Vecca The Show Dog
> Please tell me about the cute dog you had at the the Tyler Texas Show last
> night? I have a dog named Missy who is very well behaved also. I want
> you to know that I really enjoyed the show last night! You all were
> awesome!
> JudithMarie Grimes
Hi, Judy!
Thank you so much for the nice comments!
We just LOVED the wonderful people in Tyler, Texas! They couldn't have
been nicer to us. Thank you for being there.
Randy Sparks has written a song titled "Here Comes Grimes" and I hope we
get to perform it for you some time.
The dog is our mascot and she appears with us every concert that we do
(unless it is on board a ship where they don't allow dogs). Her name is Vecca. Randy
sponsors her meals and housing and I am her trainer. (She's my dog.)
Vecca came to us through a woman who needed us to take care of Vecca,
while the woman needed to go away for a while, and couldn't take her puppy with her.
This was just before we were to drive to Florida for a series of concerts,
and we would leave our vehicle in storage, fly back to California, and then fly back to
Florida for more concerts in another two months. Vecca came with us, because we didn't want to leave her alone.
After about 8 months, the woman came back to say
that she wanted to give us Vecca. (I was totally relieved!)
Vecca's first time on stage was at The Coffee Gallery Backstage, in
Altadena, California. Owner Bob Stane had engaged our smaller ensemble, Randy Sparks, Clarence Treat, and myself. Randy has worked for Bob for 49 years, and was ready to do a solo performance, but invited Clarence and me to help out. Bob took a liking to Vecca at our sound-check, and told us that we really ought to let her share the stage with us that night. We did, and she stole the show. The people LOVED her.
Well, she took to show biz like a duck would take to water! The first
couple of times she wanted to go to the edge of the stage and greet the audience. But I
noticed that I could communicate with her with hand signals to 'stay'. She is a natural!
One night at The Coffee Gallery Backstage we were in the middle of a song
and Vecca had to go for a walk. I noticed her being uncomfortable, and
she started to tap my foot with her paw.
I wasn't playing an instrument in that song, so I placed my hand out in
the 'stay' command and held it there above Vecca. This sounds like I made this up, but we
have many witnesses. Vecca had to go! She hopped up, placed both of her paws on my
outstretched hand, said a little "wolf!" and licked my hand to get my attention. This took place
AT THE SAME INSTANT
that we were singing the words, "and in the language of Lord Byron, I speak and kiss your hand".
IT STOPPED THE SHOW! Bob Stane said that that was
THE BEST SHOW HE HAS EVER SEEN.
Vecca continues to go on stage with us and she is a pro now. She also
looks forward to seeing the people's feet pass by when she is under the autographs table
after the concert. She is a joy to travel with! Vecca still gets nervous when she sees black
plastic bags and suitcases. If I am packing for the road, she will sit on my feet because
she doesn't want me to leave without her. I just love that dog!
Thanks again for being there for us, and for Vecca!
See you next time,
Becky Jo