(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: Hello, dear viewer. It's me, Jeff Goldblum.
Hey, can I introduce you to somebody?
Pan down, please, to...
Ah! This is Woody, that’s our dog. Say hi, Woody.
He’s been a big part of our family for seven or eight years.
Hello.
So many people seem to be just over the moon about dogs.
I mean, look at all these folks.
In the United States of America, 63 million households
include at least one dog!
MALE VOICE: Yeah, the whole darn country has gone to the dogs.
And every single year, uh,
you know, what we spend on our sweet doggies?
Seventy billion dollars!
In dog we trust.
How much do you love your dog?
-So much. -So much.
-He’s my everything. -Really?
She has a cute little dress on.
He has my eyes, no?
Wait a minute, wait a minute. Look at that, he seems devoted to you.
-He’s my little baby. -JEFF: He’s your baby.
Look. Look, he wants to play. And he’s... Okay, wait, wait, wait.
Woody, Woody, Woody, this is Disney+, this is Disney+.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: "The dog is the humans’ best friend," you’ve heard that.
But, uh, I think it’s a love... affair of some kind.
That’s what I think. It is for me.
(DREAMY MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: Hey, here’s a question.
Out of the many millions of species here on planet Earth,
how come the most enduring and most powerful relationship
has been with dogs? Why?
(DREAM MUSIC CONCLUDES)
(DOG BARKS)
JEFF: I’ll bet, uh, many of you
have memories of your... your favorite pooch growing up.
(BARKS)
JEFF: You know, when I was a kid, I loved those TV and movie dogs.
I remember Lassie. "Hey, Lassie, where’s Timmy?
-"He fell down the well." -(JEFF AND LASSIE BARK)
MALE VOICE: Hey, hey, never mind eating me, just get me out of here.
JEFF: But well-known dogs, at this point, are part of a whole new cultural chapter.
Nowadays, the internet... aye-aye-aye,
it’s taken the cult of the doggie to a whole new level.
NEWSREADER: Move over Kardashians, you’ve got competition.
(BARKS)
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: So, I’ve taken a little trip to the great state of Georgia
for an audience with one of the members of a new breed of canine superstars.
And his name is, guess what? Tuna.
So nice to meet all of you, thank you for... for... for doing this.
What’s going on here? What interest have you in this Tuna?
-I... I have not met Tuna. -Oh, wow.
He is this adorable little dog with a huge overbite.
-So, what does Tuna give to your life? -It brings a smile to your day.
Especially whenever you're having a bad day and you find...
You see a little Tuna post or something.
FEMALE VOICE 1: That's amazing.
FEMALE VOICE 2: I follow you on Instagram, though.
-FEMALE VOICE 1: Yes. -JEFF: You do?
You're always fun. Always positive. Just like Tuna.
Well, he's got two-point-one million followers.
Guess how many followers I have on my Instagram?
-FEMALE VOICE 3: How many? -Two point one.
-FEMALE VOICE 3: Wow. Oh! -Exactly the same as Tuna!
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS)
FEMALE VOICE 1: Oh! It's Tuna.
JEFF: So this is the guy that I’m neck to neck with
on social media?
COURTNEY: So, do you guys want to
-take some photos with him? -FEMALE VOICE 3: Yes!
-COURTNEY: Okay. -That would be great.
JEFF: When it comes to celebrities, that’s as tiny as you can get.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Now, I guess he’s got a boyish charm.
COURTNEY: All right, ready? Set.
-Uh-oh. -(BARKS LOUDLY)
MALE VOICE: All right. Take him, take him, take him, take him.
I didn’t do anything. I’m not doing anything.
-Did you stare him in the eyes? -COURTNEY: See what I mean?
No, I didn’t stare at him.
(CONTINUES BARKING)
COURTNEY: My darling.
Hey, he’s got it in for me! I’m not even looking at him,
and he’s like, "Get out of here. Get that guy out of here."
I didn’t do anything, I swear. Now I guess we got off on the wrong foot?
And that’s too bad, because I’m about to spend
the whole morning with Tuna on his latest photo shoot. Okay.
