PHOENIX — Bubbles the Clown is hanging up her singing telegram gig next month to sail the oceans and swim with dolphins for a year or more.

But the sea is no place for her sidekick — Jenny the Wonder Dog.

So Bubbles, a.k.a. Alicia Bonnet, is looking for just the right retirement home for her former pound pup to convalesce her post-Wonder years away in style.

"I love this dog, but I need to go to the ocean," says Bonnet, 56, of Phoenix. "I want to do right by her, and I want to do what’s right for me, too."

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No wonder she hopes someone with a decent yard and a warm heart will take on the collie mix, quirky dog diet and all.

"Someone out there will want to give the Wonder Dog the perfect home," Bonnet says.

Bonnet is a professionally trained clown, musician, teacher and storyteller who has performed at fairs, openings, wedding receptions, libraries and parties. With flute and banjo in tow, she’s performed for more than 25 years throughout the North and Southwest, Australia and the Far East.

Bubbles and her canine sidekick have been a fixture of the Rogue Valley since she moved here 12 years ago after finding that clowning around in tiny Mount Shasta, Calif., didn’t quite pay the bills. She’s played everything from the Ginger Rogers Craterian Theater to Pet Country, from backyard birthday parties to business offices.

Jenny typically dresses in clown regalia and offers a modicum of tricks, usually playing more of the straight-dog to Bubbles’ ... well, bubbliness.

"I’d basically tell her to do stupid things like ‘wag your tail’ when she’s already wagging her tail," Bonnet says. "People love it."

And Bonnet’s loved Jenny ever since she picked out the 60-pound canine for adoption at the Jackson County Animal Shelter in Talent eight years ago.

Two weeks later, after Bubbles was severely injured in a rollover car accident, the dog helped her recuperate and they’ve been inseparable clown-pals since.

"She really saved me," Bonnet says.

But just like Lucy and Desi, Martin and Lewis, some duos just need to part ways.

Bonnet’s penchant for diving and swimming with dolphins in Hawaii has blossomed into enough of an obsession that she’s shelving Bubbles’ life here for a year. She plans to sign onto a sailboat as a crew member, while diving and dolphin-swimming everywhere from Baja to the Caribbean.

"She’s too big to come along," Bonnet says of Jenny. "I think I need to let her go."

Jenny’s new owner will need a fenced yard and a willingness to go on walks. She’s good with the elderly but not used to living with kids, so she’s probably a good candidate for a companion dog.

She eats raw chicken for breakfast then a combination of cooked grain, supplements and fresh vegetables for dinner to curb a skin condition.

"She likes to attack the vacuum cleaner and the hose for fun," Bonnet says.

Bonnet hopes someone special will take a shine to Jenny and telephone Bonnet at 535-8030.

After a few trial visits, the Wonder Dog will settle into her new digs next month while Bubbles wanders the watery world.

"I’m going to be taking a sabbatical for a year and see where it goes," Bonnet says. "I may be back, maybe not. But I want the Wonder Dog to be happy."

Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com