01x07 - Detective Dogs & Truffle Hunting Dogs

[bunniefuu]

BILL: Hello, welcome to It's a Dog's Life.

You already know
that dogs can be our best friends,

but did you know that some dogs
also have jobs? It's true!

All types of dogs
do all kinds of incredible things

to make our lives better.

There are dogs that rescue people in need,

dogs that use their sense of smell
in amazing ways,

dogs that entertain us,

and believe it or not,

- there are even dogs that work with cats.
- [CAT MEOWING]

And who am I?
I'm Disney legend Bill Farmer.

As the voice
behind Disney's Goofy and Pluto,

and dozens of other animated characters,

I'm stepping out
from behind the microphone

to learn about my favorite
real-life characters, dogs!

Come with me as I explore how each dog
learns to develop

it's special and unique talents,
and how the magical relationship

between dog and human
makes life better for both.

- So, join me and our canine pals...
- [DOGS BARK]

...on It's a Dog's Life.

[DOG BARKING, PANTING]

Oh, hello. As a world famous detective,

I've been able to track down
all kinds of things,

but one thing I've never been able to find
is a lost pet.

They are simply too elusive.

For this important job, even I need help.
What I need is a pet detective!

Oh, how interesting, squirrel tracks. Hmm.

- Oh, there he is.
- [UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]

BILL: Our first adventure takes us
to a park in Baltimore, Maryland,

where I'm on the case of a very special
detective dog,

who works for an agency that's solved
more than 6,000 cases...

of missing pets.

I'm here with Anne Wills,
and Anne is the founder of an organization

called Dogs Finding Dogs, and it's kind
of a pet detective agency, correct?

That's absolutely correct.

What we do is we use the canines to go out
and find missing pets,

just like you would see
finding a missing person,

and the pets can be anything

from a cat, a dog, a goat,
a bunny, a turtle,

- a pig, a chicken.
- A turtle?

- We even had somebody...
- BILL: Chicken?

...have us come out
and find their pet toad.

- [DOG WHIMPERING]
- BILL: And we have, uh, one of your, uh,

- detectives right here, who's this?
- Yes, this is Canine Gretel.

- And she is five years old.
- BILL: Mm-hmm.

In her career so far,
she's found about a thousand pets.

- A thousand pets?
- Yes.

- What kinda dog is Gretel?
- Gretel is a purebred German Shepherd.

- Oh, she is a German Shepherd, eh?
- Yes.

- BILL: Very good.
- ANNE: Yes.

She's a beautiful dog.

A German Shepherd like Gretel
is a particularly good detective,

because of her powerful sense of smell,
and eagerness to be trained.

And she works cheap.

- All that Gretel works for is this ball.
- [LAUGHS]

This is her reward for finding
the end of a scent trail,

which is where the pet will be.

- It's just a fun game.
- ANNE: It is a fun game. Wanna try?

[LAUGHS]

- It's stuck.
- You can see, she's not gonna let it go.

How do you train a dog
to become a pet detective?

Well, you're in luck today.
I have one of my top trainers,

and she is gonna show us today
exactly how that's done.

I can hardly wait!

Janet, how do you teach a dog
become a pet detective?

- Well I have Kathy and Bond here.
- BILL: Uh-huh.

They're gonna come out
and they're gonna lay a scent trail.

- And you're Kathy and...
- Kathy.

- ...this is Bond.
- This is Bond.

I say. Oh, he's a lovely looking lad.

So, they're gonna go down this path

lay a scent trail,
and then they're gonna hide.

Okay, a little hide-and-seek,
and, uh, train the dogs how to find 'em.

- Yep.
- KATHY: Exactly.

BILL: A scent trail is made
of every tiny thing

Kathy and Bond leave behind,

including smells that only
other dogs can detect.

Even on a path like that,

- they're leaving a scent trail.
- That's correct.

BILL: That scent trail can linger
for weeks.

Follow these odorous clues,
and a detective dog should be able

to find the missing animal.

Put another way, Kathy and Bond can run,
but let's see if they can hide.

Now, I'm gonna introduce you
to our tracking team...

- All right.
- ...Janel and Holmes.

Hello, Janel.

- JANEL: Hi.
- Oh, this must be Holmes.

- Holmes. [CHUCKLES]
- What a lovely, lovely dog Holmes is.

Now, how do you know that we're looking
for that particular dog?

So, we have a scent article
that's in a baggie,

so it doesn't get my scent
or anybody else's scent on here.

- BILL: Uh-huh.
- And this has Bond's scent.

BILL: For our trainee Holmes,
the scent article locks him

onto Bond's distinctive smell.

