Broadway Trainer Pens Dog Tale

Bill Berloni has written a book about his life as one of Broadway’s leading animal trainers.

Posted: June 17, 2008, 5 a.m. EDT

Bill Berloni, a dog trainer who has coached dozens of dogs for Broadway roles since 1976, has written a book about his career called “Broadway Tails: Heartfelt Stories of Rescued Dogs Who Became Showbiz Superstars.”

In the book, Berloni talks about one of his first “trainees,” Broadway’s original Sandy, a dirty and formerly abused dog who was hours away from being euthanized in a Connecticut animal shelter when Berloni tapped him to star alongside Andrea McArdle.

Berloni also writes about more recent students, including an alpha-Chihuahua who Berloni trained to become a soft and pampered pooch for the stage version of “Legally Blonde.”

Also highlighted in the book is a Collie named Argyle, from 2005’s “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Berloni adopted Argyle from Herding Dog Rescue of Long Island in Yaphank, N.Y., and says the dog means a lot on both a professional and personal level.

“Argyle reminds me of my childhood dog, Rexie, who started me on my dog-training path,” Berloni told New York Newsday.

“Broadway Tails: Heartfelt Stories of Rescued Dogs Who Became Showbiz Superstars,” which was written with Jim Hanrahan, is in stores now.