Best in Show! Bernadette Peters On Her Pet Who Inspired Broadway Barks and How He Got His Name | Playbill

News Best in Show! Bernadette Peters On Her Pet Who Inspired Broadway Barks and How He Got His Name Playbill.com launches its newest feature, Best in Show — a spotlight on Broadway personalities and their animal companions — with three-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters, who, with pal Mary Tyler Moore, co-founded Broadway Barks, the annual dog and cat adoption event to find homes for pets from city animal shelters, which will return for its 15th edition July 11 in Shubert Alley.

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Peters will also release her third children's book, "Stella and Charlie: Friends Forever," July 6 on the Blue Apple Books label.

In this first installment of Best in Show, the acclaimed singing actress, who can be seen in the new Amazon Prime series "Mozart in the Jungle," remembers her beloved dog Kramer. "Since my dogs now are very young and absolutely lovely and delicious, and I'm still getting to know them," Peters told Playbill.com, "I would like to talk about Kramer, my love of 16 years and honor his memory."

Read all about the Broadway favorite's late canine friend below.

What was your pet's name? Kramer. When I first met Kramer, he would slide into the room, just like the Kramer character from "Seinfeld," hence his name.

Breed? Age? Briard mix. I had him since he was a pup, and we shared 16 years together.

How did you find your pet? We found him at the ASPCA here in New York City. Kramer was a dog I always dreamed of entering my life, and I was thrilled when he did. He was a very active dog, so no one wanted to adopt him. Lucky for me!

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What is the one thing your pet ate that he/she shouldn't have? We were having a dinner party and had cooked chicken breasts on the kitchen table unattended… Well, as you can imagine, we ended up with many less after he ate most of them!

What person, living or dead, did your pet remind you of and why? He had a beautiful profile, and I like to think he was John Barrymore, who perhaps had a reputation for acting like a bit of a dog in life, and his retribution was to come back in this life as a real dog.

Did your pet do tricks/commands? Kramer used to have a wonderful trick...If you asked him to use his inside voice, he would "woof" very quietly, but, of course, he had an outside voice, too!

If your pet was a character in a Broadway show, who would that character be? If Kramer were a character in a Broadway musical, he would, of course, be playing the Barrymore film role in the current production of On the Twentieth Century.

You and your pet went on a talk show. What is your anecdote about him? He was a very unusual, mostly Briard looking dog, who was very good looking. In fact, his nickname at the vet was "Mr. Handsome." He loved an audience and applause. We found that out when he came to an event with me. He stood in front of the audience and started responding to the applause with singing and barking and a great big smile. He also loved the stage. I took him on stage between shows during Annie Get Your Gun, and he ran around on the stage like he was home.

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