Now, it's Holmes' job to follow his nose
wherever it goes.

JANEL: Suche.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

[HOLMES BARKS]

- JANET: Oh!
- He found them.

- He sure did.
- [LAUGHS]

BILL: The scent trail has led
our rookie sniffer, Holmes,

to Bond and Kathy's hiding place,
and for now, training day

- for rookie Holmes is over.
- [BILL CHUCKLING]

But that was only a couple
of hundred feet.

What happens if a pet's gone
and it's gone miles and miles away?

Well, I tell you what, why don't you
and Kathleen and Bond

- go get lost.
- "Go, get..." Well, I've been told

- that a lot.
- As far... as far as you wanna go,

and Janel and Gretel will come find you.

- Okay, but I got a lot of tricks...
- And you...

- ...up my sleeve. I think I can do that.
- Go ahead,

- try them, I... Bring them on.
- JANEL: Bring them on.

- BILL: Are you ready, Bond? Let's go.
- KATHY: We're ready.

Yeah. See if you can find me!

Who doesn't love a good game
of hide-and-seek?

And I want to put Gretel and her nose
to the test,

so Bond, Kathy, and I are gonna get lost.

Really lost.

JANEL: Gretel, sit.

Eyes.

Suche.

All right, hold up a second there.

- Bill to Janel.
- JANEL: Hey, Bill.

Janel, you and Gretel will never find us.

- JANEL: Oh, yeah?
- Yeah, we're so lost

we don't even know where we are.

- JANEL: Gretel's gonna find you.
- Well, good luck trying.

Hey Bill, did you think a bridge
was gonna slow Gretel down?

BILL: Bridge?
I don't know anything about a bridge.

They found the bridge. Incredible.

But I've got a few more tricks
up my sleeve.

Over the river and through the woods,
that's how we'll fool Gretel for goods.

- BILL: Janel, this is Bill.
- JANEL: Janel here.

I know you're not gonna ever find us,
so I'm gonna give you a hint.

We're in the middle of a deep,
deep forest.

JANEL: A forest?

- That'll throw them off.
- That should throw them off.

BILL: I'm pulling out
every trick I know...

so why do I feel like
Kathy's kind of laughing at me?

Hey, Bill, I think you popped out
into a neighborhood.

BILL: No, no, it's a forest.
A deep, dark forest.

[SIGHING] Oh, finally!

All right, we've made it
to our secret hiding place.

No way Gretel will find us here.

Janel, this is Bill.
We're in our hiding place, we're ready.

Come find us if you can.

If you can.

She's not gonna be able to find us.

- [GRETEL BARKING]
- [DOOR OPENING]

I can't believe it.

- JANEL: Oh my goodness, there they are!
- BILL: I can't believe it.

- [LAUGHS]
- They found us!

- JANEL: Oh, yeah.
- BILL: Oh, that's amazing.

- That's a happy dog right there.
- You got it, yes.

- KATHY: She got her toy.
- Gretel, you're an amazing dog.

And for you out there,

hopefully none of you
will ever lose a pet,

but if you do, it's good to know that
there are experienced pet detectives,

just like Gretel, who are on the job.

Janel, Kathy,
thanks for helping us out today.

- KATHY: You're welcome.
- And guys, I think it's time for dinner.

- Yeah.
- KATHY: Yeah, it is.

BILL: Hey, everyone!
Time for some pet-friendly pointers,

told with the help
of a very special friend.

[PLUTO BARKING]

Some people say
the world is divided in two,

between dog people and cat people.

But you really don't have to pick
one or the other.

Believe it or not, dogs and cats
can actually become close friends,

with a little help.

- Move in day can be a big deal.
- Hi, look at your new friend.

[BARKS]

BILL: So, if you're bringing
a new kitty into your home...

Wait, oh, not yet.

BILL: ...resist the urge
to put them together right away.

Instead, place the cat in a closed room
apart from the dog,

- wait a while...
- Come on, Bruno, it's your turn.

BILL: ...then switch,
and put the dog in the closed room.

This will allow them to check out
each other's new scents.

- FEMALE VOICE: [SHUSHES] Be nice.
- BILL: Once they finally meet

nose to nose, use a leash,
so the dog can't chase the cat,

and make sure each animal
has a safe

- place to get away to.
- [CAT MEOWS]

BILL: For cats, it should be up high,
or someplace the dog can't follow.

- After all, everyone just needs to...
- [BARKS]

BILL: ...chill out sometimes.
After several days together,

see if the dog and cat start
to ignore each other.

There, that's the big sign they've decided
to live in peace.

Now, it's a happy house,

and I think you've just become
an official dog and cat person.

