Minnesota dog to appear on "Dolly Parton's Pet Gala"
BLAINE, Minn. — They say every dog has its day. And Wednesday just happens to be the day for one Twin Cities pup.
Lucille Ball is a 3-year-old model and spokesdog.
"She's a little bit flashy, Maltese in general," said owner Tricia Thompson. "All the outfits against the white is just really pretty."
Thompson says she was originally named after Lucy's close friend, Betty White.
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"I called her Betty for two days and she wouldn't whip her head around or turn or anything. I said 'Lucy' once and she whipped her head around and I thought, 'she identifies as redhead,'" Thompson said.
Lucy also identifies a camera lens with ease. After just one year in the pros, Lucy is the only dog from the Midwest appearing in "Dolly Parton's Pet Gala" on CBS.
"She greeted us, loved every animal there. It was fantastic," Thompson said. "There were 22 dogs, so it was a lot of trainers, a lot of owners with highly-trained dogs (laughs)!"
While Lucy can do plenty of tricks, she's also a therapy animal.
"I really prepped her through obedience and through therapy work," Thompson said.
She was chosen for her ability to work the runway in Dolly's "Doggy Parton" apparel and a handmade costume from one of Dolly's most iconic looks.
"It was hilarious and exactly like Dolly, cleavage included," Thompson said.
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While you'll have to wait for the special to see that look, Thompson shared that Lucy may have loved the cameras too much.
"Dolly has the reading initiative which is awesome, and she was reading to all the dogs on beds. They were all supposed to kind of listen to her. Well, she went from camera A, camera B, camera C and didn't really look a lot at Dolly. But what can you do, they're animals (laughs)!" Thompson said.
As for what's next for this top dog after Lucy's primetime debut?
"Can you top Dolly? You just can't," Thompson said.
"Dolly Parton's Pet Gala" airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
