Enjoying the Fruits of Well-Coifed Celebrity

Peaches, the dog, is having her 15 minutes of celebrity. That’s the 15 minutes promised to all of us by the late Pop artist Andy Warhol. It is probable that Warhol was talking about people--not small, taffy-colored dogs--but Peaches has never known the difference.

It started about a month ago when I mentioned that she had been given a short summer haircut by Beverly, the lady who presides over a dog grooming shop called the Silver Poodle.

This shearing of her Rapunzel waves occurred because I had not been brushing her clear down to the skin. Her undercoat is like the fleece on wind-buffeted sheep in the west of Ireland. In order to brush through it, I have to pull her hair, which displeases her and causes her to scream. Thus, I had been just sort of smoothing the long top hairs.

I should have realized that this would lead to a Marine recruit’s haircut. Candy, the collie who comported herself like a duchess and had a head so aristocratic and fine it should have graced a coin, had the same kind of undercoat. Candy was so well insulated, she used to take naps in the rain.

Candy never had to have that kind of haircut, probably because she was just too grand to tangle. Peaches, however, does not have the fine breeding that Candy did. She is dear and pretty and sweet but was probably planned by a committee. There was a rumor that her mother was a bichon frise but it has never been verified. She comes from a long line of small, wavy long-haired dogs who practiced spontaneous, unsupervised breeding.

My remarks about Peaches’ haircut and her subsequent embarrassment have caused a small dustup among San Gabriel Valley dog owners. Obviously, there are dozens of people in the area who have dogs who have had to wear their hair as short as Peaches and for the same reason. These dogs also were aware that they were not properly covered, slunk around with shoulders hunched and wore sad, lopsided grins until their fur grew back.

A surprisingly large number of their owners have called Beverly and talked to her about summer haircuts for their dogs. “People have walked right into the shop with their dogs and asked, ‘Is this where Peaches gets her hair done?’ ” Beverly told me.

She has even received fan mail, which she shared with Peaches. She showed me one letter from Betty Young who lives just a couple of blocks from us on Linda Vista. The letter is really to Beverly but it mentions Peaches:

“Dear Beverly,

“Nice to have a celebrity for my Beau’s grooming! Hope Peaches did not leave many fleas.

“Fondly, Betty Young and Beau.”

Of course, Peaches has no fleas right now. She just had a bath. I don’t think it was much trouble for Beverly. Peaches’ hair is still so short, it’s like washing your hands.

When Beverly told me about the telephone calls and letters from clients and friends and strangers, she said, “You know, people are really so into their animals. They really want to be sure of good care.”

One man, a well-dressed executive type, walked in carrying a small Llasa Apso. Those are those little dishfaced dogs who rather resemble Pekingese. He asked if he were in the grooming establishment that Peaches visited. When Beverly said yes, he held the small dog up and said, “It’s going to be just fine. You be a good boy and Daddy will be right back.”

Beverly was right. People are soft-headed about their animals. On the other hand, dogs give love and loyalty in unstinting supply. And at the end of a day when absolutely nothing has gone right and someone has kicked all the points off your star, your dog will assure you that you are the most wonderful person in the world and that things will be better tomorrow. Often, they aren’t a bit better, but it’s a new day--and maybe it’s the day you’ll do it right, find the mistake, get over your colds, or hear from an old love who vanished at the end of your junior year.

I bought a new brush for Peaches, which goes deeper into her fur, and I’m really going to try to brush her properly, although it bores me and annoys her. Maybe she’ll get some more fan mail.