Jesse has been living anything but a dog's life.
The Jack Russell terrier has been in three photo shoots where his likeness was used in promotional materials for PetSmart, is on the box of a Bissell vacuum cleaner, made it to the finals for a spot on the CBS reality show Great American Dog, made it to the top four in the Worldwide Fido Awards show on Nickelodeon in October and has a talent agent seeking work for him.
Yet, his star status went through the roof when he defended his West Valley home from a burglar in June and it was all caught on camera - even if it was pretend.
"He is totally a Mighty Dog through and through," said Julie Kahn, spokeswoman for Nestlé Purina PetCare Company. "He defended his turf and was creative in protecting his home."
Jesse's creativity, as well as his owner's, Heather Brook, has landed the terrier on a "dogumentary" about the forming of the Web site, Mighty Dog Nation. The three- to five-minute film is scheduled to air on the Web site in early 2010.
Mighty Dog Nation
"We've known there are a million Mighty Dogs across the country - dogs who make their owners proud every day," Kahn said. "They are spirited, positive, can-do dogs.
"We created Mighty Dog Nation to put the spotlight on them," she said. "Plus, the owners have a community where they can interact."
Mighty Dog is a brand of canned dog food that has been produced by the Missouri-based Purina since 1973.
The forming of the Nation kicked off April 4 in Boston with its human ambassador, celebrity Maria Menounos (Fantastic Four and host of several television programs such as Today Show and Access Hollywood), officiating the ceremony. The 31-year-old will do the voiceover for the dogumentary, which will begin filming Sept. 14 at Jesse's home west of Loop 303.
The dogumentary "will tell the story on the founding of the Mighty Dog Nation," Kahn said. "It will be very celebratory."
A "movie trailer" will be shown on NBC Thanksgiving Day during the National Dog Show, Kahn said.
The movie will star Jesse and two other dogs, Jasmine, a Havanese from Gilbert, and Mater, a mixed breed from Carmel, Ind.
The trio was hand picked by Menounos from a pool of 10 dogs. Initially, more than 500 dogs and their owners entered the contest by posting a video on Mighty Dog Nation's Web site. A panel of three judges from Purina narrowed it down to 10 videos for Menounos to watch.
"The criterion she used was if they had star potential," Kahn said.
Jesse stops burglar with eggs
Jesse certainly displayed his potential to be a star while beating up on a cat burglar in his two-minute video.
The contest asked owners to "show us your story on why your dog is mighty," Brook said. "So I did a story on him protecting the house when a burglar comes in."
The burglar was 20-year-old Brook, who had a dual role in the video she completed in about a week's time.
She first leaves home portraying herself, saying goodbye to Jesse as he jumps up to give her a kiss. Then moments later, a burglar (Brook) creeps inside, though Jesse has the jump on the crook from the start.
The dog first heads into a room and comes out with a roll of money he strategically places near the kitchen counter.
When the thief heads for the cash, Jesse uses a rope to trip the burglar and then jumps up on the counter. Jesse proceeds to drop three eggs consecutively on the burglar's head. The dog then drips some honey in the burglar's eyes, followed by dumping flower all over the thief's face. For good measure, Jesse relieves himself near the stunned and wounded burglar. Then when the crook gets up, Jesse goes in for the kill, biting the thief where it counts. As the burglar drops the money and scrams out the door, Jesse leaps high into the air to slam it shut.
Jesse tops 200 tricks
In all, Jesse performed about 10 tricks in the video, including an impressive handstand where he walks on his front legs.
"He knew all the tricks before [making the video] but not together, so we practiced before filming," Brook said.
Her sister, Ashley, did some of the camera work, besides that, though, Brook did it all, from drawing the storyboards to editing the footage.
The result is a fluid movie that garnered the duo national attention, and a year's supply of Mighty Dog food. Plus, Purina will foot the bill for a premiere movie party in 2010 for Jesse, Brook and their family and friends, Kahn said.
"I'd love to get him in commercials or movies," Brook said of the goal for her 4-year-old Jack Russell terrier, who she has trained to know more than 200 tricks and commands. However, one of Jesse's favorite pastimes, hunting lizards, is not including in that list.
Plus, "he buys all of his own food and toys," Brook said.
To watch the three Mighty Dog Nation winning videos, visit mightydog.com/mightynation/dogumentary.aspx.
And to see additional videos of Jesse in action, check out his Web site at youtube.com/justjesse197.
Rich Ott can be reached by e-mail
at rott@westvalleyview.com.
