A Dogs Life

It was little more than a year ago that a puppy was brought to the shelter for homeless animals on New York's Upper East Side. At the same time, there was a young man named Tony Schwartz, who lived alone in an apartment on the west side of town.

And Tony decided that what he wanted most in life at this moment was a dog. The CBS Radio Workshop, dedicated to man's imagination, the Theatre of the Mind. Today, the actual story of a dog's life, as shared and recorded on a portable recorder by Tony Schwartz.

It was February 3, 1956 when Tony Schwartz appeared at the information desk of the animal shelter to ask for a dog. An ordinary plane, everyday dog. You have to sign an application here and you go in and look at the dogs and you select something you see and you come out and do your son a lease on it.

When you name and you address, when you come out here you have to show identification of some kind and we fill this out for you. You pay three dollars and make out a license certificate and you take the door home with you.

Tony was passed on to an attendant who took him downstairs to the room where the dogs are quoted. On the way Tony explained he was looking for a nice, quiet ordinary dog. In thinking about a dog, Tony hadn't thought about a particular dog, just a quiet companion to curl up at his feet as he sat in his armchair.

Er, a dog, that's all. But it wasn't that simple. Here there were lots of dogs. Which dog would it be? Finally he saw one that he thought might do. But would this puppy be the one he thought about?