Meet Rascal, the one year old mini Jack Russell, which has been chosen to play Toto in Enniskillen Light Operatic’s production of The Wizard of Oz this December.
Rascal was chosen after appearing at ‘dogditions’ at the beginning of October, where directors were looking for “a friendly, well trained dog” that will interact well with the actors, will not be easily distracted and will not bite the children.
Enniskillen dog owners take the lead as they flock to Dogdition
Not only does the well-trained pooch possess those attributes, she is also known to sleep inside a zipped up hoodie; chase Kitten and Socks (the family cats) around the kitchen; get bitten on the nose by Barney the family parrot; and run so fast that her back legs pass her front ones out when she is going around corners.
Rascal pictured with 'Dorothy' at ELO auditions
Rascal is owned by Trish Bennet, her husband Ronan Walsh and their daughter Sarah, from Enniskillen.
“Sarah and I took the dog to the auditions for the craic,” Trish explained. “Sarah is in her transfer year and needed a break from the hard sums and writing.
“We have trained Rascal since she was a pup. We also have two cats, an African grey parrot and sixty thousand bees. My husband, Ronan, has given up all hope of having sanity in our home.”
Such is the family’s excitement at Rascal’s impending stage debut, Trish has penned a blog ‘written by Rascal’, outlining what’s involved in the Enniskillen Light Operatic (ELO) rehearsals.
Enniskillen dog owners take the lead as they flock to Dogdition
It reads: “My job is to be Toto, Dorothy’s dog. I’m no rookie when it comes to playing Toto. When I was a pup Sarah dressed up like Dorothy for ‘Enniskillen’s Got Talent’. She sang ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’. My role was ‘to look cute’: been there, done that, got the rosette. It’s a lot more ‘paws on’ this time. I’ve got a new Dorothy. She’s a star. She carries me around and talks nice to me, just like Sarah. Best of all she has a pocket full of treats and I know they’re all for me.”
ELO’s Wizard of Oz will be performed at the Ardhowen Theatre from Thursday 1 - Saturday 3 December at 8pm; Monday 5 - Saturday 10 December at 8pm, with matinees on Saturday 3 and Saturday 10 December at 3pm.
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