 5 times straight...
anyway, we are all excited except, of course, for Dr. Willie
who prefers to not let the local earthlings know about his high
status.... he says that in order to do his doctoring work he
must remain anonymous... in fact most local people think he is
just a little handicapped dog... they rarely know that Dr. Willie
has healed them... in fact I have seen him heal rednecks at the
local store who just bent down to pet the dog... it is truly
amazing how he can make simple minded humans think that he is
just a little ragged dog.
He even wears a flea collar to promote this persona... later
this week, in earth time, the high commissioners of the galactic
alliance will arrive to present Dr. Willie with his new title
and medal... the medal is disguised as a rabies tag so as to
not raise suspicion... it will be my job to feed them all and
get Willie bathed and brushed up... just thought you'd like to
know what has been happening here on piddle creek....... my other
dog George is afraid of strangers and will probably just disappear
for the entire time...
Mac naughty, lowly human valet to Dr. Willie
11-20-06 after learning that Dr. Willie’s Little Pearl
was selected as a finalist in the competition for The MY
HERO Short Film Festival 2006 in Los Angeles:
This made my day, week, month, year... Dr. Willie famous nationwide...
I just informed his honor and he accepted the nomination with
humility and grace… and a very big thanks goes to you
and Little Pearls for making this happen... wow….. humble
leash holder
11-21-06:
I went to the hero website and found out that Dr. Willie is the
only animal even listed as a short film... all other films
are about human heroes.... I have a proposal..... do you really
think Willie and I could attend? If so, would you please
RSVP the film fest and confirm for 2 people just in case you
or I can go. I see that you also submitted two other
films... and I have a feeling that you will win something. If
you confirm our seats, we could always cancel later if we can't
go. I can just imagine you and Dr. Willie walking on
stage to receive the honors... let me know if you confirm,
I will write to the lady and be sure Dr. Willie would be welcome
to attend. Dirt
11-21-06:
Dr. Willie and I are still reeling from the announcement that
his film was selected as a finalist in the fest. The honor
goes to you two. But I have a total big head about it. I
am bragging to everyone about Willie...... his is the only
animal film even considered. What a hoot.... Dr. Willie,
recognized pet therapist NATIONWIDE.
What an honor coming at the time of his formal retirement...
he will leave a legacy for other inspired dogs to follow. His
name and reputation will outlive him and continue to grow to
immense proportions. He is a pioneer for canine rights….
a crusader for the downtrodden and animals everywhere. Perhaps
we can get the preamble to the constitution to be changed, to
read... WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF EVIDENT, THAT ALL CREATURES
ARE CREATED EQUAL. Hooray for Little Pearls. …dirt
and dog
11-21-06:
I think we should all go out to Hollywood and rent a limo to
arrive at the door on the red carpet..... me and Willie have
our hob knobbing boots on already..... Willie can pee on the
red carpet.... what if you were to actually win??? That
might give Little Pearls a real chance to attract some big
time movie money... yeeeeeeeaaaaa.... we could sip cocktails
at the reception... and use all the California buzz words in
small talk over the hors d’oeuvres cart... we could sign
autographs and Willie could give paw prints... we could paint
the town... we could hoot and howl…. Hollywood dirt
11-27-06:
I think it is the true measure of you, Debra and Little Pearls
that your film of Willie is up against those heavy hitters. Especially
since your did it in only 30 seconds, when they are all taking
3 to 4 minutes to get the message across. If the
judges of the film fest are experts, they will see this obvious
difference and realize how exceptional your work is... I looked
at the lengths of all the films involved and yours is the absolute
shortest film in the short film fest... hence you deserve the
prize.... impressed, dirt and dog
11-27-06: EVEN RUNNING ON 3 LEGS, DR. WILLIE IS AT THE FRONT
OF THE PACK.
12-11-06:
Wasn't the short film award on December 15th...that is just a
few days away and no word yet on who the winner is... I thought
they would announce the winner before the event... any idea
what is happening? …waiting with dog breath,
dirt and dog.
12-11-06:
Folks, the awards gala for the short film fest in LA takes place
on Friday and since Hollywood has not sent a limo to pick up
Dr. Willie, we are assuming that he did not win first place. He
will still receive some sort of award for just being in the
top finalists worldwide. I will pass that on to you when it
comes.
The good doctor is unfazed by this decision of the Hollywood
film people. Apparently they are not as sophisticated and knowledgeable
as they presume. Dr. Willie would much rather have the admiration
and appreciation of the little people that he works with everyday. True
honor is earned, not awarded by Hollywood.
Willie and the family here celebrated the news with dinner and
laughs at the silly humans who can't see what a pearl he is...
actually we are all relieved to not have to travel to LA and
sit through a long human awards ceremony... besides, George and
Pip Squeak would not have been invited and Dr. Willie was happier
to share food with his canine friends rather than cocktails with
the big wigs in Hollywood. That shows the true measure
of the dog…. Sitting by the fire, dirt and dog
12-12-06 after learning that the film Dr. Willie was
receiving an Honorable Mention; that Dr. Willie (the dog) was
receiving a Special Hero Award; and that our “tiny film” would
be shown at the award ceremony:
Folks, great news! This morning we were notified that Dr. Willie
has in fact won two awards in the LA short film festival....
as you know he has been in the top worldwide finalists for the
last few weeks. His short film was made by Linda McLean
and Debra Roberts of Little Pearls. The film commission
judges have awarded Dr. Willie’s film an honorable mention,
and it will be shown at the gala in Hollywood on Friday night. The
second award is a personal award for Dr. Willie himself. It
is called the special hero award. And when it arrives, it will
be pasted to Dr. Willie’s wall of fame outside on the front
porch where Willie hangs out... we call that bench Dr. Willie’s
office.
Unfortunately, Dr. Willie will be unable to attend the film
gala in LA due to such short notice and due to the fact that
I can't find any airline that will let him fly in the passenger
cabin. They will only allow him to be caged in the baggage
compartment... and of course I simply refuse to subject an American
film hero to such demeaning treatment.... Dr. Willie will NOT
take a seat in the back of the bus on his way to receive these
high Hollywood film honors. That would be shameful.
So we are boycotting the film fest gala and will receive our
two awards in absentia as a protest to the discrimination that
dogs suffer daily in this American culture. We will celebrate
quietly at home with a dog biscuit or two and a small glass of
wine.
….dirt and dog
