A benefit for Dogs in Danger
Several dozen reality TV personalities and their pooches put on the dog at a Beverly Hills mansion Saturday at a benefit for Dogs in Danger, a group that promotes the adoption of canines in shelters.
Kristen Renton, an actress on “Days of Our Lives,” pranced down the red carpet set up on the driveway with Roxy, one of two boxers she has rescued. Jai Rodriguez of the Animal Planet show “Groomer Has It” turned up with his 5-year-old Yorkie, Nemo. Ryan Seacrest was there too -- but with no dog or date in tow.
Maria Menounos of “Access Hollywood” (at left) came toting her handicapped poodle, Noelle, in a pet-purse. The aging dog’s back legs are crippled and the front ones are prone to sores, so she wears yellow protective pads made by Menounos’ mom. Though Noelle can’t walk, Menounos said the poodle keeps in shape with daily swims.
Also in the crowd were two local guys about to get their 15 minutes of reality-show fame on a new CBS show, “Greatest American Dog,” which is set to debut July 10. Part “Survivor,” part “American Idol,” the show pits 12 human-dog teams against each other in a competition for $250,000 and the title of America’s greatest dog. Considering that they were cooped up for about 40 days in a house in Agoura Hills with 10 other human-dog pairings during filming, they seemed surprisingly normal.
Ron Davis, 39 (at right) went on the show with his 3-year-old English bulldog, Tillman. Davis, a construction manager from Oxnard, said the gig came along for him at just the right time -- he was laid off from his job on the first day of the shoot.
He and Travis Brorsen, 29 (at left), a bartender from Hollywood who went on the show with his boxer, Presley, weren’t allowed to divulge many details about the TV show. But Davis did reveal that there was no behind-the-scenes team keeping up with the doo-doo. The rule on the show, he said, was simple: “You poop, you scoop, and you hope it’s hard.”
-- Julie Makinen
Photos: Cliff Smith
