| That hangdog look MICHELLE MOTT/Journal Tribune Staff Photographer C.D. the pit bull terrier hangs onto the rope and demonstrates the trick that owner Darren Pinette hopes will win the pair a spot on the David Letterman show. Broadway-bound hound Sanford pooch may twist his way to stardom by MARY RAITT JORDAN Journal Tribune Staff Writer There's just one detail separating a Sanford canine from fame and fortune: a possible appearance Friday on "The Late Show starring David Letterman". C.D., a 3-year-old pit bull terrier, rides a skateboard and even "talks", but it's another talent that wowed Letterman's staff: the dog wiggles a Hula-Hoop around his brindled body while clamping his chops on a thick rope suspended from a tree. "This dog is loaded with talent", Darren Pinette, C.D.'s owner said, "It makes you wonder where this is all going to go". Pinette, a cook at the Cockpit Cafe in Sanford, can barely believe he and his pup are off on an all-expenses-paid adventure to the Big Apple, leaving today for New York City. Door-to-door limousine service, a swanky hotel room and the other trappings of star treatment are theirs to share -- quite a change for a man and dog who previously ventured no further than a family vacation at Bunganut Pond in Lyman. "I really can't believe this", Pinette said. "I just can't". A VISION Pinette and his fiancee Joey-Lynn Rouillard picked up the precocious puppy three years ago from a friend who bred dogs in Biddeford; and is said to be bred by J.Corr (Sanford) and J.Cozzaglio (Biddeford), both own dogs from the Dawnrest Kennels. The couple doted on the dog, showering him in affection and teaching him the standard pet tricks. It was't long, however, before they noticed C.D.'s amazing intelligence. In addition to Hula-Hooping, C.D. rides a skateboard, talks to people (howling "I love you" and "hello" --honest) and plays on the teeter-totter or slide with children at the playground. Pinette praises C.D. for a trick well done. "If you told him he's a dog, it would actually hurt his feelings", Rouillard said. But it was clear to them the dog could do no more, and they began stretching the limits of their imaginations. The Hula-Hooping actually started out as a game of tug-of-war with a piece of rope. "I couldn't get the rope out of his mouth", Pinette said. "He's a strong dog". Then one day C.D. leapt up at a rope hanging from a tree and just hung there. "It was fascinating to watch him hang there", Pinette added. "He wouldn't let go. Then he started wiggling around, twisting his body in circles. We could see he was Hula-Hoop bound. ... When you saw him moving you could see a Hula-Hoop on him. You really could". Pinette and Rouillard pushed the envelope of their creativity further, taping the suspended dance and putting it to music, like the beachpop favorite "Wipe-Out" and some Latin sounds. The tape entertained friends and family, and the couple was inspired to send it to "America's Funniest Home Videos" and later to Letterman. They haven't heard from the video show, but the phone rang from Letterman's office after a month. "They told us it was one of the funniest tapes they had seen in a long time and asked us what posessed us to give him a Hula-Hoop", Pinette said. "To see it is really to believe it". 1 OF A KIND Show C.D. his Hula-Hoop these days and the dog springs incessantly off the ground in a frenzy of excitement. His tail wags in fast-forward. He licks his chops. He whimpers and whines with anticipation. And he romps until he gets to the foot of his Hula-Hooping training tree in a neighbor's backyard. Panting, crying and trembling with excitement, he waits for his owner's command. "Get it"! Pinette says. Immediately the dog springs off the ground, latching onto the knot of the rope. Suspended off the ground he growls at the rope, snaps his head back and forth and absolutely refuses to let go. His muscular body begins to swing in ever-widening circles, settling into a steady rhythym. "He hung there for 45 minutes the other day doing this", Pinette said. "I couldn't get him to let go, he loves it so much". With the rhythmical pattern established, Pinette slips the Hula-Hoop onto the rope above the dog's head. C.D. snaps his head feverishly to get the hoop to spin. Slowly, slowly the Hula-Hoop descends onto his neck, across his chest and over his loins. C.D. wiggles and writhes to keep it in motion until finally it drops to the ground. But he doesn't stop there. With the rope still in his mouth he whines for more. He only lets go when Pinette tells him repeatedly to let go of the rope. There's apparently no effect on the dog's mouth and jaws. "We took him to the vet and the vet told us he has a little tarter on his teeth", Rouillard said. "That's it". COMMAND PERFORMANCE With the Letterman show booked, Pinette put C.D. on a rigorous training regime to prepare him for his nationally televised performance. The two have run up and down the sides of a sand pit. They've spent hours Hula-Hooping and have gone for long walks. To get him accustomed to performing indoors (a prerequisite for appearing on the show), Pinette trained C.D. in an airplane hanger at Sanford Regional Airport. Once in New York, the duo will compete against seven other owner-pet combos to get on the Friday night slot. Pinette said the show's producer told him C.D. has perhaps the best chance for performing Friday night. If that happens, Letterman will have a rope and swivel joint on stage to replace the tree, and bandleader Paul Shaffer will come up with some tunes to accompany their performance. "It will be fun to have two minutes of Dave dumping on me", Pinette said. "...I also hope I meet somebody famous, like Steven Seagal". If his dog becomes a star, Pinette promised the pooch will get his own doggy waterbed and expensive Iams dog food. He would even tolerate C.D.'s habit of licking out empty cat food cans. His worst nightmare? "To see the dog just hanging there", Pinette said. "That would bum me out, and I'm sure Dave would eat me alive". * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1996 Darren Pinette of Sanford and his pit bull terrier, C.D., perform their "Stupid Pet Trick" where C.D. swings on a rope using his jaws while hula hooping during the taping of CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" Thursday. The show airs tonight. Dog's life: Terrier hits town "The little bugger pulled it off ... Everybody just loved it". Darren Pinette Owner of talented dog by MARY RAITT JORDAN Journal Tribune Staff Writer Limo rides, bones delivered by room service, and beautiful women fawning over him: It was a tough life, but Sanford's Hula-Hooping canine got use to it. C.D., a 3-year-old pit bull terrier, made his owner Darren Pinette proud when he clinched an appearance on the Stupid Pet Tricks segment of "The Late Show starring David Letterman", which airs tonight at 11:35 on Channel 13. The Hutchinson Street pooch, flown down to the Big Apple this week, was one of seven dogs to compete for the top three slots on the show. His one-of-a-kind act of wiggling a Hula-Hoop around his brindle body while clamping his jaws on a thick, suspended rope brought the metropolitan audience to its feet. "The little bugger pulled it off", Pinette said from his penthouse suite this morning. "Everybody just loved it. ... I heard David Letterman say 'I've got a pit bull spinning a Hula-Hoop around his body in my theater. What will they come up with next'"? Pinette says the pressure was on when he arrived in Manhattan and checked out the competition. One German Shepherd could perfectly sing the "Bad Boys" theme song from the "Top Cops" show. A second dog could walk five feet on its front paws. Pinette said his nerves affected C.D. a bit during the Thursday taping session. He said he was so nervous he couldn't look into the eye of the camera. He was sure Letterman was "dumping on him" but he could only focus on one thing: getting his dog to do the trick. C.D. had three tries to latch onto the rope, and on the third try he made it. And away he went, snapping his head and neck to get the Hula-Hoop in motion. Slowly he let it descend across his neck, chest and loins while Letterman's band leader Paul Shaffer played the beach-bop favorite "Wipe Out". C.D. got into the act so much he refused to let go of the rope when Pinette told the pup to stop. The audience, he said, roared with laughter. "I told him 'Enough!' but he wouldn't get down, They seemed to love it though", he said. |
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