Nicholas Sparks and friends ...
Playing the owner of a kennel in the film, Danner had to learn how to work with dogs. “Well, luckily for me – and I don’t want to brag, but in New York City, my husband and I have two Golden Retrievers,” she says. “I trained them both and he said ‘You’ll never get those dogs to do anything.’ In Central Park, you can let them off their leashes early in the morning and I love going there with our dogs. My brother said, ‘You’ll never get them to stay off the rugs.’ I showed him! ‘Off the rugs!’ I tell them and they obey. So, I came to this role a little prepared. The dogs in the movie were so wonderful. One in particular -- I just adored him.”
Does Danner think her animals have ever taught her anything? “Unconditional love,” she answers, “how to love without judgment. The very first dog I had as a baby was Dukie and I’ve never had another a dog like him. He was my guardian and my friend. This dog wouldn’t let anybody near me. My mom would put my playpen on the front lawn and he would just sit there guarding me. My mom told me years later how we kids would be out in the neighborhood playing and she’d tell him, ‘Bring the kids home for dinner.’ And he would come get us. He was a special dog.”