And I’m gonna show you kind of his natural photos
that he takes almost every day.
So, we put him on his back. He lies like this.
-Yes. Gorgeous. -Jeff, can you... can...
-MALE VOICE: It’s his vulnerable... -Yeah, this is territory.
He doesn't like to be... to be here?
-COURTNEY: No, no he does, but he’s... -No, he does, he’s just very exposed.
-COURTNEY: Yes. And you’re... -Yes, not when he doesn’t trust.
-He has to trust. -Yes. All right, and then look.
JEFF: Let me get right to the point, is this life of celebrity
-and self-glorification... -Yes.
Has it distorted him into some sort of diva-esque
-performer type? -Yeah.
But he doesn’t know what the heck’s going on.
-No, absolutely he does. -He does?
Absolutely changed him for the worst.
Really? Like... like messed up child... child actors.
Maybe, yeah. But you're gonna help me today...
-Okay. -...with a calendar.
Last year, we'd shot, uh, Essential Edition Calendar
where we honored Essential Workers. This year, we're gonna honor animals.
So, Tuna’s gonna dress up as different animals.
(CHUCKLES)
And that's what the calendar shoot’s going to be.
Hey, that's good. Well, he could be, you know, like a cow, of course.
-A little... -COURTNEY: What about a chicken?
-Chicken? -COURTNEY: Chicken.
-Yep. Let's... -COURTNEY: Chicken.
...let's turn him into a chicken.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS)
-COURTNEY: All right, Tunes. -JEFF: Oh, my golly.
-COURTNEY: So, now... -JEFF: You've got to be kidding.
You've got to be kidding. (CHUCKLES)
Now, what we're gonna do...
is we are going to get Tuna excited.
This is his new pet monster.
-(BARKS) -(COURTNEY EXCLAIMS, LAUGHS)
Tuna, Tuna, Tuna.
What if we cut from that to a shot of him just attached to my thigh?
And me going... (IN HIGH PITCHED VOICE) Aye, aye, aye. Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye.
(SCREAMS)
COURTNEY: Now, I need you to be weird, remember?
-Yeah. -This is my voice...
(SINGING IN HIGH-PITCHED VOICE)
(MAN LAUGHS)
I think I just made a little tinkle.
Is that what I was supposed to do?
But he was good before. Before we did anything.
I mean, he was looking like that. I mean, what's wrong with that?
There's nothing wrong. We're just getting expressions.
-See... -You know, because he's on a pillow,
-so he's gonna fall asleep. -Different expressions?
Why don't we get the expression that is coming out of him... naturally?
See, how do you feel right now?
Beautiful.
Well, I know what it’s like to have to cut the mustard
in front of the camera.
But, whether he knows it or not, uh, he’s irrepressibly cute! That’s true.
This is a funny looking dog. He’s very unconventional
and I think that’s what makes him so unique
and why people love him so much, is 'cause he pulls at their heart strings.
'Cause he’s so different looking, and he’s the underdog.
He brings me so much joy,
and that's why I think he brings a lot of other people joy,
because I communicate that to his followers. Like...
-But... -Oh, my gosh. Please just let him come up.
JEFF: Oh!
When did this change of heart come upon you?
-It's 'cause you just let yourself... -It's... Yes.
-...lay out bare before him and... -Yes.
...he felt the authenticity.
You were vulnerable and so he just came in
and now he feels comfortable with you.
It's like all those romant... Every romantic comedy you've ever seen.
-We don't like each other at first. -COURTNEY: Yes.
-JEFF: But, then... -COURTNEY: And now he came through.
JEFF: And now, we love each other.
(MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS)
So, what did we just see?
Amazing. He had a bad reaction to me.
(CHUCKLES)
At first, you know, it's okay, but I'll be darned if at some point
we fell in love with each other.
You know, he may have some tooth,
you know, quirks of one kind or another, but... he's beautiful.
Man, that's a really beautiful, beautiful dog. And I love him.
So... (CHUCKLES)
I don't care who knows it. How about that?
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: But maybe there’s a reason that I so quickly succumbed
to Tuna’s charms.
