"How to" Crufts

Well many things to share with you today.

I filmed Marc the Vet, the UK's most popular vet and a real sweetie he is.
I started to film some "How to" videos for the Kennel Club starring Marc the Vet and Molly the Wonder Dog. Something I have always wanted to get going for the KC so hopefully we can do a few more before and after Crufts.

I would like to do one at Crufts on "How to do Crufts!" hmmm there's an idea. www.crufts.org.uk
Crufts if you don't know is the largest dog show in the world and the oldest dog show in Britain. It was started by an old guy named Crufts hence the name. It truly is a British dog show yet so international! If you are coming than you need to pace yourself as it is sensory overload. Think Las Vegas with dogs except no one is walking around half naked. Oh scratch that as there are the Chinese Crested ... Over 28,000 (yes thousand) DOGS in four days. It is quite overwhelming and if you think I bark a lot than you haven't heard anything until you watch fly ball. By the way I should remember to bring some ear plugs for when I film fly ball and agility.

Adrenalin fills the blood and the head and all you can see are dogs everywhere. It truly is barking mad. There is always so much to see and with the event spread over in three massive halls plus a big show arena it's all a bit daunting. My dog reporter secrets for keeping energy through Crufts? Lots of tea and biscuits (no, not the canine kind silly). I heard there will be a Ben & Jerry's there this year - hmmm dangerous stuff. I wonder which dogs I will stand in the B&J queue with for Chunky Monkey. Actually I try and pack loads of fruit and healthy snacks so that would be me over in the press office corner eating my banana or orange.

So I must get back to my downloading and editing. I want to get these new YouTube clips up and running on the KC channel before Crufts which is now days and hours away.

I am very excited they finally announced that Crufts will be live online for the first time in Crufts history (actually I gave them this idea a while ago and glad that someone besides the little dog that sits on my desk listens to me from time to time)

www.cruftslive.tv

Thank you to Marc, Anna and especially Molly the wonderful Miniature Bull Terrier aka "Molly the Wonder Dog" in my book.
Molly was the star dog in my filming today and she was really so well behaved. I learned all kinds of things while filming but the most fascinating was how and why vets clean anal glands in dogs. Ew. I have never seen that done so close.

Enjoy my pics of Molly. She is one clever dog!

The Dog Reporter©

Hooray for Slumdog Millionaire!

Well it is somewhat dog related ;) Slumdog Millionaire swept the Oscars last night and well done. It was such a great movie filled with hope and love. India is known for not only its slumdogs - the poor children growing up in poverty but also for its tremendous problem with real slum dogs of the four-legged kind.
I googled Mumbai dog rescues and there are loads of people working towards rescue, spay and neuter and of course adoption of the mongrels they find on the street. I just want to take the time to mention that everywhere around the world there are little dog rescues, dog sanctuaries, dog humane societies creating hope and love out of nothing. I loved the fact that this film won so many awards and yet it wasn't too long ago when nobody wanted to touch this film with a ten foot barge pole. It was a real struggle for Film4 to produce and distribute and thankfully Fox Searchlight had the vision to see it through. It is more than refreshing for me to hear about this small success story - it's almost a miracle!

My ethos is always going to be about hope and in particular hope for dogs.

Slumdog Millionaire is a big sign of hope to me. People want to hear positive stories, they want happy endings and they want entertainment and content that fills them with the same aspiration and hope.

Here is a directory to some of the dog and animal charities that can be found in Mumbai. I hope to visit some of these dog rescues in India and lift their stories in my own little Danny Boyle way.

www.karmayog.com/lists/dogs.htm

The Dog Reporter©

Hoping for the underdog - The Wrestler

Well tonight is the big night in Hollywood. All the media in the world are surrounding the Kodak theatre in Hollywood to see the latest dresses and all the stars at the Academy Awards©. As some of you know I used to work in the film industry (marketing side of the studio) and I have always enjoyed watching the show with friends at a party or someone's Awards potluck.

www.academyawards.com

www.oscars.com

I just wanted to take this moment and say that I am hoping Mickey Rourke wins. I love underdog stories and if there ever was an underdog story of someone hitting bottom (and truly bottom he did hit) it was Mickey. I am also empathetic towards his recent loss of two of his Chihuahuas over the past two weeks. "Loki" was his most famous chihuahua, as this little dog (bless his heart) was the one that Mickey carried everywhere around the world. Loki was often seen on the red carpet or on Mickey's lap in every pap photo. And even the most fickle and jaded of Hollywood were moved to tears when Mickey accepted his Golden Globe last month and finished his acceptance speech by thanking his dogs.

If you don't know Mickey's story I'll just recap a bit here:

Mickey revealed that while he was on the verge of becoming suicidal, he realized that he had to live for his loving dogs, the only ones, who stood by him.

"I think I hadn't left the house for four or five months, and I was sitting in the closet, sleeping in the closet for some reason, and I was in a bad place, and I just remember I was thinking, 'Oh, man, if I do this, And then I looked at my dog, Lowjack, and he made a sound, like a little almost human sound. I don't have kids, the dogs became everything to me. The dog was looking at me going, 'Who's going to take care of me?'” Mickey said.

Mickey is someone who hit bottom yet picked himself up through the love and support of people and his dogs who believed in him when he didn't believe in himself.

The Dog Reporter©