Entering the Star-Maker Machinery

This is one of those defining moments. Friday Pappy joined Minou among elite dog thespians, and hopefully will earn a TV credit.

A while back my wife heard about a casting call for the National Geographic Channel. They were looking for dogs and owners to participate in a local shoot for a program called "Dog Genius". I emailed a photo, and the producer started drooling over Pappy's untapped marketing potential. As it turns out, they weren't casting Pappy in the title role-- the show is about the intelligence of all dogs in problem solving and reading human expression, not a specific dog's genius. They scheduled us for an appointment at a studio in DC's Chinatown.

We went in through the loading dock, and joined a number of dogs in a waiting area. True to form, Pappy pounced on a Husky and started wrasslin'. So much for dignity. Eventually we were led back into a big all-white studio. To be frank, Pappy probably did way better than me. He was rock solid on his sit-stay so that they could get all their shots in. They also took a lot of shots of his spectacular tail wagging. That's my favorite feature.

Then they asked me to sit in front of the camera and make a variety of expressions-- I'm pretty sure that's all going to end on the cutting room floor, as I kept cracking up. For our action shot, I took a high risk path of having Pappy play with his ball. That was probably impossible to film, but it could be pretty snappy if it came out.

In the end we were compensated with a National Geographic TV baseball hat and paid parking. It was well worth the effort for our 15 minutes of fame. I think they said that the show would air sometime in December, so if you see a skinny balding guy and a dog with messy hair that's us. Trust me, I'll remind you.