Behind the Scenes: Talent Hounds Part Three
The Talent Hounds’ crew was in Ajax at Who’s Walking Who for an Open Casting Call on December 2nd. They were on the hunt for cuties, tricksters, athletes, and rescue success stories to be featured in the upcoming documentary on The Pet Network. Dog training studio Who’s Walking Who is owned and operated by “Top Dog” Gillian Ridgeway, a very well-respected trainer with many years’ experience.
Quite a number of talented dogs and pet parents braved the cold and drizzling rain to come out and strut their stuff including a couple that had driven all the way from Toronto to bring the gorgeous Airedale Sylvie – an absolute charm dressed for success in an eye-catching red bandanna. Also present were the handsome pups Shelby (a Novia Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever) and Stella (an Australian Cattle Dog) to which the camera crew did their best Marlon Brando impressions to. The cutesy pup Twizzler was quite the scrumptious treat. Her owner, explained that she has two other dogs at home: a senior who might not live much longer and a middle-aged shy and anxious dog. It’s expected that the anxious dog will not be able to handle either the loss of its long-time companion or the sudden appearance of a “replacement-friend” in the form of a rambunctious puppy; so Twizzler was adopted to help smooth that transition now and has been a welcome addition to the family.
One special guy, Arthur, was born without eyes. Margaret, of Helping Homeless Pets, explained that Arthur’s breeder originally took him to a vet to be euthanized at the age of nine weeks after the poor adorable dachshund failed to be sold. The vet refused to kill the otherwise healthy animal, got custody of the puppy and called rescue. Margaret, now the puppy’s foster mom, named the pup after her father, a man that had always had poor eyesight and was blind for the last 30 years of his life – but like Arthur, was “never handicapped.” Of course, there are some adaptations for Arthur, but Margaret never gives him special treatment. Arthur is house-trained has finished puppy preschool and will be doing regular obedience classes in the New Year, freely interacting with the other pups, running, wrestling, playing with them like any other dog.
Three more heartwarming rescue success stories showed up to show off their amazing talents for the cameras: a trio of Labrador Retrievers with mom Karen. While Karen and her dogs auditioned for the camera, Gillian explained how much the dogs had become transformed in the patient lady’s hand. Read Big Al, Little Al and Buddy’s inspiring stories here.
Of course, the professionally trained actors Noah and Yardley, both belonging to Gillian Ridgeway herself, stole the show when it was their turns to audition. Gillian has trained several of her dogs as actors for film, TV and commercials – including Levi who starred in many commercials over the years. To learn more about the documentary airing on The Pet Network early 2013 visit Talenthounds.ca.
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