During the first seven years of her life, Norma Jeane Baker lived with Ida and Albert “Wayne” Bolender. In 1932, she owned a black and white puppy she named Tippy. The two were inseparable—no kid loved a dog more. Some sources even say he walked her to school and waited for her outside. The two would only have about a year together because, in 1933, Tippy died.
There are various stories on what happened to Tippy: he was shot and killed by a neighbor because he was barking, or a neighbor cut him in half for similar masons. the cause of death, Norma lean was so devastated that Ida called Gladys to came and help her bury the puppy. Still depressed, Ida grew concerned, she knew that what little Norma needed most was her mother. Norma moved in with her mother shortly after. Interestingly, on the set of Marilyn’s uncompleted film, Something’s Got to Give, in 1962, the family dog’s name was Tippy.
“Marilyn loved animals; she was drawn to all living things. She would spend hundreds of dollars to try to save a storm-damaged tree and would mourn its death. She welcomed birds, providing tree houses and food for the many species that visited her lawn; she worried about them in bad weather. She worried about dogs and cats. She once had a dog that was by nature contemplative, but she was convinced he was depressed. She did her best to make him play, and that depressed him even more; on the rare occasions when he did an antic pirouette, Marilyn would hug and kiss him, delirious with joy.” – Norman Rosten, poet & friend.