'Annie' Dog Goes from Death Row to Broadway

Webvet

By WebVet.com

A two-year-old terrier mix named Sunny has gone from death row to the Great White Way after being plucked from a Houston pound to star in the Broadway revival of Annie.

Award-winning animal trainer William Berloni is responsible for rescuing Sunny, after seeing her photo online in the midst of his Sandy search. She was just 24 hours away from execution and had been mislabeled a male and given the name Bruno. Berloni, who is known for using shelter dogs in all of his projects, sent her photo to the Annie producers, who responded: "Save her. I don't care what it costs."

"The most talented animals are right there under your nose," Berloni told the AP. "The message is: Animals in shelters are not damaged, just unfortunate."

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As for how Sunny became Sandy? "I didn't think she was a candidate for Sandy," Berloni admitted. "Her description was so sweet and she looked very much like the original Sandy that we were just saving her to find her a home." But after the two met, Beloni realized he had a star on his hands. "I met her and went, `Wow, she could really be a candidate,"' he said. "She's going to be fantastic."

Sunny's part hasn't fully been mapped out yet, but Berloni is busy training her to perform a list of tricks -- and has been told she might be required to dance. "I have to say, it's the first time I've ever put a dog in a dance number," Berloni said. "That's going to be new and interesting."

Maybe he should bring in Pudsey to give some lessons?

Sunny with her Annie:


Photo credit: AP

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