It’s been 35 years since the legendary former I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball passed away at the age of 77, but she is still missed by millions of fans to this day. Now, Ball’s granddaughter Julia Arnaz is furthering her legacy of doing good in the world in a beautiful way.
Ball’s Granddaughter’s Anti-Domestic Violence Effort
Arnaz, 53, survived a physically abusive six-year relationship with a live-in boyfriend in the early 2000s. This experience changed her life forever. These days, she wants to not only help other victims of domestic violence, but also their pets, who are too often forgotten.
Arnaz has just teamed up with the nonprofit domestic violence organization Safe Futures. They’ve launched an effort that they hope will lead to a national campaign to bolster pet rescues as part of treating victims of domestic violence, sex trafficking, sexual assault, and stalking.
“These women stay in these abusive relationships because they don’t want to leave their pets. And I want to be (the pets’) voice,” Arnaz recently told The Milford Mirror. “Those pets were (the victims’) therapy dogs. They were the only unconditional love that the women or men had during the relationship. So often, that’s all they have, and they stay by their owners’ side through everything.”
Anyone who is lucky enough to have a canine pal knows that’s the truth.“Women can escape with their pets. I want to bring this to the forefront, especially as more places like this open,” she added of Safe Futures. “People don’t talk about this a lot. The pets get lost in the shuffle.”
Safe Futures CEO Katherine Verano is overjoyed to have the granddaughter of Ball and Desi Arnaz onboard.
“We’re very excited to have someone so interested in this much-needed program,” Verano said. “We are honored that she is interested in it and we want to talk further to her to have someone of her celebrity to help raise awareness. It seems that she has the commitment and passion for it.”
Arnaz’s Life And Relationship With Her Family
Arnaz is the daughter of Desi Arnaz Jr. and the model Susan Callahan-Howe. However, she never met her father until the early 1990s. This means that she never got to meet her legendary grandparents. Even so, Arnaz is still proud of their legacy.These days, Arnaz has a great relationship with her father, who she talks to at least once a month. She is also friendly with her aunt, the actress Lucie Arnaz. In addition, Arnaz has become close to Ball’s best later-in-life friend, the actress Paula Stewart.
“I talk to her twice a month. She’s in her 90s and she lives in Los Angeles,” Arnaz said. “She’s a spunky gal.”
Ball Would Be Proud
In the end, Arnaz is sure that her grandparents would be proud of what she’s doing to help pets.
“They were very much animal lovers, so it seems fitting. They even had a cow for a pet that used to go in the house,” she concluded with a laugh
Though Ball never met her granddaughter, we can’t help but agree that she would love what she is doing. We wish Arnaz the best of luck with this endeavor moving forward!
