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Dogs' panto proves an entertaining tail
THEY say never work with children or animals, but some people just do not listen to advice. Kim Hunt chose to flout the old adage completely in her latest dog-training venture of a dog pantomime, which was held to raise money for the Haiti earthquake appeal.
Reporter LAURA HAMMOND went along to see how the show went.
SAT in the former gym at the old Strutt school I was not quite sure what to expect.
The idea of a pantomime played out by dogs had seemed irresistible when I read the email in the office, but now, with dogs barking along to ambient pre-curtain music, I was a little apprehensive as to what would happen.
But as the house lights dimmed, the narrator took her seat on-stage, and the first 'actor' appeared from backstage, I realised this was too good to miss.
A host of tricks from skateboarding to bell-ringing were carried out by the canine stars during the half-hour show, which was staged in a bid to showcase the tricks learnt in the weekly School 4 Paws training class at the Derby Road Community Centre.
Group leader Kim Hunt said: "I asked the group to each come up with a Christmassy trick for their dogs in the class at Christmas and they came back with wonderful tricks.
"They were so brilliant I thought we had to do something to showcase them.
"We built the story around the tricks and it worked brilliantly, I was so impressed with the dogs. It was a nice reward for the dogs to see people enjoying their tricks."
Five dogs took part in 'A Waggy Tail of Two Sisters', ranging from a tiny cavalier King Charles spaniel to a big Alaskan husky.
All the dogs were dressed for their parts, including a tiny pair of pink wings for the fairy godmother– a golden labrador named Jesse.
Along with the traditional fairy godmother character there were also two princesses, a prince, and an evil oppressor.
The story followed the tale of Princess Lara and Princess Lily, who had been locked inside a tower by evil Eddie. After sending a letter to faraway Prince Ricoh, he set out to find the fairy godmother and save the pair from the tower.
Kim, who has three Border collies, said: "It was just something a bit different. It was mad to do it, but it was just a bit of fun.
"I don't know if anyone has ever attempted anything like this before, but we will definitely be doing something again. It was brilliant."
Bar one instance of a dog running out into the audience, and another which refused to jingle the correct bell, the show went without a hitch.
Quite impressive after just one rehearsal.
All the dogs have been part of the trick training class since it was set up at Strutts last September.
Dogs start out in the puppy training class, working towards their Kennel Club Good Citizen award, before moving on to the trick training class when they are ready.
Kim, who also runs behaviourist sessions for dogs and their owners, said she thought it was important for the dogs to develop skills to live in a "social world" both to get along in the world and to build a bond with their owners.
She added: "I love to see the bond a person creates with their dog through the dog behaving well and them being happy.
"There's a wonderful relationship that you can see developing from start to finish."
And so, in the end, all Kim wants to see if everybody living happily ever after, pantomime-style.
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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