Advocate for animals
‘When Lucky passed away, I realized that music could do something for the animals,” Jamie Glaser said, smiling.
On April 6, 2007, Glaser’s heart was broken. Lucky, his pet chinchilla, died after undergoing surgery.
For 10 years, Lucky, a three-legged chinchilla, and Glaser were inseparable.
He discovered chinchillas — and Lucky — while staying at a friend’s house. His friend had two, one of which was Lucky.
He quickly became obsessed with the nocturnal, rabbit-sized rodents.
“I wouldn’t go to sleep,” he said. “I’d just stay up and watch them.”
One morning he looked in the cage and found Lucky’s brother dead. He got on his knees in front of the cage and talked to Lucky.
“I told him ‘I know you’re sad and lonely.’ ” There must’ve been something in his voice because Lucky jumped from the top of the ladder and in to Glaser’s arms and started to whimper.
“It was like Lassie,” Glaser said. “That night I took him into my bedroom and we were never apart after that.”
Glaser, of Saratoga Springs, is a well-known musician. His work has been heard on TV shows such as “Seinfeld,” “Saved by the Bell” and “Who’s the Boss.” His entertainment life took him all over the country. But he was never without his three-legged companion. He took Lucky everywhere. When Glaser was a guest on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Lucky was in the dressing room waiting for him to return.
He once watched a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals video documenting the process of ripping off a chinchilla’s fur to use for clothing.
“I threw up all over the floor,” he said. “I couldn’t watch it. It was horrible.”
A chinchilla’s fur is popular due to its extremely soft feel, which makes it ideal for small garments or lining of large garments. The more Glaser learned about the fur trade of chinchillas the more he became an advocate for them, using Lucky as his sidekick.
“Lucky is the Smokey the Bear of chinchillas,” he laughed.
He also co-founded an Internet forum called “Lucky’s Wonder of Chinchillas,” which has become a forum for pet owners.
When Lucky died, Glaser’s world was turned upside down. He created a music video in honor of his pet titled “In Memory of Lucky the Chinchilla” and put it on YouTube.
“What happened was amazing,” he said. “People from all over the world watched, commented, named their animals after him, fought the fur trade and he became beloved and famous.”
The video gets about 1,000 views each week and to date has more than 81,000 hits.
With the popularity that it brought he decided to make an entire album — his first solo album since 1989. He looked to his other animals – dogs, mice, birds, guinea pigs and chinchillas – for help. “Music For Pets and People” was written in keys and chords that even animals seem to like. Two dollars from every sale goes to Best Friends Animal Rescue and $1 goes to help save the chinchillas.
“The animals resurrected my career,” he smiled. “This album is all because of a chinchilla. I have a rodent with three legs selling my album.”
All of his pets help in the creation of the videos and the production. Usually the dogs at his feet, the birds on his shoulders and the guinea pigs and chinchillas in his arms.
“Helping the animals, loving them, playing with them and proving that they have a soul is why I’m here,” he said.
To buy “Music for Pets and People” by Jamie Glaser, go to http://jamieglaser.com/petmusic.html.
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