[PLUTO BARKING]

BILL: Our next adventure takes us
to Placerville, California,

where chefs from around the world seek out
hard-to-find foodie treasures.

The other day, I was making a pizza,

and the recipe book called for
something called "truffles."

Now, I don't know what a truffle is,

but I did some research and I found out
that there's a very special dog

that hunts truffles,
and right now I'm on my way to meet her.

- Hi, Staci, how are you?
- Good morning, Bill.

Well, Staci, who do we have here?

- STACI: This is Mila the Truffle Huntress.
- BILL: Mila.

Mila the Truffle Huntress.

- STACI: Yeah.
- Now, she's an interesting looking dog,

- what kind is she?
- She's a Lagotto Romagnolo.

A Lagotto...

- Romagnolo. Yes.
- ...Romagnolo.

- Lagotto Romagnolo, that sounds Italian.
- [LAUGHS] It is. They're Italian dogs.

Um, they are a very unusual breed,
they've been around since Roman times.

BILL: She's gorgeous.

- And she hunts truffles.
- Thank you. She does.

- And how old is she?
- STACI: She's six.

- BILL: Six years old.
- Yup, and she's been finding truffles

- since she was 12 weeks old.
- Now, I know a lot of people

watching the show don't know
what a truffle is,

- including me, what is a truffle?
- So, a truffle is an underground mushroom.

BILL: Ancient Romans
believed truffles grew

when lightning hit the ground,
but now we know they come from fungus,

like the mushrooms on your pizza,
only it's underground and kinda stinky.

- This is a truffle.
- [STACI LAUGHING]

My gosh, it's kind of, uh...

warty, and I don't... I don't think
if I saw that on the ground

- I'd ever know it was a food item.
- Yeah, never mind eating it, right?

It's got a... kind of an earthy smell,

- I guess.
- Mm-hmm. Yeah.

And so someone dug that up
a thousand years ago and said,

- "Mm, let's eat this thing." [LAUGHS]
- STACI: [LAUGHS] Exactly.

That's incredible.
How much would one of these go for

if you bought one of these in the store?

Right now, 175 dollars an ounce.

- [CASH REGISTER DINGING]
- They must taste great to pay

- that much for them.
- [LAUGHS]

BILL: Gourmet chefs love to cook
with truffles,

but because they grow underground,

they can't be raised like other crops.
You just have to find them.

That's why you need a Lagotto Romagnolo.

This is Sailor.

BILL: So, Staci wants to show me
how it all begins.

She just... she's a five month old puppy,
Lagotto Romagnolo,

- and this is Sailor's mom, Esther.
- BILL: Hi, Esther.

So, we're gonna see if we can train
this dog how to hunt.

Are you ready for this?
Yeah, I think she is.

We're gonna have her take the truffle
just like this, put it down

so the dog can see it,
and then we're gonna say

the word "truffle", and when Sailor
touches the truffle with her nose,

we click and then we pay
at the food source.

She gets a treat for figuring out

- that's a truffle.
- That's a truffle.

ESTHER: Truffle.

- Yes. Good girl.
- STACI: Good girl.

[BILL LAUGHING]

- ESTHER: Truffle.
- [CLICKS]

ESTHER: Yes. Good girl.

She's learning really quickly.
She's only been doing this

a couple of minutes,
she's already got it down to a degree.

She may look like a plush toy,
but clearly, Sailor will be a hard worker

when it's her turn to find
that unusual truffle aroma.

I think she's really got a nose for this.

Okay, Bill, so we're ready to go out
and do a truffle hunt,

I'm gonna grab the truffle huntress,
you ready?

[IN ITALIAN ACCENT] I'm ready,
let's go find some truffles.

STACI: Wonderful.

BILL: Truffles only grow
in the fall and winter,

and Mila has a lot of ground to cover.

We'll see how the huntress does.

This is a big place.

Okay, show... show us some truffes.

Let's do this.

So you can tell she's working,
nose down, sniffing.

[IN ITALIAN ACCENT]
Well, Mila, you are doing great out here,

you look in here,
and maybe you find a truffle.

STACI: Okay, so she's got...

- BILL: Oh!
- ...a little scratch right there.

BILL: Looks like Mila's got a whiff.
Let's see what she found.

STACI: Show me, where is it? Where is it?

[MILA GRUNTING]

- STACI: Good girl. [LAUGHS]
- BILL: Wow! What a nose.

BILL: That's great.

- That one's a pretty good size one there.
- STACI: Good job. Very good job!

- So, those are native truffles.
- Yeah, native Californian truffles.

BILL: How many of these do we need
to make a million bucks?

- [LAUGHS]
- I need a new boat.

