The Song Dolly Parton Wrote About Her Beloved Dog
Dolly Parton has an affection toward animals, especially dogs. Since she and her husband, Carl Dean, never had kids, she thinks of her dogs as her children. It’s hard to understand people’s love for their pets, and Parton expressed her love for one of her dogs by writing a song about them.
Dolly Parton wrote ‘Cracker Jack’ about her childhood dog
“Cracker Jack” was recorded in 1973 by Parton, but she never released it until a 2007 re-release of Jolene. The track is titled after a stray dog she befriended as a kid, but it’s dedicated to her family members who have all lost beloved pets. In the book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, Parton explained why she loves dogs so much, and why Cracker Jack was the “best friend” she ever had.
“Your dog always lives in memory. Even though they don’t live as long as people, dogs leave lasting memories,” Parton wrote. “Cracker Jack only lives in memories now, but he was the best friend I ever had; more than that, he was a playmate, a companion with love and understanding. That’s what pets are. They have that unconditional love. You can tell them anything, and they accept it.”
The song isn’t the only way Parton has paid tribute to her beloved pooch. In the Netflix anthology series Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, one episode focused on a woman who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She remembered her dog Cracker Jack, who died while protecting her from a rattlesnake. In the episode, she finds a new dog, right when she needs one in her life.
Parton said another one of her dogs saved her marriage to Carl Dean
Dolly Parton has had several dogs come and go throughout her life. She has loved every single one of them and even has a pet cemetery on her property to keep their memories alive. One dog she had with her husband was a Boston Terrier named Popeye. In an interview with Closer Weekly, Parton explained how Popeye saved her marriage and life.
While Parton has never had a physical affair with anyone, she was emotionally involved with her band leader, Greg Perry. When this ended, she was devastated and contemplated suicide. She stared at a gun until Popeye came down and brought her back to reality.
“I looked at it a long time. Then, just as I picked it up, just to hold it, and look at it for a moment, our little dog, Popeye, came running up the stairs,” Parton explained. “The tap-tap of his paws jolted me back to reality, I suddenly froze and I put the gun down.”
“I kinda believe Popeye was a spiritual messenger from God,” she contined. “I don’t think I’d have done it, killed myself, but I can’t say for sure. Now that I’ve gone through that terrible moment, I can certainly understand the possibilities, even for someone solid like me, if the pain gets bad enough.”
Popeye died a while ago and Parton said it was like “losing a kid.”
“When he passed away, it was like losing a kid,” she said. “[Carl and I] never had children, but we were so attached to that little dog.”
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