Movies are going to the dogs...

[John F]

... and dogs are going to the movies. Click on the link to see many photos of the event.

Aisles of Dogs
Sonner Kehrt
March 20, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO — It was Charlie Bucket’s first trip to the movies, and he dressed up for the occasion. Looking sharp in a flowered bow tie, he glanced around the historic theater and took in his surroundings. Then, without warning, he tried to crawl under the stage.

Charlie, an 18-month-old Yorkie-cairn terrier mix, was one of many first-timers at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco on Monday night. The theater was holding a sneak preview of Wes Anderson’s new film, “Isle of Dogs,” with a particularly appropriate twist — the screening was B.Y.O.D., or Bring Your Own Dog.

Outside the sold-out event, pups posed for photographs on a red carpet before heading into the 234-seat theater to find their spot. “Dogs get the seats,” said Isabel Fondevila, the Roxie’s director of programming. “And we have a lint roller ready for after.”

After finding his way under the stage, Charlie Bucket took a seat with his owner, Stephen Holland. But as the theater filled up, the seats proved a bit challenging for some of the guests. Leila, a 7-month-old Chihuahua-cocker spaniel mix in a pink-and-red-striped sweater, couldn’t seem to get comfortable. No matter which way she turned, something more interesting was happening in the other direction. And when she twisted around to sniff the theater behind her, the seat popped up, folding her inside. “She’s too light,” said Emily Happe, 21, scooping Leila onto her lap.

Scout, a 7-year-old Yorkie-terrier mix, was too excited to sit at all. She sniffed around on the ground, pointedly ignoring Danielle Hobart, 30, who patted a seat, trying to encourage Scout to hop up. “She’s a suburban country dog; she likes chasing sheep,” said Ms. Hobart, who borrowed Scout from her father-in-law for the movie. “This is all new.”

Monday’s event was conceived by Andrea Bertolini, a senior account executive with Allied Integrated Marketing, which is publicizing “Isle of Dogs.” The stop-motion film, opening nationwide on Friday, is set in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki, where all the dogs have been banished to a dump called Trash Island. Ms. Bertolini said she knew as soon as she saw the trailer that she wanted to hold a dog-friendly screening.

“I thought, ‘Who would be amenable?’ A lot of chain theaters probably would have said, ‘Have a nice day,’” Ms. Bertolini said. (There are also dog-friendly screenings scheduled this weekend in British theaters.) But the people at the Roxie Theater were excited about the idea — and they had experience. For the last two years, the New York Dog Film Festival has traveled to the theater, which has welcomed canine customers alongside their humans. “We love dogs,” Ms. Fondevila said. “We had no doubts.”

Inside the theater, Iko, a 9-year-old Shiba Inu, wasn’t quite as sure. Shawn Hatfield, 44, held Iko on his lap. “I think he’s just trying to figure out if this is the vet or not,” Mr. Hatfield said. “He sees lots of people and dogs. I think he’s waiting for needles.”

And the night’s official host, a one-eyed bichon-Shih Tzu rescue named Pirate with a skull-and-crossbones pendant hanging from his collar, was also battling nerves. “It’s certainly his first time hosting a premiere,” his owner Samantha Martin, 44, said. Ms. Martin runs Pirate’s Instagram account. Her husband, Greg McQuaid, 48, used to work with Ms. Bertolini, who asked if Pirate would lend his celebrity to the event.

As show time approached, Mr. McQuaid and Pirate made their way to the stage, accompanied by Kristin Hoff, adoptions manager at Muttville, a senior dog rescue organization in San Francisco, and Ms. Hoff’s foster dog, Ela. There, they made a pitch for adopting older dogs, and then Mr. McQuaid reminded human attendees that dogs should be taken outside if they became aggressive or upset. Even Pirate might need a break. “He’s kind of a grumpy old man,” Mr. McQuaid said. “He hates joy and merriment of any kind, so we’re not sure a Wes Anderson film is the best choice.” Pirate wagged his tail.

In the second row, Winston, an 18-month-old cocker spaniel mix, sat up and panted at them. Leila, worn out from all the excitement with her seat, was falling asleep in Ms. Happe’s lap. Toward the back of the theater, Charlie Bucket settled in and waited for the show to start. Someone growled, just a little. The lights dimmed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/movi ... -dogs.html

[Belle]

Most of the films made today are really only suitable for animals anyway, so this doesn't surprise me. Otherwise, more animal fetishization is what we really need. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

[John F]

I don't think it's a fetish (as I understand the word), it's a convention that goes back at least 2500 years to Aesop and his fables of animals behaving like humans. There's a reason for so many movies about dogs, living and animated: nearly 70% of American households include at least one dog. I guess people like dogs (and vice versa ) I do, though I've never had any kind of pet and won't start now - it isn't practical.

