Thursday, February 8, 2001
Cottonwood lets the dogs out
for Animal Planet
By John Starbuck
Reporter-News Staff Writer
COTTONWOOD — The television cameras
went to the dogs Wednesday — and the pooches loved every
minute.
All tails wagged with excitement as a production
crew for the Animal Planet network’s “Breed All About
It” television show filmed David Jones’ Brittanys in
action in Callahan County, southeast of Abilene. Brittanys are
trained to find a bird in a field and then retrieve the bird after
it is shot out of the air.
Whether they were patiently waiting for
another command or running across Jones’ property about five
miles north of Cottonwood, the dogs knew something special was
going on. Even the dogs sitting as reserves on leashes could sense
the enthusiasm of their handlers.
Jones said he was surprised in November
when an official with a Colorado production company inquired about
a Web site that promotes his dog-training business. Though Jones
referred the caller to the president of the American Brittany
Club, the person later called back and insisted on filming his
Brittanys.
“They wanted to talk to ordinary people
who have them as family pets and also use them for what they were
bred to do,” Jones said Wednesday afternoon while getting
ready to talk into a camera.
For the eight hours of taping the film crew
was expected to do at Jones’ 60-acre spread, “Breed
All About It” will only contain about five minutes of video
shot there. The half-hour program features segments on different
purebred dogs.
The Callahan County video will be a part
of a full program this fall that examines the historical, medical
and unusual aspects of the Brittany. Two of the other three segments
will feature a New York dog with a genetic hip disorder and a
dog used by the California Department of Food & Agriculture
to detect plants, vegetables and produce illegally brought into
the United States.
A portion of the local segment has Jones
explaining the differences between the types of Brittanys. Another
involves the dogs racing from their handlers to look for a bird.
The film crew also highlighted the dog’s
social qualities, such as sitting in front of a fireplace or getting
a television remote control for its owner.
“We like to show that the dog is not
just a hard-working dog, but also is a fetch-ya dog,” said
former San Angelo resident Todd Skougor, a producer for Rocket
Pictures in Littleton, Colo.
Jones has raised and trained Brittanys for
10 years, and has been around the dogs since he was 6.
“They’re wonderful for the hunter
outside and wonderful for the family inside,” he said.
People wanting an exact air date for the
show can begin searching in July at www.animalplanet.com. “Breed All About
It” airs weekdays at 1 and 1:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 and
9:30 a.m. on Animal Planet (Cox channel 48 in Abilene).
Contact regional writer John Starbuck
at 676-6728 or starbuckj@abinews.com.
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Copyright ©2001,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps. Publications
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