- [STACI LAUGHING]
- BILL: She's loving it.

- Ready? Okay, let's go.
- She loves it. Let's go find some more.

BILL: Above ground,
there are no clues that Mila can see,

it's all about her finely tuned nose

- and locating that truffle scent...
- STACI: Good girl. What you got?

BILL: ...that's buried under grass,
and leaves and mud.

Oh, what's this one, Mila? [GASPS]
Got it. Good job. [LAUGHS]

That's a big one,
you can see the difference.

- STACI: Good!
- Boy, that's quite a bit bigger.

So Bill, do you think you're ready?

Have you learned enough
that you can go truffle hunting?

I don't know, but if, uh,
Mila's ready, I am, too.

Okay, let's try it.

BILL: Even though I've got the leash,

Mila and her nose are clearly
in the driver's seat

as she leads me across the fields.

Come on. Here, come on.

Oh, what did you get?
What did you get? Huh?

Yeah? Oh, my gosh, look at that!
We found one!

Yes, that's a good girl.

Wow! Probably worth a million bucks.

- Staci, guess what we got!
- Oh, my God!

- Can you believe it? That's a good one.
- Congratulations! Good job!

BILL: That is a good one.

Truffle hunting is no
walk in the park.

I'm hungry.

Time for me to taste Mila's truffles,
and with Staci's help,

enjoy a nibble of what chefs
around the world love so much.

STACI: So, Bill, this is what we can do

- with those magnificent truffles.
- BILL: Oh, my gosh.

STACI: This is our signature dish
here at the ranch.

- It's just basically a fancy pizza.
- It looks like a fancy pizza.

BILL: Oh my gosh,
that looks incredible. [SNIFFS]

STACI: Would you like
a little fresh truffle on it?

BILL: Oh, you just kind of... Oh, my gosh.

STACI: It's raining truffles.

My first truffle pizza.

Mm. Oh!

Oh!

Mm. That's wonderful.

It's got this fragrance that kind
of hits you in the back of your throat

and kind of comes up through your nose.
Oh, now, that's good.

What an incredible day
with Mila and Staci.

Truffles are delicious,

and it just goes to show,

don't judge a mushroom
'til you've tried it.

- Excuse me while I eat the rest of this.
- STACI: Mm-hmm.

BILL: So far,
we've met some incredible dogs.

Now, it's time for you to show us
your special pets.

GOOFY: Now, time for
Goofy's Hometown Heroes. [CHUCKLES]

BRYCE: You ready to paint?

Good girl.

Hey, I'm Bryce from Las Vegas, Nevada,
and I'm here with my dog, Arbor.

She's famous for her painting,
which she does with a brush in her mouth.

[CHUCKLES] Thank you.

We actually found Arbor
at the local shelter.

We were just looking for a companion

and when we saw Arbor,
we just connected with her,

and we decided right then
and there we were gonna take her home.

We just could not believe
how intelligent she was,

we would teach her a trick
and she would get it right away

- and she would remember it.
- Good girl, good girl.

One day, I came home and Jen
showed me a painting in the living room,

and I said,
"Well, where did that come from?"

And she said, "Arbor did that,"
and ever since then,

she just loved painting.

She does mainly abstract paintings.

When I tell Arbor, "fetch,"
she takes the brush in her mouth,

and then I'll tell her, "go paint,"
and off she goes.

I don't have to worry about her painting
the furniture, she knows right where to go

and then she brings the brush
right back to me.

This is one of my favorite paintings
that Arbor did.

I called it "Koi", because it looks like
a pond with some Japanese fish in it.

And then this one is called "Iris".

It kind of reminds me of the flower.

She also did this one on the back
of the wall there,

it's a red, white and blue.

We did that one around the Fourth of July.

The first painting that Arbor sold
was actually

for a local art auction to benefit
a local animal rescue groups.

Arbor painted live there at,
uh, the fundraiser,

then her first painting sold
for over 200 dollars and we were shocked.

Then we started doing more paintings
and we would post them on eBay.

One of them went up to 850 dollars.

Her highest selling painting
actually went for 2,000 dollars.

I know if I painted something,
I couldn't get 25 dollars for it,

but my dog is making thousands of dollars,
and she's raised over 11,000 dollars

from the sale of her paintings,
all of it going to rescue groups

all over the country
to help animals in need.

We encourage people to adopt
from their local shelter.

Not every animal at the shelter
is gonna be able to paint like Arbor,

but they will be your best friend and,
uh, and that's more important.

GOOFY:
For turning friendship into art,

that dog's a hometown hero.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

- [THEME MUSIC CONCLUDES]
- [DOG BARKING]