Bonnett's Bookstore's founder, Harold Bonnett, was a fan of Jazz music and Dixieland Jazz in particular. Bix Beiderbecke was one of his favorite perfomers; so much so that he named one of his dogs after him.
Grandpa had many dogs through the years, but Bix was his "shop dog". They would walk together to and from work every day.
Bix was small and well-behaved enough to not be in the way at the store (back then the shop wasn't quite as crowded as it has become). I don't know if Bix was a mix or not, but Grandpa never worried over pedigree. Like a dog, Grandpa was a good judge of character and took in his pets based on their good attitudes, rather than their Papers.
If you've ever seen the cartoon "The Ren & Stimpy Show", you may have noticed that Ren spoke in a voice reminiscent of actor Peter Lorre. Lorre and Chihuahuas share the facial characteristic of slightly bulging eyes, and many of Lorre's best known roles (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon) were played in a twitchy, nervous, Chihuahua-like fashion. Bix was nervous in the same way. A lot of people compulsively wanted to pet him, but if Bix didn't want to be bothered he'd just walk away; no snipping or yapping. He was a good-natured dog.
Because of a little black and brown dog we were introduced to the work of a very talented musician.
Wednesday 2010/11/03, 7:00 pm, The NEON Movies presents "BIX", a 1991 documentary about Bix Beiderbecke, FREE!
Friday 2010/11/12, 8:30 pm, Gilly's Jazz Club presents Dave Greer's Classic Jazz Stompers' Tribute to Bix Beiderbecke featuring Special Guest Andy Schumm $12.00
