Dog Stuck in Shelter for Over a Year, Gets Adopted to Play the Star Role in a New TV Series
For a year and a half, Ned had been stuck in a shelter in Chicago. Meanwhile, executive producers Michael Killen and Samm Hodges were looking across the nation for the perfect shelter dog for their ABC show, Downward Dog.

Though the search was long, Samm and Michael stumbled upon Ned, and were immediately drawn to him because of his beautiful bright eyes. It seemed they instantly knew that Ned was the dog they were looking for.
Now Ned is the dog who went from shelter to stardom.

The show is based on their web series which has one minute shorts featuring a talking dog who speaks about the complexity of relationships- specifically about his owners. Ned’s character is hilarious, yet intelligent.
Ned was adopted by Nicole Handley, the show’s trainer who soon began his six weeks of acting school.
Click to next page for more on his training.