Spotted on Tour. . .

Attention parents of children of a certain age--between about five and ten, I'd say--who love animals. There is a new touring stage version of 101 Dalmatians that features live animals!!! Having been that mother who scoured all toy stores for every stuffed replica of all the dalmatians in the live action and cartoon version of the Disney classic for one very dog-crazy daughter, I'd suggest stocking up now.

The new musical features one dozen real dalmatians rescued from shelters around the country including one very real Rascal, the pup with a broken leg, who indeed has the same affliction in real life. The live dogs are not in all of the scenes; actors in costume portray most of the dogs in the same vein as the musical, "Cats," but it's safe to say that when the real ones scamper across the stage, they steal the show.

The show begins a national tour this month in Minneapolis so keep your eyes open for a run in your neck of the woods. Apparently the Finale, which features all the real dogs "dancing" to a specially composed tune, is "jaw-dropping."

Animal trainer Joel Slavens is in charge of the pooches and he knew all about the "run" on dalmatians that followed the release of the Disney movie. He also knew that most of those pooches ended up at shelters because the high strung breed is certainly not for everyone. He vowed that this time around, he would use the spotted pups as an opportunity to explain that dogs in the movies are trained to win your heart and that training is a lot of work.

For starters, these thespians are kept extremely busy, between grooming, training and just being dog sessions carefully scheduled into every day. They travel in a specially equipped bus (in kennels) with two full-time trainers. They have been carefully acclimated to the theater environment, including performing in front of a live orchestra, complete with drums.

And yes, they have been trained to handle media requests. When the show is over, these former shelter dogs all need to find homes and Slaven has agreed to adopt any that don't.

What lucky animals! Rescued from shelters, taught to be "stars" and promised retirement with all the perks. Maybe somebody should think of a way of taking retired horses on the road with music and lyrics. . .