Shelter Dogs (3 page)

Two red foxes run to the fence to greet Anne whenever they see her coming. A pair of mule deer, veteran actors with many credits, have an entire fenced acre of woods all to themselves. Two raccoons, who were found orphaned as babies, amble about in their special enclosure.

The dog kennel contains a variety of mixed-breed dogs, each with its own spacious run and snug doghouse. When Anne walks to the kennel, every dog rushes to lick her hand. Each gets a turn to be out of the kennel every day, galloping around Anne's property. And they receive ongoing training to keep their acting skills sharp. Anne's assistants help care for and train the animals, and they take over for Anne when she is away.

At first Tracker lived inside Anne's house so she could bond with him and socialize him. The raccoons were babies then, and Tracker happily tolerated them as they climbed on his back and tried to play with his tail. This interaction was important because an animal actor must be able to get along with other animals of all kinds.

Anne began working with Tracker every day, teaching him all the basic obedience commands such as sit and stay. All of Anne's training is done with hand signals rather than voice commands so that she can direct her animals while they are being filmed.

When Tracker had mastered basic obedience, he began to accompany Anne when she took other animals on location. He watched while other dogs acted in films or got their pictures taken for magazines.

By going along at a young age, Tracker got used to the bright lights and noise and people. He learned to pay attention only to Anne's commands and not be distracted by anything else that was going on around him.

Tracker proved to be a quick learner who loved to go to work with Anne. Soon he auditioned for his own first part and got it.

Tracker's first acting job was in a television commercial for the Oregon State Lottery. Anne drove him to Portland, where the commercial was filmed. Tracker's part was not difficult: he had to lie on the floor with his head down, next to a woman in a chair. Then, when Anne gave the signal, Tracker was supposed to lift his head and perk up his ears as if something exciting had happened.

Tracker performed flawlessly. Anne knew he was a fine actor. She continued to teach him new commands and included agility training in his lessons.

In agility training, Tracker learned to go through tunnels, climb ladders, walk on elevated walks, and do a variety of jumps. Agility training is good for film work because it gives a dog confidence. Tracker seemed to like practicing these new skills.

A few months after Tracker made the lottery commercial, a movie producer contacted Anne. His company, The Edge Productions, planned to make a feature film based on the book
Summer of the Monkeys
by Wilson Rawles. There was a major role for a dog.

Whenever Anne is asked to provide animal actors, she first figures out exactly what the animal will be required to do. She reads the script and has the director fax her storyboards that spell out specific behavior for each scene. She also talks to the director by phone, to be certain there is no misunderstanding.

After Anne read
Summer of the Monkeys
, she knew that several of her dogs had the skills to play the part of the hound dog in the movie. Although the dog's role was important, it did not require doing any unusual or sophisticated tricks.

She sent the movie's director photos of the dogs who she felt could handle the role. She included Tracker. After seeing the photos, the director wanted to watch the dogs in action, so Anne made a video and sent that.

The directo liked Tracker's unusual looks and the natural way he acted on screen. The decision was made: Tracker had his first part in a movie! He was two years old.

Four chimpanzees were also scheduled to work in this movie, so the first step was to make sure Tracker would get along with them. Although he was used to a wide variety of animals at Anne's house, he had never seen a chimpanzee.

Tracker and Anne flew to Sacramento, California, where the chimps lived. While Anne sat with Tracker, the owner of the chimps carried the youngest one, a two-year-old, into the room. He sat holding the little chimp while Anne stayed with Tracker. The chimp and the dog looked at each other. Tracker's tail wagged. The chimp leaned toward him. Clearly, the animals were curious, and each wanted to go closer to the other.

The two owners cautiously allowed the animals to approach each other. Soon the baby chimp was hanging on Tracker's tail and then sitting on his back. Tracker appeared to enjoy the fun as much as the chimp did.

One by one, the older chimps were also introduced. Tracker got along fine with all of them. He and Anne flew back home, where Anne spent the next six weeks preparing Tracker to do his role.

Because Tracker's role required a lot of running, Anne needed a second dog to act as his double. This was in case they had to shoot some of the running scenes over and over. She did not want Tracker to get too tired, and she had no way to control how many times the scenes would need to be repeated.

It was not easy to find another dog who looked even remotely like Tracker. With his thoroughly mixed heritage, he has a one-of-a-kind appearance, which is what attracted the movie's director in the first place.

After a lengthy search, Anne finally borrowed a dog named Scooter from a friend. Scooter had been adopted from the Oregon Humane Society in Portland where Anne's friend worked.

Scooter closely matched Tracker in size and shape, and the coloring on her face was similar. Best of all, she had received both obedience and agility training. With natural vegetable dyes, Scooter's fur was darkened in places to make her look more like Tracker.

Anne, the two dogs, and an assistant trainer drove from Seattle to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in Canada, where the movie was to be filmed. They settled into a lakeside cabin that had been rented for them. The next day they drove past wheat and canola fields to the studio.

