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Date published: 7/10/2008
By PAMELA GOULD Local dog trainer Laurie Williams has been to Hollywood and brought a bit of the glitz back with her to Stafford County. Williams, owner of Pup 'N Iron canine fitness and learning center in Stafford, was one of 12 people who, with their pooches, were chosen to compete in a new reality television program on CBS, "Greatest American Dog." The program, taped earlier this year, begins airing at 8 this evening and runs Thursdays through Sept. 11. To kick it off, Williams is holding what she believes to be a first-of-its-kind event in the region--a red carpet "premiere pawty." The invitation-only gala for 50 guests and their canine companions will be held at her business off U.S. 1. As excited as Williams is about the program now, that wasn't always the case. An acquaintance e-mailed her about it roughly a month before the application deadline. But after seeing that it required completing a 20-page questionnaire and being away from home for six weeks, her enthusiasm dimmed. "I waited until the last day," she said. And when she filled out the application, it wasn't for her Maltese, Andrew, to compete, but for her Dalmatian, Tucker, a dog who's older and has been through more training. But by the time someone from the program's casting crew called about two weeks later, Tucker had suffered a ruptured disc in his neck and couldn't participate. Williams offered Andrew as an alternative, and the casting person quickly agreed after seeing his picture online. "That told me they were probably more interested in the personality of the people than the dog," Williams said. But that was of secondary interest to her. Williams' mission in applying was to gain a platform to promote her training approach. "If it was merely billed as a trick contest, I would not have entered it," she said. "I wanted to showcase the way I can develop a close relationship with the dog and the way I do the positive training methods," she said. "I'm trying to show you can do it and the right way to do it and you can do it without your dog being fearful of you." 'UNSCRIPTED DRAMA' Williams was amazed by the rigorous selection process.
Date published: 7/10/2008
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