I’ve been trying to break into show business with my pets for some time now. I had some success a few years ago when my dog Dazzle was in a commercial. Everything on set went well. It was an interesting experience. And, then, I waited for the promised check to come. It never did. Dazzle got stiffed.

That experience failed to dull my interest in promoting my pets. At a cat show, Nougat was recruited by another talent agent. Since then, he has been in the finals for a number of jobs. Unfortunately, he has lost out at the last minute for a variety of reasons. The client decided he wanted the cat to be active; Nougat likes to sit and look good. The client wanted a different color; I’m not dying my cat. My other animals got involved as well. Fancy, my chocolate Labrador was offered a job in a Mercedes commercial; she had to decline as she was pregnant. Bon Bon was hired for a web commercial. At the last minute, the theme of the commercial changed and dark, long haired cats were no longer wanted. You get the idea.

Well, we finally got a job that wasn’t cancelled.Yesterday, Nougat and Ganache were photographed on a bed for cat litter packaging, It was tedious. Pillows had to be arranged and rearranged. And then arranged again. Nougat was a pro; Ganache, on the other hand, took a dive under the bed a couple of times. You would think that taking pictures of cats on a bed would be easy. It’s not. Nougat had to sit at camera right while Ganache had to lay next to him at an angle. And then they both had to look happily up at the camera.

As time went on, the room got hot and the cats got tired. And then the pillows had to be rearranged. Treats and toys were not helping. The cats needed a break. After a bit of a rest, they came back out but didn’t want their original positions. Nougat got kranky and gave Ganache a couple of swats. It’s hard to look relaxed and cute when you are afraid of getting  hit. So, the photographers did separate shots of each cat. Nougat must have been waiting for this. He sucked up the spot light. Ganache did what he needed to do, but was happy when it was time to go home.

All in all, it was a good experience. I will not submit Ganache for any more jobs as he didn’t seemed impressed with the situation. It’s my job to be sure my pets are comfortable with the things I want them to do, and I just don’t think show business is in Ganache’s future.

On the other hand, I think Nougat has what it takes to be a star. Pawtographs, anyone?