Slidell at , like , a trailer . The décor included … a tractor tire ! Tom played with the litter and the runt came running over and I said , ‘ I wanted a girl but this little boy seems to like me ,’ and the lady says , ‘ You gotta have a biology lesson because that is a girl !’”
Peggy brought unbridled joy to Batt ’ s life . “ She was the sweetest thing ,” says Batt . “ When my mother was dying , Peggy would come up and hug me with her paws on each side ; she intuitively knew . She melted my heart ! Dogs are great therapy for older people and Alzheimer ’ s patients . When my mom had chemo , Dr . Jayne Gurtler had all her dogs in the room with her patients ; these gorgeous chocolate labs were roaming around and it was just this calming , loving space .”
As Peggy got older , the couple wanted a younger dog “ to give her a little joie de vivre ,” says Batt . “ We call our dear friend Lawrence Gobble ‘ Dr . Doolittle ’— he has tortoises , all sorts of dogs , exotic birds , he even had a turkey . This guy in the French Quarter wanted $ 400 for this little shaking ball of matted fur , and Dr . Doolittle said , ‘ I only have $ 40 ,’ and the guy says , ‘ OK .’ We tried to find the owner , but couldn ’ t , so we had him fixed up and he turned out to be a full-bred Yorkie ! His name is Pip and , boy , is he a pip ! He ’ s hysterical and wonderful . Then Peggy passed away ; it ’ s traumatic when dogs go . Now Pip ’ s getting up there , so during the pandemic we went to Zeus ’ Rescues and got Daisy , a Dachshund-Rat Terrier mix , and Tom believes that Daisy is really Dachshund-Rat Terror-ist because she is just , I mean , I don ’ t know what ! She won ’ t leave poor Pip alone .
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