Me and My Dog with Calico Cooper

Calico Cooper is the daughter of rock royalty. In fact, in the eyes of K9 Magazine she is the daughter of the greatest living man on the face of planet earth, Alice Cooper. For those who don’t know, K9 Magazine likes Alice Cooper! Here Calico takes time out of her acting career and role in Alice’s live show to talk to us about Captain Jak, her quirky rescue dog.

1) Tell us about your dog.
*Captain Jak is a rescue dog. He is the classic rags to riches story. He was
found on the Pasadena Freeway, scared to death with one eye, a broken tail,
and a wicked under-bite. Now he lives in a cushy 5 bedroom house in Los
Angeles, has gained almost 4 pounds, and pretty much rules the place!

2) When did you get your first dog and can you remember
what the feeling was like, early days, initial problems, fun etc?
* My very first dog’s name was Lestat. She was our family dog. She was a
beautiful German Shepard, and was very maternal. I used to sleep under the
Grand piano with her, and she treated me like her puppy. If i would wander
too close to the pool, she would grab my dress with her teeth and gently tug
me back toward the house! Once, while we were out of town, someone broke
into our house in Los Angeles. Lestat, who was a gentle giant, had to attack
the burglar to protect the place. The robber stabbed her in the shoulder
with a screwdriver, and without batting an eyelash, she chased him out the
front door, and down Mullholand drive! By the time the police intercepted
the bugler, he was BEGGING them to put him in the car. When we got home, the
police were there, and Lestat was all bandaged up, tail wagging end ever so
happy to see us! She was the best.

3) For a number of years you have toured with the Alice Cooper band playing
various characters on stage, such as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, what’s
the best thing about touring?
*Getting to see the world. I mean, when is the last time you just happened
to be passing thru Austria, or The Netherlands? I have been privileged
enough to get to see the entire world. And there is no price to be paid for
that! Also the wonderful relationships you make. I have become so close with
the 30 guys on that tour, that they are like family. I mean hey, you see the
same 30 faces for 6 months straight, you tend to get attached! Also, i get
to entertain for a living. Its My passion. I am very very lucky.

4) Tell us something about yourself that not many people would know.
* I love Michael Bolton…. heh heh. No, but really, I am a pretty open
person. The biggest surprise about me is how nerdy and girlie i really am.
Despite my rock n roll exterior. Im a big fan of all things nerd worthy. I
know all the words to the movies Ghostbusters, and Labyrinth by heart. Plus
i never wear matching socks… on purpose. Beat that.

5) An average day with Captain Jack would entail…..
*We begin with Waking up to the gentle tug of Jak pulling on my sock to wake
me up. After we get up and get going, i brush his teeth, (that under-bite
makes it hard for him to keep his bottom teeth clean). Then we go run
errands. Everyone in the neighborhood knows Jak, so he is allowed where most
dogs aren’t. In the bank, at the local supermarket, even in the Library! He
loves people, and is a HUGE showoff. His best friend is a pitbull named
….. at the tattoo shop Art To The Bone. They just adore eachother, and
play all day long. Then we take in a little Court TV on the love seat before
heading off to bed! And yes… he sleeps right next to me.

6) Does Captain Jack ever get to come to work with you?
Everywhere but on tour. I get pretty bummed when i have to leave him, but a
Chihuahua would not do well with the schedule we keep, and the climate
changes we go thru. I would never want to put him thru that, because the
full grown men on our tour can barley take it! But any movie set or TV show
i have done, Jak has been there with me. He is quite the conversation
starter if you haven’t noticed.

7) What’s Captain Jack’s favourite place on earth?
*Inside the duvet! At night, he doesn’t just climb under the covers, he gets
INSIDE the duvet, and wriggles down into the corner! But a close second is
under the bed in the guest bedroom. He has a fortress of solitude in there.
He surrounds himself with various odds and ends he deems worthy. Like my
underwear, miscellaneous mail, and pens. Man does that dog love pens…

8: Does Captain Jack ever get to go with you on holidays or trips with you?
*I just got him 6 months ago. Being as busy as i am, Jak and my idea of a
vacation is turning the cellphone off and going to Malibu Beach! I took him
home to my parents once, and in 10 minutes he had everyone wrapped around
his little paw. He is going on his first airplane trip to the east coast in
a few weeks. I am so excited!

9) Have you ever experienced the death of a pet and can you remember
how it affected it you?
* Oh yes. I was on tour in Denmark, and had been gone for some time. A
friend of mine, who is very responsible with animals, had been watching my
cat Magnum for me while i was touring. She noticed he was a bit lethargic,
and took him to the vet. Turns out, he had a stomach tumor that was too far
along to save him from. I was all the way on the other side of the world,
and i had vets calling me on my cell to get the OK to euthanize him. I was
supposed to be home in 5 days, and they said they might be able to keep him
alive till i got back, but that he was in a lot of pain. I had to go on
stage in less that 30 min, and had to make the call. I chose to spare him
the pain over my happiness of getting to see him one last time. I was so
unbelievable devastated. It was like loosing a child.

