Dogs That Make a Comedian Laugh

I'm a longtime dog rescuer, foster and adopter but it wasn't until this weekend that I realized that some dogs have a superior ability to make me laugh.

My name is Sally and I am a dog-aholic.  It seems I can never get enough interaction with my canine friends.  Owning four dogs and visiting the nearby 65-acre dog park five miles away on a daily basis should confirm anyone questioning how much I just love to be around dogs.  I find them endlessly fascinating and almost always gentle.  And even after this type of daily submersion, I still found myself wandering into a local animal shelter on Saturday imagining that day I could set someone free.

The weather this past weekend was beautiful and after my two trips to the Wauconda Dog Park with my pack I wanted to see more.  I had just fostered a beautiful white pit bull named "Beau" who I had nursed back to health from a severe case of mange.  However, when she began to feel spunky she decided that extra strength could send her to the head of the pack.  After numerous scuffles and eventual attacks, I made it a priority to get her into a dogless home.  Now I was feeling the emptiness of her absence which caused me to head to a nearby animal shelter.  I needed the "fix" of a young dog's exuberant company that would bring me joy like Beau did.

The first dog I brought out to the play yard was a Tree Walker Coonhound known for their gentle disposition and their love of running.  This coonhound had arrived at the shelter three weeks prior after serving two weeks on death row in Southern Illinois where he had been picked up as a stray. To say that this dog, "Beech", was untrained would be a vast understatement.  As I led him to the play yard, he whirled and swirled on the leash, over-powering me at every step.  As I took firm hold of the leash, he scrambled between my legs.  Regarding myself as a sure-footed dog trainer, I couldn't help but double over laughing as I saw my reflection in one of the shelter windows.

When I brought Beech into the play area, he was off like a flash full of energy and excitement.  I wasn't even able to remove the choke chain and leash.  I didn't stand a chance against this boy. For ten minutes he ran like an insane creature who was blinded by the light of day.  I sat on a bench and let him roll. Beech's next trick was to find a ball and throw it to himself endlessly. Throw, jump, catch.  Throw, jump, catch.  Boy would I love to see this guy play in the snow!  With every throw and catch, I burst into laughter and he'd stop and look at me.  It was very apparent he saw himself as a genius fellow who could act, and get a reaction, with every step.

Not to be completely dominated, I did throw in a quick lesson of "sit" - a major feat with this free spirit.  Grabbing a hold of his leash, he threw me off-balance.  The joy in his moves was inspiring.  I hadn't laughed this hard since Beau left our home.

The next dogs I took out for exercise were a gorgeous well-behaved American Bulldog, a snow white senior husky mix who was scheduled for eye surgery and a pitbull/lab mix.  Each dog had fantastic traits in his or her own way but none of them brought me to my knees in laughter.

What quality do these dog-clowns have that is generally under-appreciated by humans?  It has been 24 hours since I saw this wild uncontrollable former stray and I just can't stop thinking about him.  The fact that his presence in this senior pet/cat household would be nothing short of totally insane has yet to deter me from imagining the fun.

Beech

Clean Comedian Sally Edwards Hosts Zanies' "Top Ten"

On Tuesday nights beginning on October 22nd at 8:00 p.m., the best and the brightest Chicago comedians will be taking the stage at Zanies Comedy Club located in the new MB Financial Park at 5437 Park Place, Rosemont, IL 60018.  After spending a few years away from the comedy club scene in order to pursue my clean corporate comedy at special events and women's conferences, I am returning to the Zanies Comedy Club stage in Rosemont, IL to host their special weekly comedy event called "The Tuesday Ten." 

Adding a new performance night at Zanies Comedy Club offers a great opportunity to established comedians to showcase their talents.  Whether comedians are performing new material or old standards the show will rock.  I absolutely love hosting comedy shows at Zanies in Rosemont because the room is intimate yet dynamic. The sound is fantastic which gives an added punch to the very funny material the comedians are delivering.  Hope to see everyone there!

 

Zanies Comedy Club & The Tuesday Ten with Sally Edwards

After spending a few years away from the comedy club scene in order to pursue my clean corporate comedy at special events and women's conferences, I am returning to the Zanies Comedy Club stage in Rosemont, IL to host their special weekly comedy event called "The Tuesday Ten."  On Tuesday nights beginning on October 22nd at 8:00 p.m., the best and the brightest Chicago comedians will be taking the stage at Zanies Comedy Club located in the new MB Financial Park at 5437 Park Place, Rosemont, IL 60018.

