I LOVE LUCY

Animal lover Little Ricky has turned the Ricardo apartment into a miniature zoo with frogs, turtles, goldfish, a parakeet, lizard, and now a puppy, thanks to the generosity of little Billy Palmer.

Lucy says the puppy must go, but her feelings quickly change when the doggie showers her with friendly kisses. When Ricky arrives home from the club and learns of the recent addition to his family, he heads straight for Little Ricky's room intending to evict the dog. Moments later, Ricky returns from the boy's room. Lucy: "Where are you going, dear?" Ricky: "to the basement to get a box."

Landlord Fred Mertz appears and demands: "That pooch has got to go!" But when he learns that Little Ricky has named the new pet Fred, he heads for the basement to prepare a proper throne for his namesake.

After a sleepless night caused by Fred's yelping, a grouchy new tenant, Mr. Stewart, confronts Lucy, demanding to see for himself whether or not there is a dog being harbored in the no pets-allowed premises. She denies the presence of any canine, so when Stewart spies some dog biscuits, Lucy claims they belong to her and proceeds to munch one.

The disagreeable tenant makes life miserable for everyone, until Fred Mertz puts his foot down: "I'd rather live with a little dog than a big grouch!" Stewart storms out with plans to move. When Ethel reminds her loyal husband that he has just kissed away two hundred fifty dollars, Fred promptly faints.

Special Notes: The no-pets allowed clause in the Mertz apartment house lease apparently didn't affect Mrs. Trumbull, whose cat was mentioned in episode #98, "The Business Manager," she asks Lucy to go to the market and buy food for her pet cat. The Mertzes also had a dog named Butch who's only appearance was in episode #3, "The Diet". June Foray provided the voice of the yelping puppy. In order for the timing to be perfect the yelping needed to be done live. Foray's voice begins to get hoarse as the episode moves on.

Bloopers: When Lucy is yelling at the yipping dog that it's 3:00 AM, and shows the dog the clock, you can see that the time isn't 3:00. It looks more like 2:20.