February 28, 2008

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Twenty years ago, celebrity photographer and comedian Jimi Celeste would never have considered owning a pet. He was too busy building his photography career.

Today he takes the pictures of starlets like Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lopez, but amidst all the glitz, he says his life wouldn’t be the same without canine companionship.

Back in the 1980s, though, he felt exactly the opposite.

“I never knew what (dogs) were about, why people had them…I never knew how you could connect with an animal,” said Celeste.

But then, in 1988, his roommate decided to surrender her dog Wilma to the ASPCA. Celeste says something clicked in his head and he couldn’t let that happen.

As his roommate readied Wilma for the ASPCA, Celeste said he remembers a sad look in the dog’s eyes, and sympathy washed over him. He knew he couldn’t let her be given up, so he volunteered to keep the dog on a temporary basis.

Celeste learned quickly that with owning a pet, there’s a lot of responsibility.

“I’d come home and (Wilma) would be barking and I hated this dog.”

One afternoon, as he took the pup for a walk through his New York City neighborhood, Celeste says he found out the hard way about the culture of picking up after Wilma.

“This woman walks by and goes, ‘Aren’t you going to pick up after your dog? What do you think this is, Paris, where we don’t pick up after our dogs?’ I’m like, no babe; this is New York, where we mind our own business.”

The roommate kicked Celeste and Wilma out soon after, but the pair stuck it out. For a time, they were homeless, but they kept one another company. Soon after they found a new apartment and Celeste’s career started to take off.

The two spent a lot of time together in the years following. But before long, Wilma grew old, and 10 years after bringing her into his life, Wilma was nearing the end of hers. Celeste had her put down at a near-by clinic. He had spent a decade with the dog, and knew his life wouldn’t be the same without her.

She left Celeste with a new outlook on human and animal relationships, and now, he says he can’t imagine his life without a dog.

Soon after Wilma’s passing, the photographer/comedienne met the pooch that would become his next best friend. Lacie, whose appearance is nearly identical to Wilma’s, was also abandoned.

So Celeste adopted her, and today they are still palling around.

In fact, she now helps him come up with material for his stand up routines. He’s performed the bits at some of New York’s most famous comedy houses, like Caroline’s.

In thanks to Lacie and Wilma’s companionship, Celeste and other comedians organized an event at New York’s Comix Club. The proceeds benefitted the Humane Society of New York and Mighty Mutts of NYC – two no kill shelters. The latter is the group from which he adopted Lacie.

“Sit, Stay and Stand Up” is the event’s name. About a year ago, Celeste trademarked the name in anticipation of repeat performances in years to come. His hopes are to hold an annual fundraiser involving the stand up community with all of the proceeds benefiting HSNY and Mighty Mutts ̶̶ so that animals like Lacie can eventually find a home.

Jimi hopes to spread awareness about no kill shelters.

“They don’t have all the money that the ASPCA has, or Animal Haven. Mighty Mutts doesn’t have a lot of fundraisers – nobody really knows about them,” he said.

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Special contribution made to this story by Matt Van Hoven, Pet Pulse reporter.