This
is Debbie Pierce and her handsome 7-year-old Golden Retriever, Kobie.
For the article below, she talks
about her experiences on film sets with her dogs. Kobie has been in various television commercials and
movies. The photos here are by Casey Campbell of the Gazette-Times.
Kobie's latest accomplishment was starring in the film below, which
is now out on video. It has gotten great reviews, in fact.
DOG
GONE
Directed
by Mark Stouffer -
Starring Luke Benward, Brittany Curran, French Stewart
Universal Studios - Rated PG - 108 min - Family-Oriented
Adventure
A 12-year-old boy with a tricked-out
mountaintop fort attempts to foil three bumbling jewel
thieves in search of a valuable dog collar in this
fast-paced family comedy that's fun for parents and children
alike. Wherever there are valuable jewels, notorious stone
stealer Jackie Seemore is sure to be close by. On the heels
of his latest heist, Jackie has disguised himself as a blind
nun and is about to be picked up at Cedarville Airport by
his two dimwitted assistants, Bud and Arty.
Led through the
airport by a Seeing Eye dog with an especially luminous
collar, Jackie has donned a false veneer that is so
effective even his most trusted
sidekicks don't recognize him. Later, when the villainous
trio pulls into a nearby rest stop to clean up, they have a
chance run in with precocious adolescent Owen.
Recognizing
that the dog is unhappy being teased by Bud and Arty, Owen
befriends the tormented animal -- which subsequently escapes
into the nearby woods. Upon finding the frightened dog, Owen
brings her to his secret hideout that was built upon a
nearby mountaintop and fortified with booby-traps to keep
away the local bullies.
But Owen isn't the only person who
resides on this mountaintop, because according to local
legend a frightful old man deemed "The Madman of the
Mountain" resides somewhere on this formidable hill as well.
Naming the dog "Diamond" for her sparkling collar, the brave
young boy vows to defend her from Jackie and his henchmen at
all costs. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Golden star loves
limelight
Kobie is part ham, all dog
on the movie set
By Theresa Hogue,
Gazette-Times reporter, October 17, 2008
He may be a star, but Kobie the Golden retriever
isn’t standoffish. In fact, he’s anxious to meet
anyone offering a pat or a snuggle. The
7-year-old Corvallis dog has been in show
business for a few years, and his biggest
production so far, “Dog Gone,” just came out on
DVD. But whether he’s the animal star of the
show, or simply a background performer, there’s
one thing Kobie loves: Being on set.
“If he sees a movie set, he lights up,” his
owner and trainer, Debbie Pierce, said. “He just
thrives on that.”
Pierce has been training dogs for years,
first as a Guide Dog puppy trainer and more
recently as an animal trainer for films and
commercials. Her biggest recent project was
training two dogs for a search scene in the new
“X-Files” movie. She loves her work as much as
Kobie does, and her favorite thing is to watch
him successfully pull off a difficult trick that
makes a scene great.
“Not every animal is made for movie work,”
Pierce said. A movie set is a crowded, busy,
distracting place, so the animal must be able to
focus on its trainer, adapt to changing
circumstances and keep up its energy level.
Kobie is a natural.
Kobie started out as a Guide Dog puppy, but
at age 14 months, he was dropped from the
program when it was clear that he was severely
allergic to many things and was going to be too
“high maintenance” to work with the blind. But
his ability to learn and perform was also clear,
so Pierce decided to put his talents into film
work.
Three years ago, Pierce began working with
Talented Animals, an Oregon-based company run by
Lauren Henry and Roland Sonnenberg that provides
trained animals for a variety of production
companies. Soon Kobie was appearing in credit
card commercials and getting small roles in
films, including the Morgan Freeman film “Feast
of Love.”
To prepare for “Dog Gone,” Pierce had five
weeks to train Kobie in 30 specific gags or
tricks, ranging from pulling a hose to chasing
and biting the “bad guys” in the rear.
“He had a lot of specific behaviors,” she
said. He also had a double, a Golden named
Daphne who did calmer scenes, and who was used
for low close-ups, as Kobie is playing a female
in the film.
For two months, Pierce and Henry lived at a
Shilo Inn in Spokane, where they had a total of
eight dogs, a raccoon, a skunk and two rats,
although not all at the same time. Kobie’s
favorite scenes involved getting to eat food on
camera, including scenes where he jumped onto
counters and devoured full plates.
“He thought he’d died and gone to heaven,”
Pierce said.
The animals all had plenty of rest between
scenes, and Kobie never ran out of enthusiasm.
In fact, Pierce said when he comes on set, he
immediately looks around until he locates a
camera, and positions himself near it.
Kobie starred alongside French Stewart, of
“Third Rock from the Sun,” as well as the late
Chris Farley’s brother, Kevin, and Luke Benward
of “How to Eat Fried Worms.” Pierce said she
likes meeting stars, but that she still dreams
of Kobie being the true star of his own film one
day.
The DVD of “Dog Gone” was released this week,
and is for sale at Fred Meyer, Borders, and
on-line at
Amazon.com. It’s also available for rent
through Netflicks and Blockbuster.
Kobie’s not done with the limelight yet.
Although Pierce can’t reveal too many details,
he is scheduled to appear in a “medium-sized”
film that begins filming in Portland next month.
His role? Pierce answers dryly.