Maybe, I was seduced by something called kinder schema.
That’s what the Austrians call the scientific formula for cuteness,
two of the elements of which are, uh, large eyes
and big heads on small bodies.
We see that and it triggers an instinct to wanna nurture and protect.
And we’ve bred them for that!
We deliberately changed dogs' height, their temperament, their proportions.
We selected traits that make them fit to our lives
and play on our heart strings.
-(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) -(DOG BARKS DISTANTLY)
JEFF: So, at this point, it’s sometimes hard to imagine
that every single breed of dog, even Tuna,
-is in fact descended from the wolf. -(HOWLS)
That’s, by the way, with whom our relationship really began
many, many thousands of years ago.
(HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: Now, there are dog owners who actively preserve
and nourish that original partnership,
embracing and harnessing dogs' natural strength,
skills, and speed in a kind of an unusual way.
Uh, I’m about to try my hand, believe it or not,
at something called Urban Mushing.
And my instructors are the Casillans. This is Christian, Ashley, Cameron,
and the youngest little pup, his name is Carson.
Are you named after a Johnny Carson?
(BOTH LAUGH)
He likes my jokes. He likes my jokes.
Finally, somebody who... who gets the... gets the humor.
(DOGS BARKING)
Right on cue.
They've introduced themselves, but it’s the call of the wild! (CHUCKLES)
(CHRISTIAN CHUCKLES)
-These are huskies, I believe, right? -CHRISTIAN: Correct.
Are these the closest breed to a wolf?
Yes. I mean, there are wolf, what they call wolf hybrids,
but huskies are very close to wolves.
Right. Is what they’re doing now with you, do you feel it’s part
of the ancient and original relationship
that was forged between dogs and human beings?
CHRISTIAN: It's really a partnership. They help us and in turn
we show them the same care that we would show for our own kids and...
-JEFF: For our own kids. -Yeah, that's kind of why I got into it,
'cause there's people like me that still try to give them
what they were bred to do and what they want to do,
which is in this case, run.
JEFF: What the Casillans and folks involved in this stuff
recognize and appreciate,
which most of us dog lovers sometimes forget,
is that these are basically pack animals, who thrive on working together.
Now, since the end of the ice age, dogs have been pulling our sleds.
But what do you do when there isn’t any snow around?
Well, you can swap your blades for wheels
and continue to harness their natural instincts.
Oh, jeez, that looks like it could be harrowing.
Remember the chariot race from Ben-Hur? Oh, boy...
Can you teach me, Cameron, what to tell the dogs while I'm riding?
So, if you want the doggies to go left, you say what?
-"Haa." -Well. Okay, so "haa" is left.
-If I wanna go right, what do I say? -"Gee!"
Okay, "haa", "gee", "haa", "gee", I got it.
How safe am I gonna be? Am I gonna be 100 percent safe?
You’re gonna be like ninety-nine point eight sa... safe.
But one percent... If a... if a big jar was filled with jelly beans,
a hundred of them, and three were poisoned,
would you... would you take any of those jelly beans?
-Would you take that chance? -What do I get?
(LAUGHS)
You’re a transactional thinker!
JEFF: Well, doggies, my life is in your paws.
You know, uh, please be gentle.
Mr. Goldblum hasn't done this really before.
So, here goes nothing. Okay, ready?
Ready, all go. Whoa, whoa. Okay, okay. Oh!
Whoa, whoa. Okay.
Okay, go. A little speed bump.
Wait a minute... wait a minute, I got the command for go
and I know left or right, but, uh...
Hey, I don’t think I asked Cameron the word for stop. Hang on!
Nice doggies. Good doggies.
But, seriously,
it’s... it’s just incredible to be part of this team in action.
I am feeling our shared animal connection, I got to tell you.
I never thought in my whole life that I’d be mushing.
That’s my pack. Because I feel like I’m one of the pack now.
(LIGHTHEARTED MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: Now, they describe an interspecies relationship like ours
in a way that’s kind of highfalutin.
It's a type of symbiotic mutualism,
which is two species that work together for each other’s mutual benefit.
