Meet Golden Kobie
  

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.

“He plays the part of a dog.”

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2008/10/19/news/community/3aaa01_dogstar1017.txt


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