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Animal Planet debuts reality show that helps folks find animal that is lifestyle-compatible
By Luaine Lee
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Published on Tuesday, Feb 05, 2008
MALIBU, CALIF.: Cable TV's Animal Planet has already gone to the dogs. Now it's time for ducks, iguanas and the occasional parrot.
Finding a pet that's compatible with your lifestyle may be as difficult as finding that perfect mate. Animal Planet is coming to the rescue with its new reality show, Petfinder, premiering Saturday.
''We take people who want a pet and decide what kind,'' said Rob Buchta, supervising producer on the show. ''Maybe their 10-year-old wants a lizard and the mom hates lizards; that's the last thing she wants. We have our animal experts, and their challenge is to find what pet is going to satisfy everybody. We have two experts and they're like detectives on a mission. By the end of the show, the family gets to rescue an animal from four or five choices.''
The choices don't have to be only dogs and cats. Everything from chinchillas to miniature horses are in the offing.
Families who agree to do the show are committed to a five-day, 12-hour-a-day shoot. ''On the first day, we have to do some detective work, find out what their house looks like and how that might that affect a pet,'' Buchta said.
''What kind of personalities do these people have? What is their work schedule? The first day is about absorbing the situation.''
On the second day, the families get to test-drive different pets. ''These pets are owned by someone, we just borrow them for a few hours to try them out . . . Say we have someone who wants a talking bird we'll bring in a talking macaw and they'll spend five or six hours with it and maybe that's not really what they want. It's a good way to know for sure,'' Buchta said.
Today the crew is shooting on the golden sands of Malibu Beach, Calif.. Jon and Crystal Hoffman, who live in the hills beyond the beach, are this week's subjects.
''My wife saw an ad on Craig's List and replied to that,'' said Hoffman, who's self-employed. ''Apparently we needed another dog, I wasn't aware of it. This is our fourth day.''
Crystal Hoffman insisted it doesn't have to be another dog. ''I'm open for anything. It doesn't matter to me, I love all animals. I'm going to school right now for exotic animal training. I want to train tigers,'' she said.
On the third day, the show does what it calls ''the reveal.'' Menageries of several different kinds of pets — from lop-eared rabbits to tortoises — are presented as possible pets for the family.
Hosting the show are Jarod Miller and Dina Zaphiris, both animal lovers with backgrounds in the field. Miller has a degree in zoology with a focus on animal behavior and has managed several zoos. ''This show came about because as a young person I had a lot of experience with domestic animals and pets and in 1999 started getting into national television work by doing talk show appearances,'' Miller said.
''When I was at the zoo I did a lot of public appearances as well, and just got into television production that way. And then the opportunity to come work with Animal Planet and host Petfinder was a great opportunity because I get to do everything I like.''
Co-host Dina Zaphiris is a dog behaviorist and full-time dog trainer. ''I grew up on ranch in Chico, Calif. We had horses, dogs, chickens, sheep — basically I was an only child, grew up on the ranch and the dogs were my brothers and sisters and friends. Then I went on to become a professional dog trainer, studied with Richard Vie for five years and started training dogs full time in L.A. about five years ago.''
Zaphiris thinks her job as dog-trainer led the producers to her. ''I have a lot of name clients, so I think they found me that way.''
Zaphiris said the most unusual pet ever placed was a house-trained duck. ''And he wore diapers. I thought that was the funniest thing I'd ever seen.''
Erin Wanner, the show's producer, said that crew members follow-up with their adoptive families. ''We also leave them with a camera so they can video their adjustment with the animal. Also an important point is we're going to present the family with three dogs today. They usually only take one, which means the others go back to the shelter. What we do is follow those two animals and make sure through petfinder.com they get adopted as well — so we end up with multiple adoptions, not just one.''
Families who'd like to take part in the show should call Three Ball Productions at 310-727-3337.
Shields knows character
Brooke Shields is back on TV starring in NBC's new Lipstick Jungle, premiering Thursday. Shields plays Wendy, a high powered movie studio chief who tries to balance her career and her personal life with no small effort. The show is based on the Candace Bushnell (Sex and the City) book, and Shields said she identifies strongly with her character. ''I grew up finding comfort in being the caretaker. I think I was sort of designated that person in most of all my familial and friendship related relationships,'' she said.
''So I understand the struggle that comes with that, the desire for perfection, the desire to be different things for different people. I understand the desire to want to be the best mom you can be — but not be happy unless you're also pursuing a career that fulfills you. So I can identify with the struggles that Wendy feels, and how there's really never a moment that she's really just able to take care of herself. So I think as — probably in reading the book — when I first read the book, I thought to myself, 'That's somebody that I can truly, truly identify with.' ''
Here and there
She presides over the only first-run syndicated show to gain in popularity every single year. That's a pretty serious sentence for Judge Judy, who's been signed by CBS Television Distribution for four more years . . . Twenty-two of the dogs owned by Michael Vick are being rehabilitated at Dogtown, the Best Friends animal sanctuary in Utah. National Geographic is shooting a series about the process of retraining these pit bulls, which were being exploited in dog fights by the former Falcons quarterback. The series premieres next summer.
MALIBU, CALIF.: Cable TV's Animal Planet has already gone to the dogs. Now it's time for ducks, iguanas and the occasional parrot.
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