Adding a new performance night at Zanies Comedy Club offers a great opportunity to established comedians to showcase their talents.  Whether comedians are performing new material or old standards the show will rock.  I absolutely love hosting comedy shows at Zanies in Rosemont because the room is intimate yet dynamic. The sound is fantastic which gives an added punch to the very funny material the comedians are delivering.  Hope to see everyone there!

Performing at Zanies Comedy Club with Carrot Top - Behind the Scenes

CARROT TOP

          Before Carrot Top landed a very sweet consistent gig in Las Vegas, he took his very funny prop comedy act on the road.  I first met Carrot Top at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago.  Carrot Top was headlining for the week and I was the feature act.

     I knew I had a rough road ahead of me because pre-plastic surgery Carrot Top was a very cute redhead and he already had a huge fan base.  When a comedian becomes semi-famous and draws a crowd, his or her fans do not relish the twenty to thirty minutes they spend watching the feature, or middle act. 

    The room was packed and Carrot Top Fever was in the air. I delivered the best show I could but the impatient crowd did not return my energy.  I felt defeated.  That sense of defeat was amplified when Carrot Top hit the stage.  The crowd went wild with his first “How you guys doin’?”

     Carrot Top can work a room.  Each prop and joke surpasses the cleverness of the one preceding it.  At the time, his piece de resistance was a joke about fellow comedian Pee Wee Herman who had recently been arrested for indecent exposure.  Pee Wee Herman starred in his own funny children’s show even adults enjoyed.  However, he fell out of grace when he was caught playing around in a movie theater – with his privates.

     Carrot Top held up a jumbo popcorn container with a big hole in the bottom and shouted out, “Pee Wee Herman’s Popcorn Box!”  The crowd went wild.  It was a true eruption.  The audience was totally in sync with their comedy hero and it was in stark contrast to the ambivalent way they had welcomed me.

     I wanted to level the playing field.  I decided to play a joke on Carrot Top during the second show scheduled for that night.

     Following Carrot Top’s awesome performance, he chatted with fans and then made a beeline for the second floor green room where he could rest, relax and gather his thoughts for the second show.  Carrot Top did not watch my show and I decided to take advantage of that fact.  He would not know what I was planning while on stage.

     The second show started and I was met with the same ambivalence as the first.  They wanted Carrot Top.  I decided to get in on Carrot Top Fever.

     Because he left his trunk full of props on stage I had access to Carrot Top’s entire act.  I opened the trunk and saw the giant popcorn container with the hole in the bottom.  I held it up to the audience I said, “This is one of Carrot Top’s favorite jokes.  Let’s play a trick on him.  When he holds up this container and says, ‘Pee Wee Herman’s popcorn box ‘(big laugh), don’t make a sound – not a sound!”  I could see the delight in the faces of Carrot Top’s fans.  Everyone loves a good joke.

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     Carrot Top was at his best.  The crowd was with him and he was getting ready for the kill.  He reached into his trunk of wonders and pulled out the popcorn container.  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said in a booming voice, “Pee Wee Herman’s popcorn box!”  ….  Silence…. Not a sound!  “Ladies and gentlemen – Pee Wee Herman’s popcorn box!” he shouted again.  Nothing!  The Carrot Top fans were pulling through for me!  I was stunned, delighted and even a little bit scared (of who might be kind of upset!) 

     “Ladies and gentlemen,” Carrot Top said as he stooped forward toward the crowd, “What don’t you guys get?  This is funny.  Really.  This is funny!  How can you not laugh at that?” Carrot Top held it up one last time, waved it around and dejectedly gave it a long toss into his long black trunk.

     Facing a sea of Carrot Top fans, his loyal audience let me into their circle to have some fun that night. Carrot Top demonstrated great sportsmanship when he found out the audience was in on the joke.  He took it all in good spirits and that night he was generous enough to let everyone share in the spotlight.

Humor Book - Comedy Mom! My Funny Stand-up Life! by Comedian Sally Edwards

My book is published!   Now on my site for purchase - soon to be on sites worldwide!

Comedy Mom!  My Funny Stand-up Life

Available at ComedyBySally.com

"Comedy Mom! My Funny Stand-up Life" by clean female comedian Sally Edwards is a very funny and inspiring book about parenting and stand-up comedy. Sally Edwards is a mom and comedian who overcomes paralyzing stage fright by discovering hilarity in the raising of her own children. Experiencing an unsettling childhood, Sally Edwards lives her teenage years at an all-girls' Catholic boarding school where she first discovers she has a gift for making people laugh. The birth of Sally's three children with Zanies' Comedy Club Executive Vice President, Bert Haas, inspires a wealth of funny stories with a positive and uplifting message!