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‘We Still Got to Have Some Fun, You Know?’

The quiet woods surrounding the home of Bill and Dorothy Berloni are showing the first buds of spring as they take small groups of their dogs out for rounds of walks. As they follow the winding trails and take in the fresh air of a recent rain, it would seem—at least to these much-cared-for animals—that all’s right with the world.

The Berlonis—legendary animal trainers and behaviorists for the stage, movies, and TV—certainly know that the world is a very different place as a result of the pandemic. But while so much is still unknown and uncertain, they have a singular focus: caring for a menagerie of dogs and other creatures at their expansive Haddam enclave.

“We don’t have time to think about it,” says Berloni. “When you have 40 animals to care for you get up at 6:30 a.m. and you take care of them until 11 p.m., so we’re going all day long.”

Caring for these animals throughout the day has put the Berlonis through their paces.

“A new routine,” he says, “is that every day we each take two or three or four dogs out to the state parks both for their exercise and for ours.”

Being home for this long stretch and not working on film or TV shoots or in theaters across the country, Berloni says, “I’m very happy being amongst them.”

He says that he’s been getting many more calls from friends and other work associates in the entertainment industries saying, “Bill, I’m ready. I’m lonely. I want to adopt a dog now.”

While he says it’s wonderful that more people are of a mind to adopt pound or rescue dogs, “It’s tough now because the bricks-and-mortar shelters can’t allow people to come in.”

Berloni says he’s lost multiple filming and theater jobs because of the national shut-down. Because of that, he’s laid off his two employees.

“So now we’re going back to the early days when we were first married and we were just by ourselves,” he says, adding, “but we only had 20 animals then.”

Cloe on HBO’s High Maintenance

Berloni began his unplanned career in the mid-’70s when he was asked to find a dog who could play Sandy for a new musical at Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam called Annie. Since then he has been rescuing animals from pounds and shelters and finding them homes and turning them into working actors and, in some cases, headliners and even stars.

His current collection of animals at his sprawling farm includes Bowdie, who last summer starred in the musical Because of Winn Dixie at the Goodspeed. (Bowdie was also featured in Peter Pan Live as Nana. “He was the first dog to play a role on live television—and in front of 10 million people,” Berloni reports.)

Bowdie also starred in HBO’s High Maintenance, in an episode of that was told entirely from the dog’s point of view. The performance was so extraordinary that producers wanted to nominate the dog for an Emmy.

For those now confined to their homes and binging on TV, Berloni has a different dog starring, this time throughout the new season of High Maintenance: a one-eyed, pug-mix service dog named Cloe, owned by a woman in Florida and trained by Berloni.

Also coming up on Amazon Prime is Little Voice, co-produced by Sara Bareilles, about a singer-songwriter who is also a dog walker.

“It was one of the biggest TV projects we ever did because had to provide 10 dogs at a time for her to walk,” Berloni says.

While he’s permanently lost gigs, some are on hold, including assignment for the TV series Power and a major film, based on Sigrid Nunez’s best-seller, award-winning novel The Friend: A Novel, about an author mourning the suicide of her mentor-friend and inheriting his Great Dane.

Even with the shutdown in his business, Berloni stays connected online and recently he was a guest on Seth Rudetsky’s YouTube shows in which Berloni brought dogs from musicals such as Legally Blonde, The Wizard of Oz, and A Christmas Story live from his Connecticut home.

“We still got to have some fun, you know?” he says.

Some Tips for Pets and Their Parents

For those pets who are stuck at home with their parents who are around more than ever, Berloni has some tips on how to make it easier on everyone.

“Animals feel what we feel so they only have anxiety because we do,” he says. “Here are some suggestions for both.”

1 - Keep to your animal’s routine. Our lives have been turned upside down, but the one thing that has not is what you do with your animal. Sticking to their routine gives them a sense of stability and you a sense of control.

2 - Go for a walk. We walk to have them eliminate, but take a walk for fun and fresh air. It will be quality time for you both and getting some vitamin D will be good for any seasonal affective disorder feelings.

3 - Refrain from stress feeding them. Don’t use food and treats as an alternative to just giving affection. Making them overweight is bad for their health.

4 - Invent some new games. I am sure you both are spending way more time together than before so use it to teach behaviors, play new games, or give them a massage.