If there is a virtuoso of theatrical dog training, it is Bill Berloni. In 1976 at the age of 19, Berloni was a budding thespian who trained a shaggy shelter dog to play alongside a curly-haired girl in a Broadway-bound musical.

The dog was Sandy, the show was "Annie," and the rest is history.

Today, Berloni, 51, lives in Haddam, Conn., with his wife Dorothy, 10-year-old daughter, Jenna, and no less than 17 dogs, all of them rescues and most of them stage stars of various stripes (and spots). He also is the author of the recently published "Broadway Tails: Heartfelt Stories of Rescued Dogs Who Became Showbiz Superstars" (Lyons Press, 2008).
When he’s not on the road where he spends about half his time, Berloni works from home, every day packed with dogs, dogs — and more dogs.

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