10) If you had the choice to arrange a dinner party taking three people
(choosing from any era, past or present), who would you choose?
I think Jesus Christ, Groucho Marx, and Peter Sellers. Imagine THAT conversation!
All three reflect parts of me, and any and all advice they could give me
would be much appreciated. I think I’m just jealous because my dad was
friends with Sellers and Groucho. The stories he tells me re assures the
fact that we would get along JUST FINE!

11) What was the reason for Captain Jack’s last trip to the vet and has your
dog ever had any major accidents or illnesses?
*Jak looks like he is a walking accident! But despite his rough start, he is
a very healthy little dog. I took him to the vet a few days ago to get his
papers signed so he can fly wherever i go for the holidays. Jak is very
clumsy tho, he slips and falls at least once a day… and you cant help but
laugh. I think its the depth perception thrown off by the one eye!

12) Does Captain Jack have a favourite toy/food/game/activity?
*Ya, trying to sneak the food off of my plate when i turn my head for a
second. And he thinks he’s soooooo funny when he does it, because if he
succeeds, he will bounce around the livingroom and do a “glory dance”.

13) This is a bit of tough question, what would be your ideal Alice Cooper
band line up?
*Oh man, thats like choosing your favorite child! It can not be done. I have
my favorite guys to tour with, and my favorite guys to work with. The tour
is really separated like that. We only spend 2 hours on stage every night,
but those are the most important hours. That is why we’re there. But The
rest of the time we are stuck in a bus, on a plane, or at a hotel together.
And some people are easy to live with, some people aren’t. You have to be a
special type of person to live like that and maintain friendships!

14) What was the last thing you taught Captain Jack to do?
I just taught him to jump up into my arms. It took him a while to trust me,
but now he is jumping like a kangaroo. This trick is actually a selfish ploy
to not have to keep bending over to get him! The tour takes a toll on my
back!

15) What are your current top 5 most listened to tracks on your iPod?
* Let me check, well, my i tunes SAYS my top tracks are…

Wake me Gently- Alice Cooper
I Want You- Fiona Apple Featuring Elvis Costello
Kiss Yourself Goodbye- Still Standing
Born To Raise Hell- Motorhead
Home Sweet Homicide- Wednesday 13

HA! I had no idea! I love it that the I Tunes program keeps track of things
like what you listen to most. You click on it and are like, “Wow, i listened
to Yanni 84 times this week?! WOW.”

16) What is the funniest thing Captain Jack has ever done or the funniest
thing you’ve ever seen a dog do?
Jak is funny on a daily basis. But, when we were at the dog park last week,
I saw this huge black rotweiler on top of a big hill. He had just done his
business, and was dragging his butt on the top of the hill to finish up.
Well, he got distracted for one second while doing it, and dragged himself
RIGHT off the hill! He slid all the way down this enormous grassy hill, just
tumbling down, and coming to an abrupt halt at the bottom. When he landed he
had the most confused look on his face that you have ever seen! Unhurt, He
then proceeded to attack the hill, barking at biting at it! The entire dog
park exploded in laughter.

17) In your opinion, who do you think is the most under-rated actor (past or
present)? Philip Seymour Hoffman FINALLY got the accolades he deserved. I
was a fan for a long long time before His bigger movies. He did a film
called “Flawless” with DiNiro that floored me. Jim Carry is underrated as a
dramatic actor, and Stanley Tucci never just his just desserts for how
hilarious he is. “The Impostors” is my favorite movie of all time.

18) Tell us a secret from the Alice Cooper tour bus.
After all the blood and glitter on stage… we eat pizza and play poker all
night, all while wearing funny hats/costumes, (i.e.. viking helmets and
Graduation caps) and listening to the most obscure mix of music we can find.
The soundtrack to West side story, various underground garage rock, old
banjo country, and Bee Gee’s lost tracks. We giggle and carry on like
teenagers. Its kind of like a highschool sleepover… for 6 months straight.

19) If Captain Jack was a person, what would be their career of choice and
what would be their motto in life?
Jak would be an opera singer. No small animal i have ever seen has the pipes
that Jak has. Plus he is very high strung, and loves applause! His life
motto would be ,”Im not perfect, but I’m so close it’s scary.”

20) And finally, if Captain Jack had the ability to answer just one
question, what would you ask and what do you think the answer might be?
I would ask him how his life started. You know the time i missed out on.
When i got him he was already one year old. Id ask him about his eye, if he
ever had another owner, how he broke his tail off. You know, maybe i would
just ask him if there was anything I could do to make his current life
happier. But judging from his toothy grin… I’m doing alright!

Author Details
Ryan O'Meara is editor-in-chief of K9 Magazine, the lifestyle magazine for dog lovers. He lives in the East Midlands with his own two dogs, Mia and Chloe. - See this author's webpage

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