Culture
Hollywood Actor Adopts Perry County Hound Dog
By: Bill Rockwell | Perry County Tribune staff reporter
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Making it to Hollywood takes hard work, networking, or riding another’s coattails. One former resident of Perry County used all.
Actor David Arquette adopted a basset hound from the Perry County Dog Shelter in November. He and his girlfriend Christina McLarty had been shopping for a basset and decided to find one through a dog rescue program.
The couple chose Last Day Dog Rescue in Michigan. The program there scouted out a hound that was staying at the Perry County Shelter and the match was made.
“He was looking for a dog and wanted a basset,” said Perry County Dog Warden Matt Everett. “The rescue called our shelter. They are always looking to adopt out of here and said that they had a good home for one of our dogs.”
Everett said it took four days to unite the couple with their new co-star (named Dallas), the shelter has a policy of holding strays for three days, when the owner did not return looking for the basset it was eventually transported to meet with the actor and his fiancée in Michigan.
“It is astonishing to think that Dallas was on his last day and now he is living a very nice lifestyle in sunny California,” said Pamela Peterson, Last Day Dog Rescue president. Peterson said that McLarty grew up with basset hounds, prompting the couple’s search for the specific breed when looking for their new pet.
“The basset hound is a loveable dog,” Everett said. “This one wanted to stay on the porch of a local elderly couple. It just wanted a home. They are an older couple and didn’t want to take it in. Dallas is a cheerful dog and now has a good home.”
The local dog shelter works toward placing stray dogs in new homes, matching with different rescue groups including one called Stop the Suffering from Newark. The group helped transport the local basset to his rendezvous with Arquette in Michigan.
The animal networking has helped turn Perry County into a non-kill dog shelter. Everett said that in the last year the shelter had to put down three animals, all for health-related issues, and that all the other animals last year were adopted, most through the network. So far this year, no dogs have been put down at the local shelter.
“I think it’s great that these people can reach out to different places and find what dog they can adopt. Like a car, you can go online and find one. These are dogs that need good homes and I’m glad that people can go online and get these dogs,” Everett said. “I like Arquette’s movies, I think he is a good actor and I know the dog will be taken care of the rest of his life because (Arquette) is a dog lover. I would feel happy with a normal person doing the same thing, whether a movie star or whatever.”