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Web Posted: 05/29/2009 12:00 CDT

'Dog Whisperer' is ready to speak out

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By Brian Chasnoff - Express-News

Cesar Millan, the widely admired dog guru and television star, speaks often about states of mind.

So naturally, when it comes to notoriously high animal and euthanasia numbers in San Antonio, the so-called Dog Whisperer believes the solution lies within.

“World transformation begins with self-transformation, so one person can make a difference,” Millan said recently by phone.

He added, “It's just awareness and working together. ... We all join in to the benefit of a cause. Well, the cause here is to control the animal population.”

City officials are scheduled to announce today that Millan is slated to speak and answer questions at the Lila Cockrell Theatre on July 11.

His appearance is billed as the highlight of “Dog Awareness Week,” a public awareness initiative that coincides with five days of dog shows at the convention center beginning July 8.

The River City Cluster of Dog Shows partnered with the city this year to reinforce a message of responsible pet ownership — a state of mind that officials say is essential in stopping the killing of healthy, adoptable animals by 2012.

More than 5,600 dogs and cats have been euthanized here this year. In a mostly Hispanic city with more than 700,000 animals and a lackluster sterilization rate, officials are hoping Millan, a Mexican immigrant, will prove an inspiring presence.

This week, he filmed a bilingual public service announcement for San Antonio that officials plan to air soon.

“We're hoping that the community will really listen to him,” said Shirley Wills, spokeswoman for the dog shows.

Millan was raised alongside pigs, cows and chickens on a farm in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

By the time he was 13, locals had nicknamed him “El Perrero,” or “The Dogman,” because canines seemed to follow him everywhere.

At 21, Millan rode a bus to Tijuana with $100 in his pocket and paid someone to lead him across the border. Living in South-Central Los Angeles, he read dog psychology books and garnered a reputation for controlling packs of dogs.

“It's funny, because South-Central Los Angeles is the 'hood, right? And people said, nobody's going to come here,” he said. “Sooner or later, limos (started) arriving with dogs from Beverly Hills.”

Millan's “Dog Whisperer” became the highest rated show on the National Geographic Channel in its first season, and the show now is in its fifth year.

Married with two sons, Millan owns 10 dogs, including two pit bulls named “Daddy” and “Junior.” He scorns the idea of banning pit bulls.

“When you ban a breed, you are saying I am afraid and I don't know how to deal with it, and the only way is to block its existence,” he said. “I don't think America wants to embrace that kind of concept. Awareness is the solution.”

Inspired by Eastern philosophies, Millan counts anxiety as a major stumbling block for many pet owners.

“A lot of my clients, they live in the past,” he said. “Let's say a dog bit somebody yesterday. Well, that experience travels with them every single day. A dog, when he meets me, what he senses is a human who's not in the past, who's in the now.”

He added, “So the human has to learn to remove the past and not anticipate the future.”

Millan said the spread of such insight actually could help San Antonio reach its goal of becoming no-kill by 2012.

“I'm very optimistic that the awareness will eventually catch up. Because, you know, one thing, before the show aired, everybody blamed the dog,” he said. “Now, more and more people say, ‘I know it's not the dog, it's me.' So I'm changing the state of mind, little by little.”

Comments

28 comment(s) on "'Dog Whisperer' is ready to speak out"
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KhollerSA0512:50 PM
I do think that it is a great idea for them to have him do the tv advertisement. I'm just a bit concerned about the fact that they re hoping that having him in SA will help spread the awareness of spaying and neutering your animals. I just checked on the ticket prices for the event, at $115 a piece in this economy I have a feeling that the people who really need to hear the message probably wouldn't go hear him speak. Don't get me wrong he is great.... Watching and appying what I have seen from him with my dog has made my animal filled houshold a bit milder, I'm just concerned that those who need to hear the message the most won't
1voice8:05 PM
I just love Cesar and his show and the way he relates to people. Sometimes he even helps with the humans problems! I saw him when he was here for a seminar in Dec 07 and enjoyed seeing him. His techniques do work, but not everyone agrees with his tactics. That's okay, there are other methods that can work, but most say that you have to be the pack leader and be in control. I hope he can reach more people with the message of the adoption option and sterilization to control animal population.
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