News

PET PROJECT
[Nellie McKay mentions our web site)

Published in the New York Post

By JULIA SZABO

June 11, 2006 -- Fans of hipster singer-songwriter Nellie McKay know she adores animals. When she's not recording, touring or appearing in Broadway's "The Threepenny Opera," she rescues strays and finds homes for them. Plus, she passionately protests the carriage horse trade, urging the city to ban it (banhdc.org).

McKay's love of animals shines through in her lyrics. For her beloved childhood mutt, Joey, she wrote her famous "The Dog Song." Meanwhile, her "Ding Dong" ditty goes, in one part: "My cat died and I quickly poured myself some gin/ Did she die of old age, or was it for my sins?"

"Pretty Little Head," McKay's eagerly awaited next album, includes a song called "Pounce," which is about rescuing an alley cat. Even today, she lives with two formerly feral felines named Emerald and Osama.

Two weeks ago, McKay suffered a sad double loss: Georgia, a beagle mix with a heart murmur, and Sammy, a one-eyed cat, died within days of each other. At Joe's Pub, where she appears today and next Sunday at 11:30 p.m. (for tickets, visit joespub.com), McKay will let her grief show. Last week she dedicated her set to Sammy and Georgia, and invited the crowd to raise their glasses in toast.

"I'd say the success of my career is based on foundling animals," McKay says. And, inspired by Polly Peachum, the hard-luck character she portrays in "The Threepenny Opera" - for which she insisted that Isaac Mizrahi design her costume using no animal materials - McKay has taken a hard-luck mutt under her wing.

Her new pet project is Elsie, a stray pit bull mix picked up by the Animal Care & Control shelter (nycacc.org) after having several litters. The adorable red-brindle pooch is now spayed. All she needs is a good home, and McKay's helping to find her one, giving shout-outs to Elsie at her Joe's Pub gigs. To the lucky adopter, McKay even offers a pair of tickets to next Sunday's concert.

To meet Elsie,