Animal Action Summary

Most of the animal action in this film concerns Pete’s dog Rochelle, a brown and white Jack Russell terrier mix. The dog appears with Pete in several scenes at his home, at the Piggly Wiggly, and on various car rides. A bucolic farm scene includes the milking of a dairy cow, horses grazing in the background, and a handful of chickens pecking at feed scattered on the ground.

Detailed Action

Marveling at the excess and ostentation found only in L.A., Rosalee does a double-take when she catches 

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Rating: Acceptable 

The “Sweet Home Alabama” theme gets tweaked again in this bubblegum comedy starring Kate Bosworth as Rosalee, a Piggly Wiggly checkout girl who wins a romantic evening with bad boy heartthrob Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel). For supermarket manager and best pal Pete (Topher Grace), who’s hopelessly in love with the beautiful blonde, the timing couldn’t be worse. The competition really heats up when the Hollywood hottie decides to give life in the “real world” a try and moves to Fraziers Bottom, West Virginia, to pursue the sweet, small-town girl. 

Animal Action Summary

Most of the animal action in this film concerns Pete’s dog Rochelle, a brown and white Jack Russell terrier mix. The dog appears with Pete in several scenes at his home, at the Piggly Wiggly, and on various car rides. A bucolic farm scene includes the milking of a dairy cow, horses grazing in the background, and a handful of chickens pecking at feed scattered on the ground.

Detailed Action

Marveling at the excess and ostentation found only in L.A., Rosalee does a double-take when she catches 

  sight of a dog tucked into an infant car seat in a luxury convertible. Trainers placed this fetching Boston Terrier named Buster into the car seat and fastened him in with a clip to his collar and front straps. One trainer cued Buster to stay and look forward as the camera car drove by, while another handler got the dog to look over to the side. 

As Tad tours his new farm with Rosalee and her friends, Pete finally sees his chance to show up the city slicker at some tricky country chores. Things don’t turn out exactly as Pete planned, however, because it seems Tad’s a natural when it comes to rural activities such as log splitting and milking cows. For the latter scene, head trainer Paul Calabria said they taught the actor how to milk the cow but that Duhamel only got out about half a glass; the special effects department took care of the rest to make it appear as though there was a substantial amount of milk in the pail.

Despite the driving rain, Rosalee races to catch up with Pete after his sudden departure for Richmond. Stunned to see her when she pulls up beside him, Pete crashes the car off the road and Rochelle pops up in the front seat, apparently unharmed. For this harrowing scene, the production filmed on a closed private road and used a camera trailer to pull the car. Trainers placed the dog in the car after the crash so she actually never came in any danger from Pete’s reckless driving. 

Sanitation issues notwithstanding, Piggly Wiggly’s seems to encourage the human/animal bond by allowing Pete to bring his pooch to work at the supermarket everyday. In one scene, Rochelle sits on a chair in the manager’s office enjoying Pete’s absentminded caresses. Trainer Megan Valinoti placed Rochelle on mark and stood off camera giving hand signals and showing the dog her treat in order to keep her head up.

For an earlier scene where Rochelle rides along in Pete’s Mustang with her head lolling out the window, the unseen trainer crouched inside the vehicle and kept the dog safe through the use of a hidden waist tie. According to both trainers and American Humane representatives on set, “Rochelle”, like most canines, thoroughly enjoyed her adventures in the automobile.