Volkswagen’s Game Day commercial, behind the scenes, and the dogs perform a familiar movie theme (videos)

February 4, 2012 By Joanne Brokaw Leave a Comment

If you’re like me, you’ll spend Sunday watching something fun on Netflix and skipping that sporting event that will capture everyone else. The only bummer: I’ll miss the commercials.

Well thanks to Volkswagen, I don’t need to! Here is Volkswagen’s Game Day commercial and a fun little performance by some talented dogs, who bring you one of filmdom’s most iconic movie themes. And for even more fun, you can get a behind the scenes look at how Bolt the dog made this fun commercial. No dogs were harmed and no, he didn’t have to bulk up to look that fat.

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Filed Under: Animals and entertainment, Animals in the news, Dogs, video Tagged With: , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

Bake a cake to celebrate the Dog Whisperer’s 150th episode and you could win a call from Cesar Millan

January 31, 2012 By Joanne Brokaw 3 Comments

OK, Cesar Millan fans, enemies and cake bakers extraordinaire: What I am about to say is either going to make you very happy or make you so mad you’ll throw darts at my picture just because I shared this news*:

Nat Geo Wild, the channel from National Geographic that is home to Cesar Millan’s the “Dog Whisperer,” is celebrating the show’s 150th episode with a cake contest. Between now and Friday, February 10th at midnight, bake a cake in honor of the “Dog Whisperer”‘s 150th show – the topic that night is “Home-Wrecking Hounds”, if you need an idea – and then post a photo of your cake to Instagram with the tags #natgeowild and #happy150.

Select photos will be featured on the Nat Geo WILD Facebook page throughout the week leading up to the premiere of Dog Whisperer’s 150th episode on Saturday, February 11th at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Cesar’s favorite cake will be announced on Instagram during the premiere. The winning photo will be featured on the homepage of CesarsWay.com and the winner will receive a call from the Dog Whisperer himself.

What would would you do with a few minutes of Cesar Millan’s undivided attention on the phone? Chat about dog behavior or training methods? Discuss cake decorating? Sing a birthday song in Spanish? Well, get baking and decorating, and you may have the chance!

Nat Geo WILD and National Geographic Channel recently joined Instagram as @NatGeoChannels to share photos of upcoming shows and behind-the-scenes happenings.  Follow @NatGeoChannels on Instagram for more information. You can read the entire press release here.

* * * * * * *

* And now, since I have your attention, I need to get something off my chest:

I do not hate Cesar Millan, despite what many of  you have inferred from my review of his appearance here in Rochester. I think he’s a super entertaining, nice guy. I don’t necessarily dig all of his training methods, but you can’t fault the guy for his commitment to animals, to shelter dogs, to raising awareness about problems with owners and helping them understand where they’ve missed the mark. I found a lot that he says that I agree with; I also think if we had coffee we’d talk a lot about where we disagree.

So my advice to you is this: if you bake, if you have a barkery, if you like to design cakes but you are not a Cesar Millan fan, set aside those differences and have some fun. It’s great publicity for your business, if nothing else. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it’s lot better to find ways to get along with people in the hopes of opening an honest dialogue than just b*tching and moaning nonstop across Facebook and the internet about what a jerk he is, or what a jerk I am, or what a jerk anyone is who doesn’t publicly condemn him and everything he’s ever done. There. I’ve said what I wanted to say. Now get baking! What are you waiting for?

(PS: If you’re planning to bake a cake for me to eat or for you to throw at my face, I like white cake with chocolate frosting …)

Filed Under: Animal behavior, Animals and entertainment, Celebrities, Dogs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Review: Cesar Millan’s The Pack Leader Tour

January 16, 2012 By Joanne Brokaw 147 Comments

Last night I attended "An Evening With Cesar Millan" at the Auditorium Theater in Rochester, NY.

Last night I attended the Rochester, NY appearance of America’s most famous dog trainer, Cesar Millan, in town for his “The Pack Leader” tour.

In the interest of full disclosure, until that point my exposure to Millan was limited. I’d never seen his show, never seen him train a dog or talk about training a dog, never read his book (although I do have a copy of “Cesar’s Way”, picked up at the used bookstore, in my to-read pile).

I had seen him profiled on CBS Sunday Morning and found him charming and interesting, and was impressed that he had about 30 dogs off leash while I was at my wit’s end with three warring dogs and a cat. Woof!

So when people talked about what a horrible, inhumane trainer Cesar Millan is, I really didn’t have an opinion about him one way or the other. As a Christian, I’ve been on the receiving end of the judgmental finger pointing so I try to avoid doing that to others. I’d heard comments that ranged from “He’s rude” to “Let’s get the shotguns”. Honestly, I can’t form an opinion based on that. I needed to see for myself.

And after watching Millan’s performance last night, I now have an opinion. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Animal behavior, Celebrities, Dogs, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 147 Comments

Texas court rules owners can sue for sentimental value of dog mistakenly euthanized by shelter

November 15, 2011 By Joanne Brokaw 8 Comments

So how much is that doggie in the window really worth? (This is Bailey; she's looking for a home.)

Watch “The People’s Court” long enough and you’ll hear Judge Milan say that in the eyes of the law, pets are property and owners are only entitled to the “market value” of their dogs, regardless of how they were injured or killed.

But a Texas court this week set a ground breaking precident when they ruled that a Ft. Worth family could recover the sentimental value of their dog, who was mistakenly euthanized at a local animal shelter.

According to the Star-Telegram, the Medlen family of Ft. Worth lost their dog two years ago when, spooked by a thunderstorm, the 8-year-old lab, Avery, escaped from the family’s yard and was picked up the animal control.

The Medlens went to retrieve the dog, didn’t have enough cash in hand, returned the next day ready to pay the fees, and were told that the dog couldn’t be released until a microchip was implanted in his ear. The vet was out of the shelter for a few days so the Medlens would have to wait.

On the day Avery was supposed to be available to go home, Jeremy Medlen went to get the dog, only to find that he’d been mistakenly euthanized. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Animals and the law, Animals in the news, Dogs Tagged With: , , , , , 8 Comments