HOW much is that doggie in the musical? If you're taking your children to see Annie the Musical which opens in Sydney in January and in Brisbane in April, the price of falling in love with one of the production's canine stars could be as high as $2000.
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The two dogs playing Sandy, the dog rescued by little orphan Annie, are groodles - a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle - chosen for their fluffy coats and even temperaments. A groodle puppy can cost between $1300 and $2000. Fully grown, these "designer dogs" can weigh up to 42 kilograms. That's a whole lot of dog.
The last national tour of Annie featured two labradoodles, supplied by show business animal agency Animal House. This time, the company has chosen groodles Coogee and Mickey because they are bigger and even fluffier.
"Coogee is a gentle giant," says Julie Lorimer of Animal House, which also supplied the cairn terriers in the most recent Australian production of The Wizard of Oz and bull terriers for Oliver! The Musical. She is now talking to the producers of Legally Blonde the Musical, who are looking for a chihuahua and a bulldog.
"Show dogs have to have charisma and confidence," Ms Lorimer said. "They have to be eager to learn and keen to please."
Coogee and Mickey, both stage novices, have been trained to walk calmly around the stage with the three little girls rotating the role of Annie.
Their big moment comes when they pop out of a Christmas box at the end of the show.
Veterinary surgeon and spokesman for Dogs NSW Dr Peter Higgins warned parents against choosing a dog from a show or a film.
He said there had been a recent sales spike in kelpies thanks to the local film hit Red Dog, just as there was for dalmatians after 101 Dalmatians and pugs after Milo and Otis. But now some of those dogs were being dumped or taken to shelters.
"A kelpie, like the one in Red Dog, is a hard-working dog that needs a lot of exercise, but most of us in the city have small backyards and live pretty sedentary lives," he said.
"A few years back, there was an Afghan hound in a movie and lots of people went out and bought one.
''But they need lots of exercise and they have long coats that need brushing. We couldn't count the number of Afghans that came into the RSPCA that year.''
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