[Belle]

I don't think it's a fetish (as I understand the word), it's a convention that goes back at least 2500 years to Aesop and his fables of animals behaving like humans. There's a reason for so many movies about dogs, living and animated: nearly 70% of American households include at least one dog. I guess people like dogs (and vice versa ) I do, though I've never had any kind of pet and won't start now - it isn't practical.

You obviously haven't read Waugh's "The Loved One"!! Yes, you're quite correct; people love dogs. I would argue it's at the level of *fetishism. The 'convention' was probably vermin control more than anything else. When I was living in Vienna it was appalling that dogs not only shared the tiniest intimate spaces, but were in shops, on trams and public transport and everywhere people inhabited. I reeled back from slobbering dogs very often but I felt sorry for the pets. I hope it isn't this bad in America. My husband and I had a standing joke; that the dogs of Vienna woke each morning and said to their owners, "Oh, can we go into the Innere Stadt today; we love shopping, the heat and all those tourists more than smelling the backsides of other dogs and chasing them around a paddock".

*any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion

[John F]

Actually, I believe it's cats that were domesticated for vermin control. Dogs aren't very good at it. But they are much better at working for us, in hunting, herding, pulling sleds, protecting us, sounding alarms, finding missing persons, entertaining us, and in remarkable ways as service dogs for people with various disabilities. Just having a dog around lowers most people's blood pressure, and some dogs can even detect cancer in their owners long before it shows up as symptoms. Dogs can and do save people's lives. Seems to me that despite their relatively high maintenance, especially compared with cats, dogs are good to have around.

I don't know about dogs in Vienna, except for one: Jofi, Sigmund Freud's chow chow.



Freud thought she had a calming effect on his patients, and if anybody ought to know it's Freud. He would assess his patient’s mental state with the help of Jofi; she would lie relatively near a patient if the patient was calm but keep her distance if the patient was anxious. Jofi also had an internal clock that would alert her when Freud’s sessions were over. After exactly 50 minutes she would get up, stretch, and head for the door, letting him know that it was time to wrap things up.

https://barkpost.com/sigmund-freuds-dog/

[Belle]

Dogs love to work!! On our farm we had dogs who were very effective in killing vermin, including foxes and rats!! My father had a cattle dog - a small one - and she wasn't happy unless working. All the time.

I just don't like animals sharing my private space; they remained outside on our farm and were very happy there. But dogs in a cinema? That's a bridge way too far. And the expression "love me love my dog" wasn't created for nothing. As I said, read Evelyn Waugh.

There have been a large number of dog attacks in this country on children and owners in the last few years; these fetished, pampered and over-indulged animals become bored and turn ferocious. Contained in apartments, homes and/or small yards they become over-dominant and a menace to everybody. The sight of little children with half their faces missing is an all-too-frequent image on the news. Many have been killed. I would say a month wouldn't go by without us hearing about such an attack. Last month 2 dogs got into a friend's property (acreage) and felled a horse, savaging it badly and it was close to being destroyed. The dog owner apologized and that was the end of it; they were returned to the owner and the police refused to intervene.

Something has gone seriously wrong with the human/dog relationship when these things happen.

[John F]

I'd say blame the owners, not the dogs. A dog that has been properly trained, socialized, and cared for ought not to do any of those things. My apartment building is "pet friendly," many of the other tenants have dogs of all breeds from chihuahas to a great dane, and I've met quite a few of them in the corridors and elevators without a single undisciplined or unfriendly incident. They don't even bark. In New York reports of attacks by pet dogs are very rare. Of course keeping one's pet dog outdoors isn't an option in the city, and it may be that living in an environment full of humans and other dogs contributes to good behavior; I wouldn't know.

[Belle]

Some breeds have been identified as vicious, namely Pit Bull Terriers and Rottweilers. These are the two breeds causing most of the trouble, but others have maimed people too. They become neurotic when hot-housed and kept on too short a leash. Some breeds are more temperamentally inclined to living like this - such as 'toy' dogs (as we call them) - but most dogs are built for work. And for being with other dogs. I remember that great line in the film "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" when the broadcaster vet gives advice to a caller..."now, repeat after me: Us/Them, Us/Them".

I've always joked that when a dog can discuss Beethoven with me I'll prefer one to human company!!

[jserraglio]

Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs opens this week in my town. I'll be there.