Tracker met Corey Sevier, the boy who would play the lead role in
Summer of the Monkeys
. Corey also had acted in the television series
Lassie
, so he was experienced at working with a dog.

Six chimps were on location to play the four chimps in the film. Just as Tracker needed a double to be sure he did not get overtired, the chimps had extra help, too. Anne and the owner of the chimps did not want to harm their animal friends. The American Humane Association also watches out for the welfare of all animal actors while they are at work on a movie or TV set.

For an animal, the hardest part of acting is to concentrate only on the trainer. This is especially difficult when more than one animal is in a project.

Tracker had several scenes with the chimps. He had to watch Anne and obey her signals without getting distracted by the chimps. They were nearby with
their
trainer, who was also giving them hand signals.

After six weeks of rehearsal, the filming began. All went smoothly until the scene which required a chimp to run out of the woods toward the camera. A few seconds later, Tracker was to chase the chimp. The chimp was supposed to look scared of the dog and run away as fast as he could.

The cameras rolled. The chimp was released. The chimp's trainer stood behind the camera, giving the hand signal to the chimp for him to come. The chimp obeyed and ran toward the camera—until Tracker was released behind him.

As soon as the chimp heard Tracker running after him, he stopped and waited for his friend. Dog and chimp then tore around in circles, playing happily with each other!

It took several retakes before the scene captured on film looked as if the chimp, terrified, was running from the dog.

Twice, the filming of scenes where Tracker had to run for a long distance had to be repeated so many times that Anne called for Scooter to take Tracker's place while Tracker rested.

When the filming ended, Scooter went home to Portland, and Tracker and Anne returned to their woodland home. Tracker seemed glad to see all the other animals again. He got a well-earned rest while he waited for the next call for an animal actor with his special looks and skills.

Tracker began life unwanted and unloved, as do far too many puppies. Every animal shelter staff member has heard the words, “I can't find homes for them all” hundreds of times.

Luckily for Tracker, he was taken to the Humane Society, where volunteer foster parents open their homes and hearts to puppies who are too young to be adopted. Because Tracker's foster parents held him, petted him, and kept him warm and fed, he developed into a happy, sociable puppy who liked people and was trainable.

Now Tracker is a movie star with a loving trainer, unusual animal friends, and a long career ahead of him.

About the American Humane Association

Whenever an animal is used in a movie or on television, the American Humane Association (AHA) has a trained person on the set to oversee the animal's safety and well-being. The purpose is to be sure that no animal is killed or harmed for the sake of entertainment.

The Screen Actors' Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have an agreement that, when animals are used in a film, the AHA must be sent a script before filming starts. The AHA then helps figure out ways to shoot the scenes while protecting both the animals and the actors.

The filmmakers are provided with a list of tips on how to protect animals. Producers who follow the AHA's strict guidelines have the right to run a notice at the end of the film stating that no animals were harmed during production.

Sometimes there are scenes that look as if an animal is being hurt, but in reality the animal is computer-generated.

The American Humane Association was established in 1877. It began working to protect animals in films and TV shows in 1940, after a horse was deliberately killed during the filming of a movie. The AHA now has twenty-five trained staff members who monitor the use of animals in movie, television, and commercial productions.

Each year, the first week of May is “Be Kind to Animals Week,” an event started by AHA in 1916. As part of this effort, AHA sponsors the Be Kind to Animals Kid Award, recognizing children who have demonstrated outstanding acts of kindness toward animals. For more information, contact:

The American Humane Association

63 Inverness Drive East

Englewood CO

80112-5117

You can visit AHA on the Internet at:

www.amerhumane.org

Kirby

ONE WORD SAVED A LIFE

Kirby enjoys his favorite activity: going for a walk with his owners, Nita Baker and Helen Hughes, and their other dog, Sonny. Humane Society vet Dr. Bill Larson comes along.

3

F
OR A LONG TIME
, Kirby lived happily with his elderly owner. Then Kirby's owner became very sick. By the time he got to the hospital, he was too ill to tell anyone that his little dog was home alone.

Kirby, a small tan-colored terrier mix, wandered through his home, looking for his owner. He could not get outside to relieve himself, yet he had been taught not to go in the house. Why didn't his owner come to take him for a walk? He became more and more uncomfortable and nervous. Finally, he couldn't wait any longer. He had to relieve himself indoors.

A day and a night went by. No one came to feed him and his stomach hurt from hunger. Where was his dinner? Where was his owner? Kirby licked the last of the water from his bowl.

Another day and another night passed. Still no one came. Now Kirby paced anxiously, becoming more and more fearful.

In the hospital, Kirby's owner grew even sicker.

Kirby waited, alone and afraid.

His owner died.

After six long days, two social workers went to the home and found the little dog. A neighbor told them his name.

By then Kirby had suffered so much physical discomfort and emotional stress that he didn't trust anyone. He snarled and snapped. The social workers threw a blanket on him and tried to pick him up. He bit them both.