Long Beach City Lifestyle: Where did your love for animals and pets begin? Did you have pets growing up, or did that come later in life?
WENDI MCLENDON-COVEY: I’ve always been an animal lover — I hated playing with dolls. It used to irritate me when people would give me dolls as a present because I preferred stuffed animals.
A cat wandered into our yard when I was in the first grade, and we took it in. The cat had kittens. We had to deal with the trauma of giving them away. We never bought a pet. We have never gone looking for a pet. They always just wander in with the cat distribution system.
I would love to have a dog at some point, but right now we’re doing what the universe is clearly telling us to do, which is take care of kitties.
LBCL: Can you tell us about your current cats?
WENDI: Personality-wise, they’re all very different. One of our seniors is Harvey. He was chipped, and when we took him in to read the chip, he was 17. I think he came from a hoarder’s house nearby, and the woman died. He has a wonky eye and all this stuff, and it’s like, “We’re gonna take you in. No one’s gonna take this ancient kitty. So we’ll let him live out his days here.” He’s a love bug.
We have a tripod … one that was found on the freeway, and she is a cuddler and fighter. She lost her leg early; I don't
think she misses it. She can still climb on things, and she’s real feisty, and she can defend herself too against the others. She just sits on the bed with her queen energy and is like, “You can come to me. I will not go to you.”
My most dominant one, Butters, is quite a celebrity. He is very handsome and very photogenic, and loves people and loves compliments. So when we have people over, he plays host while the rest of them hide under the beds. But Butters is just like, if he could wear a smoking jacket and carry a glass of brandy around.
LBCL: How do you integrate them with your schedule?
WENDI: If my husband and I aren’t together and I’m at work, either he’s here or we have an assistant to take care of them, and so they’ve always got someone around. And if we’re gone for more than four hours, we’ll leave the TV on. They’re my whole heart.
And yes, I have a trunk full of costumes for them. Do they like it? No, so I don't push it, but sometimes a couple of them don't mind it.
LBCL: What’s something you’ve learned about caring for animals that’s really stuck with you?
WENDI: Animals, like people, don’t like to be forced into things. Consent is a big thing with animals as well, says the woman who just told you that I have a trunk full of costumes for them.
You need to treat them pretty much the way you want to be treated. If you pick up an animal and they’re actively pushing you away, put the animal down. Don’t try to force a connection that isn’t there.
Sit with the animal and just pick up on their vibes … and you know when you’ve met your soul animal too.
LBCL: Shifting from your animals to your roots, you were raised here. What are your earliest Long Beach memories?
WENDI: I love Long Beach so much that I've just never left. I didn't go away to school. I literally never lived anywhere else.
We moved here from Bellflower when I was three. A realtor just knocked on my mom’s door one day and said, “I have a buyer for this house, and I have a house for you in Long Beach if you want to come look at it.” My mom wasn’t looking to move, but she was a young mom, and she said, “Okay.” They went, bought the house, and my parents still live there.
I went to Keller Elementary for three years, then my parents put me and my sister in private school. I went to Millikan High School and Long Beach City College … and dragged my college career out for a decade, finally graduating from Long Beach State.
I have such good memories of driving my convertible down Ocean Boulevard at sunset, blasting my music, thinking, “Boy, it just doesn’t get better than this,” going to Shoreline Village, taking field trips to the Queen Mary.
LBCL: You’ve said you’re “never leaving” Long Beach. What keeps you rooted here instead of moving closer to Hollywood?
WENDI: I’m not gonna pretend that nostalgia doesn’t have a big impact, but I know if I need to blow off some steam, I can just go to Marine Stadium and walk a little stretch of beach.
My dad was a big water skier, so in the ’70s we’d go there rain or shine every weekend. I have such good memories of being on the water and having so much fun, literally five minutes from my house. It felt like a little vacation.
I love all the Duffy boats on the water. I love Naples at Christmas. I love the restaurants. It’s just home, you know. I love the different neighborhoods. I love that you can go from a real upscale neighborhood to a real artsy neighborhood to a real urban-looking neighborhood to, I mean, there are horses here too. So much that doesn’t go together, or shouldn’t go together, but it totally does.
Yeah, I love it here. I’m never leaving, I hope. And I know some Hollywood people are figuring out how awesome this is, but I hope they stay away — this is our secret.
LBCL: What projects are you currently working on?
WENDI: Right now I’m on a show called “St. Denis Medical”, and we’ve been picked up for season three.
But I’ve also started a production company with my manager, who also lives in Long Beach, and we called it Strong Beach. We’re actively pitching projects, meeting writers and other producers and just trying to build a community of reliable people we can work with. We’re learning a lot right now.
LBCL: You’ve also had the opportunity to work with animals on set. What has that experience been like?
WENDI: On “The Goldbergs,” we had quite a few critters. We had a couple of snakes, which wasn’t my favorite, but you deal, and there were a couple of mini horses. We also had the family dog, Lucky. Any time you see something with an animal in it, trust and believe there is a stuffed animal that looks just like it that also sits in sometimes.
On “St. Denis Medical,” we had a stunt kitty that allegedly carried the plague — that was part of the storyline. I’m such a goon because I just want to snuggle everything, and it’s not appropriate when the animal is working.
"We never bought a pet. We have never gone looking for a pet. They always just wander in with the cat distribution system … right now we’re doing what the universe is clearly telling us to do, which is take care of kitties."