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Laurie Williams, holding her dog, Andrew, talks with Micheal Faulk during the benefit event yesterday in Stafford.
Contestants of the reality television show 'Greatest American Dog' (from left) Laura Nativo, Teresa Hanula
Laura Nativo (left) and Natalie Wakowitz hold each other's Maltese dogs and pose |
By PAMELA GOULD
DOZENS of paw-parazzi descended on Stafford County yesterday, eager to capture three of this season's stars of what some local viewers called a doggone good family show.
Andrew reveled in the high-pitched screams.
Leroy twisted off his necktie to bask in the spotlight.
And Preston paraded through the crowd, charming onlookers as only a true Casanova can.
Their handlers--or moms, as some referred to themselves--required little coaxing to give up the scoop on life inside CBS' "Greatest American Dog."
And the crowd, numbering more than 100 and having traveled from as far away as Richmond, lapped it up like a dog at a water bowl after a long, summer run.
Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
Email: pgould@freelancestar.com
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Three dog-person teams from the reality show, "Greatest American Dog," traveled to Pup 'N Iron yesterday for a benefit for Friends Fur Life Pet Sanctuary. Owner Laurie Will-iams and her Maltese, Andrew, Teresa Hanula of Fairfax and her border collie, Leroy, and Laura Nativo of Los Angeles and her Pomeranian, Preston Casa-nova, provided insights from their time on the show. Episode 8 airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. Nativo and Preston were eliminated in episode 6. If you don't know Travis from Brandy and Beth Joy from Bella Starlet, you can catch all the episodes on cbs.com. |
Prep time for each contest Laurie: A day or two tops. "It was exhausting."What doesn't air Laura: "What you don't see is how good of friends Laurie and Teresa and I were because we were so boring." Teresa: "They didn't show all the advice Laurie gave. It's a contest for a quarter-million dollars. She didn't have to do that."What the show's producers sought Laura: "I think they all wanted 'Big Brother' on a leash."Romances with Travis Laurie: I warned Brandy against getting chummy with Travis on national TV when she had a fiance at home. Laura: "Travis and I? They made it like this romance, but I barely talked to him [during the show]. Now we're real close, which is funny."On Bill, the Texan who wept because he missed his wife Laura: "Every night, he would write his wife a love letter. I would tell him: 'Hey, Bill, I need to find a guy like you, only 30 years younger.'" Teresa: "I lost my grandfather about a week before the program started. He reminded me of my grandfather. I want to adopt him."On getting eliminated Laura: "We were happy to be gone. We were about to drop out of the 'Canine Academy.'"The contestant they were happiest to see eliminated Teresa: "It had to be Beth Joy and Bella Starlet, paws down, really because she respected people in the house least." Laura: "Beth Joy. I don't even think she should have been in the competition." Laurie: "I would say my goal was to outlast Brandy and Beacon and Beth Joy. That was our goal, just on principle. Once that was done, I said, 'Ahhhh.'"(Beth Joy cried in nearly every episode and was chastised for dressing Bella Starlet in outfits.) On the judges--Wendy Diamond, a dog rescue advocate, Victoria Stilwell, who stars in "It's me or the dog," and Allan Reznik, editor-at-large of Dog Fancy and Dog World magazines. Teresa: "Unbelievable is the best word I can use. My mother taught me, 'If you can't say something nice...'" Laura: "I would love Wendy and Victoria to take their best dogs against Leroy and Andrew and Preston. [Allan] was probably the only judge I have respect for and would stay in contact with." |
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--Laurie "We were happy to be gone. We were about to drop out of the 'Canine Academy.'"--Laura "I think they all wanted 'Big Brother' on a leash." --Laurie "I warned Brandy against getting chummy with Travis on national TV when she had a fiance at home." --Laurie "Travis and I? They made it like this romance but I barely talked to him [during the show]. Now we're real close, which is funny." --Laura "It had to be Beth Joy and Bella Starlet, paws down, really because she respected people in the house least." --Teresa "Beth Joy. I don't even think she should have been in the competition." --Laura "I would say my goal was to outlast Brandy and Beacon and Beth Joy. That was our goal, just on principle. --Laurie Wendy Diamond, "Unbelievable is the best word I can use. My mother taught me, 'If you can't say something nice...'"--Teresa: "I would love Wendy and Victoria to take their best dogs against Leroy and Andrew and Preston. [Allan] was probably the only judge I have respect for and would stay in contact with."--Laura "They didn't show all the advice Laurie gave. It's a contest for a quarter-million dollars. She didn't have to do that." --Teresa |