Anyway, we trained dogs to help us hunt better and to give us protection.
(GROWLS)
And in return, we’ve kept them fed and warm.
You know, it’s a convenient, practical deal for the both of us, so...
Wait a minute, is... is all our talk about an emotional connection
between us just in our heads?
Are dogs only hanging out with us because we trained them to?
Jeez, I hope that’s not the case.
(SLOW-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: Hey, so maybe it's time to explore the deep recesses of the canine mind...
with the help of somebody who’s devoted his whole life
to understanding animal behavior.
Hello, Evan MacLean.
Doctor, I'm so happy to see you. Hey, well, first of all... (CHUCKLES)
Look at these puppies, they're nibbling at my laces already.
Oh, sweet, sweet puppy. Oh, my gosh. How... how old are these kids?
EVAN: These pups are about eight weeks old.
So, they're in a very precious window right now.
And it's actually absolute peak cuteness.
I think I'm getting to my peak just about now.
Is that possible? I don't know if that's... if that's possible.
-But I... I'm a late bloomer. -I am too. I understand.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: Here at his training facility, the Good Doctor Evan
is searching for puppies
who have that potential specific talent and intelligence
to become an ideal service dog.
How do we know if dogs know us,
and if they're emotionally intelligent about what's going on in us?
I would say that dogs understand us in ways that no other species
-on the planet does and... -JEFF: Really?
EVAN: Yes, I started out and studying chimpanzees and bonobos
-who are our two closest living relatives. -What did you learn?
One thing we figured out is that really what makes us special as people
is not just that we're somehow smarter than other animals,
but that we have specific kinds of intelligence,
forms of social intelligence, so, it's abilities to tune in to others
and cooperate and to collaborate with them.
-Interesting. -And dogs are very, very sensitive
to those same kinds of... of cues.
-Yeah. -So, like, just for example.
Perfect. So, what I just did, is I just pointed, right?
And you looked over there and you probably didn't think about,
"Well, why did I look where he was pointing?"
-Right. -But the reason you did it
is you assumed that, "Well, he wants me to know something, right?"
-Yeah. -"He's trying to help me in some way."
JEFF: The good Dr. Evan is running tests to find out if the pups,
even at this tender age, have the instincts
to follow our cues and clues and stay off my blue suede shoes too.
What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna get the puppies’ attention
and just point to show them where the food is.
And what we're interested in is, do they understand
that I'm trying to help them and tell them the food is here.
So, you can come on in.
Okay? Watch this. I'm nothing if not flexible.
You know, true or false? In Olympics, I did the hurdles.
False.
-False. That’s correct. -(EVAN LAUGHS)
Now, pup, I don't know if you are interested
in a treat like that.
Mm-mm!
Mm-mm! Yum, yum, yum, that here. Smell it, as a matter of fact.
You like that?
Now, I'm gonna put this in one of these two things.
Okay, now, puppy, wait. The curtain is rising.
Don't be frightened. The curtain is rising.
Mr. Puppy, the treat is under one of these, Mr. Norris.
It's under... it's under that one.
EVAN: Go get it.
(SNIFFS)
Look, you got it!
-EVAN: There it is! -You've got it, you've got it, Mr. Norris!
So, that is the test, that if you do that test
with a chimpanzee, they don't solve that problem.
-Oh, those chimps! -EVAN: I know.
(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: Well, take it from a hairless chimp like me that, uh...
there are, of course, animals that are faster and stronger
and maybe smarter by some criteria,
but it turns out that dogs have something extra special.
They have what we could call emotional intelligence.
They seem to be super empaths!
There are some clever folks who believe that while the history books tell us
that we domesticated dogs, in fact, it could be the other way around.
-(DOG BARKS) -(CLASSIC MUSIC STOPS)
JEFF: Yep, you heard me right. How about that?
(CLASSIC MUSIC BEGINS AGAIN)
JEFF: It may have been that just a few wild dogs,
who were particularly highly sensitized, made that first move.
