Ice Cream Social
Author: admin
Categories: Episodes, Style Files
Welcome to the very first episode of The Dog Files, a brand new web video show that we hope will become a steady, and dear, part of your internet diet.
But this episode is special to us for quite a few reasons.
About six years ago, I was laid off from a company in New York City in the aftermath of 911 and I was at the point in my life where alcohol and staying out late at night began having diminishing returns for me.
I knew I was finally ready for the discipline and responsibility of having my very own dog.
I went out to a few shelters to look, but found only barking pit bulls waiting for me. No offense, but I’m a “floppy-eared dog” kinda guy. In hindsight, I’m not even sure why I chose the shelter route. At that time I didn’t even know what a puppy mill was.
After pounding the pavement for a week or two, my friend’s wife recommended a beautiful shelter in Madison, NJ. So we travelled to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center and an hour later, I walked out with a furry hound that would change my life.
I’ll be honest, it was pretty rough the first few weeks. This pointer/american foxhound mix had a tough first year of his life. The people who previously owned him kept him in a crate all day while they were at work. He didn’t exactly have the social skills he should have at his age and he developed separation-anxiety because of the whole “twelve hours a day in a crate” thing he endured the year before.
But then a month turned to two and then to three. And that, in combination with me having a lot of time on my hands due to the lay off, changed everything.
I noticed, with the help of some treats, how attentive this hound, now christened Max, was to me. More so than usual I thought. I mean, I grew up with an English Springer-Spaniel and he liked his treats, but not quite like Max. With a little work he began to learn almost anything I asked him to do.
It started with a quizzical look on his face. He was clearly trying desperately to figure out what I wanted him to do. I could actually see the gears spinning in his head. And then, most times within 20 minutes tops, he figured it out. I taught him to sit, stay, lay down, roll over, crawl, speak, play dead, get his leash, shake, give me high fives, growl on command, spin in a circle, you name it and this dog would learn it…for a treat, of course.
And during that first year with him, he just kept getting better and better. He seemed incredibly happy and satisfied to finally have a place to call his home, and a human to call his trusted friend.
About two years ago, spurned on by my ever-growing love of all things dog, I got an idea for a show. What if we went out there and filmed all the amazing things that are going on for people to do with their hounds? What if we made a show that was a celebration of dogs and the people who love them?
I thought the shelter where I found Max would be the perfect place to start, so I called my friend, Jenn Schulz, who used to work there and she thought so too. She recommended their upcoming event, the ice cream social.
We had a great time shooting the social and both my co-producer, Courtney and I, knew we were on to something. That we might really have something special here.
And if that wasn’t enough, when we left St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center that day, Courtney took with her, an eight week old ball of fluff she named Buddha.
Courtney couldn’t have picked a better place to adopt him at.
Kenn Bell
Creator of The Dog Files
Episode Links:
St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center
View Comments, Comment or Ping
wpjason
This is a test comment.
Apr 24th, 2008
Ari
I met you today at the TRS event. My wife and I loves the site….keep up the good work.
Jun 8th, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks guys, it was nice meeting you too.
Jun 8th, 2008
Dwayne
This production looks really great!! I love the colors and depth of field… and the dogs, of course!
Jun 17th, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks, Dwayne!
Jun 17th, 2008
fourmutts
Fantastic site! I've been following on twitter and the 1st episode is great. My wife and I have 4 mutts all found or rescued in some way I even work for the the AKC! so we are big time dog people. I look forward to more episodes.
Jun 17th, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks Fourmutts! And also thanks for rescuing 4 mutts! Mixed Breed's all the way!!!
Jun 17th, 2008
sweetbyter
this is a great idea! My shelter dog Clyde(JAC – South Orange) and I did puppy kindergarten with St H and look forward to joining you all at the next social!
Jun 20th, 2008
Kenn Bell
Hi Sweetbyter, thanks for the compliments! Just wanted to let you know if you weren't aware. The Dog Files is independent of St. Hubert's. This isn't their site. We will be showing lots of different shelters over the coming months. Keep checking back for more episodes and if you have any ideas for episodes that we can film in NJ, contact us with the info on The Dog Files Contact Page!
Jun 20th, 2008
Noreen
The quality of the video is great! You did a wonderful job and it's so nice to see people and their pooches enjoying the day. I want to find out where I can get Frosty Paws for our dogs.
Jun 22nd, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks Noreen, I'm glad you liked it! For info about Frosty Paws check out:
http://www.frostypawstreats.com/FrostyPaws/
You should be able to find out where to buy it there.
Jun 22nd, 2008
ed
I was pleasantly surprised by the site and presentation. I look forward to more episodes.
Jun 23rd, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks Ed! We'll have a new episode up right after the July 4th weekend.
Jun 23rd, 2008
Chris Brogan...
Wow! Looks great! Thanks for sharing this, Kenn. It's a really nice site.
Jun 23rd, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks Chris, that means a lot coming from you! I'm always reading your site to learn some more stuff that I can apply to mine.
Jun 23rd, 2008
esquareda
Great site layout and even better editing on the video. Very well done – to the point that it could easily be a current show on any cable network. Kudos!
Jun 23rd, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks Esquareda, we definitely wanted the show to hold up to anything on TV. Nice to hear you think we succeeded!
The second episode will be up right after the July 4th weekend. Hope you check it out!
Jun 23rd, 2008
seagoon
Hi, Ken. Wonderful stuff! Have subscribed and look forward to future episodes. Has your ultra-marathon doc been released yet? Cheers, Colin
Jun 23rd, 2008
Kenn Bell
We are deep into the second hour of the Ultra Doc. Hoping to have it locked by end of August or at least September. Thanks for subscribing!
Jun 23rd, 2008
Katie
My two Maltese dogs and I just go to Meetups once a month to socialize with other dogs and dog owners. Next time I'll suggest an ice cream social. Looks like fun!
Jun 25th, 2008
K9 Amiga
Great site and great work documenting such a cool (literally) event!
Thanks for supporting my blog, and no worries on the frisbee phobia, Stranger's best friend is terrified of balls.
god bless nutty dogs.
Jun 26th, 2008
Jen
Ken- the site looks awesome! I can't wait to see the next episode. I'll be sure to spread the word about to it friends and co-workers at Nylabone. I'm not sure if you've met my new little guy yet but his name is Cruz and he's a little Chuhuahua… so that makes 3 pups for me now! If there's anything I can ever do to help or be a part of the Dog Files just let me know
I love it.
Jun 27th, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks, Jen! It took two years but I'm really proud of the site.
Wow. three dogs! Very cool, you're exactly the kind of person I made this site for.
Anyway you can spread the word would be awesome! Thanks!
Jun 27th, 2008
Senior
Kenn, great site. Outstanding production values. Rivals anything seen on TV. Ready for prime time. Keep up the good work!
Jun 29th, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks, I had a good role model growing up!
Jun 29th, 2008
Eileen
Great idea for a show! As a dog lover I couldn't wait to watch, and what I found was a really well produced short-form video. I'll be watching and subscribing!
Oct 5th, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks, Eileen, I appreciate your nice words!
Oct 14th, 2008
Kenn Bell
Thanks, Eileen, I appreciate your nice words!
Oct 14th, 2008
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