[Dailydrool] Elsinore Basset's film debut

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

One of the volunteer service coordinators at the hospice where our  
Elsinore works as a pet therapist asked if Elsinore would be  
interested in being part of the new video the hospice is making of  
the residence facility and all it offers. No actual residents or  
family members were to be in the video, but they did want to have a  
pet therapy dog make a cameo appearance.

The coordinator said she specifically wanted one of the hospice's pet  
therapy dogs who isn't your typical pet therapy dog. Everyone, she  
said, thinks of retrievers or the little lap dogs when they think of  
the type of dog that does pet therapy work. But she wanted to send  
the message that all kinds of dogs can do pet therapy work, and what  
better non-typical pet therapist breed than a basset? Plus, she  
pointed out, Elsinore exudes personality and enthusiasm, and the  
hospice wanted to film a dog who looked sincerely happy to be there.  
With arguments like those, how could I stand in Elsinore's way of  
being an ambassador for both pet therapy and her breed?

Elsinore agreed to take part in the film so long as the hospice would  
agree to honor the "no-bath" clause in her contract. She dislikes  
having to bathe before going to the hospice, and she'd just had a  
bath on Monday morning for her regularly scheduled stint there. She  
really didn't want to have to take another bath the next evening in  
preparation for filming the following morning. (I think she worries  
about developing dry, flaky, itchy skin.) The coordinator said  
Elsinore could skip the bath, especially since she'd be too busy  
filming to do much in the way of interacting with any of the residents.

If we'd had more lead time, I know Elsinore would have wanted to  
consult with Miss Angela Basset on things like lighting, camera  
angles, hitting your mark, sweet-talking cranky directors into  
considering a different motivation for the character, and avoiding  
the entire costume department altogether. But unfortunately there  
just wasn't time. To mollify Elsinore I told her I was pretty sure  
Miss Angela would simply advise her to exude self-confidence, be  
natural, and not indulge in overacting.

And that's what Elsinore did. In her pet therapy vest, however. She  
doesn't normally wear her pet therapy vest. Normally she's happily  
nude while on the job because I don't like the way the vest covers up  
most of her shoulders, which is the best part of her for patting. But  
I figured she should don it for this particular film role so she'd  
look truly official. After all, if you're going to march in the  
Fourth of July parade, you probably should wear your Girl Scout  
uniform, including the sash with all your merit patches. I was  
pleased that Elsinore didn't seem to be bothered or feel constricted  
by her pet therapy uniform. There's nothing worse than an actress  
throwing a temper tantrum over a costume she hates wearing.

After our preparatory walk around the block, Elsinore poked her head  
into a few offices to check in with the administration on her way to  
the set, inquired about the catering truck, and then got to work  
playing herself as Hospice Pet Therapist. The set was Room 170 and  
the hallway outside it.

First the cameraman/director asked us to walk down the hall and turn  
into the room. That's when visions of Delta Pet Partners officials  
watching the video and immediately firing Elsinore flashed before my  
eyes. Part of the biannual Delta test involves walking a distance  
with the dog "on a loose leash." Uh-oh. Elsinore's usually so eager  
to meet and greet at the hospice that her loose leash often isn't  
exactly regulation loose.

Fortunately this wasn't a test, so I could--and did--pack lots treats  
to ensure full cooperation. Knowing I was carrying high-premium  
treats and wasn't afraid to dole them out made Elsinore want to stick  
close enough to me to give her leash that lovely U-bend a Delta  
evaluator wants to see. I just hope the editor doesn't decide to use  
the very first take, which shows Elsinore doing a small jump next to  
me to try to get a treat from my hand. The cameraman thought it was  
cute, but Delta wouldn't.

We walked down the hall several times for the cameraman, who kept  
telling Elsinore things like "Perfect!" and "Good!" With each praised  
walk down the hall, Elsinore's trot became bouncier and gayer. As he  
was about to move the lights into Room 170 for the next scene, it  
seemed to dawn on the cameraman that he had a real basset in front of  
him. A basset with long ears, tons of loose skin around the neck,  
jowls that quiver at the slightest movement, and a gait that sets all  
those attributes swinging amusingly at different rates of speed.

Appreciative of the potential for adding a little humor to his film,  
the cameraman asked Elsinore to walk down the hall a few more times  
while he filmed her down at her eye level. Then he sat on the floor  
and asked her to move naturally and look into the camera for him. She  
was very obliging, moving in so close to the camera that it must have  
captured a marvelously enormous and distorted basset nose.

For her scene in the hospice room, all Elsinore had to do was sit  
beside an armchair while a hospice employee patted her head. I was  
pleased by how long Elsinore was able to hold her sit-stay while also  
continuing to look back and forth with convincing interest between  
the camera and the person patting her. I don't think the look of  
enjoyment on her face while she was being patted was merely acting.  
She was really living her role and enjoying every minute of it.

I don't know when the video will be produced or if it will be  
available to the public for viewing, but if it is, I'll be sure to  
post the link to it. Then everyone can admire the worn-out shoes I  
was wearing. Don't ask me why it didn't occur to me that for this  
particular film, one that focuses on a very short dog, my feet and  
legs would feature prominently. Oh, well. I'll just have to hope that  
Elsinore's acting was so superb that the audience will see only her  
and not even notice my shoes. In the meantime, Elsinore will be  
looking into having a rubber stamp of her paw made because she really  
hates doing pawtographs.

Elizabeth