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At around 3:00am, the dog barked and "literally banged on their
bedroom door," stated Ms. Barrymore's spokesperson. Some
viewed the heroic act as payback for an act of kindness years
ago. A friend of the family described, "Drew
rescued Flossie from a flea market in Pasadena years ago and Flossie
returned the favor."
Thanks to the alert canine, everyone made it out safely before the
inferno gutted the home, causing $600,000 damage. Immediately
following the disaster, Drew and Tom granted a five second interview
to reporters on the scene.
Reporter: Are you OK?
Drew: Oh yeah. We're great.
Tom: Other than the fact that THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN. OH NO!
Drew: [Laughing] And, uh, let's see what else...
Tom: Oh... THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN. OH NO! [Drives off.]
1
Now, 22 months later, with the 3,600-square-foot home rebuilt, Ms.
Barrymore thought it would be fitting to give it to Flossie.
"Drew and Tom love that dog more than anything in the
world," said a family friend. "They want to know she'll
always have a roof over her head."
Flossie's dog house might be the only one in the world
that has two floors, indoor plumbing and a "people
door" so that humans can let themselves out.
(Photo of Flossie and Drew: Diary
MTV) |
Heir of the Dog? MIAMI, Fla. (USA) — Who's
the richest dog in the world? In 1999, a German Shepherd named
"Gunther IV" made headlines as "the richest dog in
the world" when he made a bid to purchase Sylvester Stallone's
$27.5 million dollar waterfront estate. It was a hoax. But
Gunther IV sure did fool a lot of people, including the Guinness
Book of World Records (1998) and several newspapers. The
legend was that a German Countess, Karlotta Liebenstein, had
left $65 million to "Gunther III", and by the time it was
passed on to IV, it had amassed to "at least $200 million."
2 WSVN-TV's Charles
Billi soon exposed the hype to be nothing more than a publicity
stunt. A year later, Gunther IV and his trustees were said
to have purchased Madonna's former estate. "Same dog.
Same gimmick. Different mansion," reported the Miami
Herald.3 
This photo of Gunther IV and his cohorts was shamelessly
stolen from the "Gunther Corporation". (Maybe
they'll sue us, and we'll get some free international
publicity.)
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"The Sun'll Come Out to Mutt Row"
 ATLANTA, Ga. (USA) — Money
alone does not make a dog wealthy. Sometimes fame and friends—and, oh yeah, a last-minute stay of execution—can define a real
wags to riches story.
When volunteers at the Southern
Hope Humane Society (SHHS) heard that there was a casting call for a dog
in the musical production Annie, they knew the perfect mutt
for the job. With two days to go before E-day (euthanasia),
SHHS volunteer Lara Greisman went down to Bartow
County Animal Control and picked up a shaggy shelter dog to audition for the
role of "Sandy", Little Orphan Annie's pooch.
Barmbuster Musicals' director Kathy Manning recognized the dog's talent right away,
and a scruffy star was born.
"She's just wonderful—a precious baby," Ms. Manning
said just before opening night this month. "She comes on cue and
does what we want her to do. She is going to steal the
show."
"Sandy" will remain with Ms. Greisman until the play
closes Jan. 4, after which the canine celebrity will be available
for adoption. For more information visit the Cobb
Community Playhouse.
UPDATE Dec 30, 2002
Daddy Warbucks Adopts Sandy
Last weekend, amid sellout crowds and throngs of admirers, Sandy
found a home. Fittingly, it was the man who played Daddy
Warbucks who made the bid to adopt the ex-shelter dog.
But if you really had your heart set on your own shelter-mutt-gone-musical,
don't give up just yet. A spokesperson for Barmbuster
Musicals told The Scoop, "There will certainly
be another from us—we'll
be looking for a canine thespian to play Toto in The
Wizard of Oz come July, and
we certainly know where to look
now."
"Little Orphan Annie" first
appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1924.
In a 1925 episode, Annie rescues a small
pup being teased by a group of boys behind Mrs.
Bottle's store. The pup is a sandy-colored mutt, part
Airedale, part Collie (later expanded to "dozens o'
breeds!") who, over the next 80 years, repeatedly
rescues her benefactress from crooked politicians, gangsters,
ghosts and Nazis. To date, the pooch has never uttered
a word other than "ARF!" and, like the other
characters in the strip, has never found her missing
eyeballs.4
As soon as Daddy Warbucks shuffles off,
Annie and Sandy will inherit the estimated $10 billion
Warbucks estate. If it's a fair split, that would make
Sandy worth $5 billion and the second richest (fictional)
dog in the world.
Who's the first? Richie Rich's dog
"Dollar" is the only known heir to Richie's $24.7
billion fortune.5
Sources:
4
BARKER, Kenneth.
Excerpt from Nemo, Classic Comics #8,
Aug 1984.
Fantagraphics Books
via The
Official Little Orphan Annie Home Page.
5
NOER, Michael & ACKMAN, Dan. "America's Richest: The
Forbes Fictional Fifteen", 13 Sep 2002. Forbes
Magazine.
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Coincidence
or Fate?