Perhaps, dogs intuitively understood us,
and recognized that by acting friendly-like,
and with those big soulful eyes, they could venture close to our fire
-and share our food and even shelter. -(FIREWORKS EXPLODING)
JEFF: Those empathetic traits seem to have now evolved to such a degree
that modern dogs, when they put their hearts and minds to it,
can do absolutely amazing, amazing things.
(DRAMATIC WESTERN MUSIC PLAYS)
Ninety miles north of Los Angeles, there sits a unique facility
where very special dogs are put to a very important test.
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS)
JEFF: This specialized obstacle course has been purposely built,
and purposely partly destroyed, and it covers over 125 acres.
Help! Help!
Can anybody hear me?
I find myself isolated and lost...
um, and unable to get out of some concrete tunnel
to the back of which... Oh, my gosh.
(HAWK CRIES)
(OMINOUS MUSIC CONTINUES)
JEFF: Meet this wonderful man with a glorious moustache,
whose name is Billy, and his intrepid partner, Victor.
Together, they make up a specialist first responder team
and they’re veterans of search and rescue.
(BARKS)
BILLY: Search.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)
Well, we know that people all over the world
are stuck in bad situations like this
and rely on these sweet canines, who didn't ask for... the position, but...
would help us.
Jeez, if I was buried like this in a real disaster,
my only hope of survival would be dogs like Victor,
with his nose and his instinct and desire to rescue a human being from harm.
All over the world, dogs like Victor play a massive role
in the response when disaster strikes.
Going places that human beings may be ill-equipped to traverse,
in order to sniff out survivors and save human lives.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
(WHISPERS) If I were really in this, can you imagine? Heaven forbid.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
(BARKS)
BILLY: There’s a good boy. Good job, you. Oh, wow.
-Search and rescue, anyone in there? -JEFF: Yeah, me, me.
-Oh, hey, Jeff. -JEFF: Hi.
-Let's get you out of there. -JEFF: Oh, thank you.
Oh!
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my... Oh, my gosh.
Wow. (GRUNTS) I can't believe it. Thank you so much.
-Victor found me? -He found you.
Oh, my gosh. Fantastic.
Thank you.
What do you think about that relationship between a man and a dog?
It's such a spe... There's so many spectacular creatures
-here on this great planet. -Mm-hm.
It's definitely very unique 'cause you're around that dog.
He is your... your friend, your partner, 24/7,
and he... Whenever you go, he goes,
and it's... it’s your bond that you create that makes it something special
and that dog turns to 100 percent trust you,
and basically show you the same emotion back.
-Isn’t that something? -It is... it is fantastic.
Jeez.
These beautiful, beautiful... beings,
so much more than pets that we bred and trained for utility.
What we call heroism,
which is, you know, this... The willingness to sacrifice
your own interest for the interest of another,
and to contribute to the well-being of others,
well, they launch into that without...
hesitation, and with full commitment,
and with all their energy and fierce eagerness,
in a way that can only be, in our concept, characterized as heroic.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)
So, at the start of this whole exploration into the world of dogs,
I knew that, like a lot of you, I think, I was a dog lover.
But now, I’m just... I think I’m in awe of dogs.
And as to the question why did we connect with dogs
more than any other animal?
You know, I... I... I think maybe because dogs lead by example.
They can teach us, I think, if we’re open and humbly receptive,
uh, how to be better human beings.
I'm just wondering now, after myself spending time with dogs
during this period and dog experts,
should we be more like dogs?
Well, yes. I think the obvious answer is, yeah.
We could certainly be more present
and joyful and ready to help out
and sacrifice ourselves heroically, at the drop of a hat.
Yeah, I’d like to be more like Woody.
(PANTS)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONCLUDES)
And on the subject of, uh, being more dog...
-COURTNEY: Don't open your eyes. -JEFF: Okay.
COURTNEY: Okay. Open your eyes.
(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS)
Guess who he is now?
Is he Jeff Goldblum?
COURTNEY: Yeah, you guys are twins. Look at your outfit.
(CHUCKLES)
(JAZZ MUSIC CONCLUDES)
(AMBIENT MUSIC PLAYS)
(AMBIENT MUSIC CONCLUDES)