b'The Year of the DogMatt is his own worst nightmareshort-fused, stubborn, anderratic. His self-esteem is shot from years of failing, yet hesconvinced he must find and maintain sobriety on his own. Everythingchanges when Mattfinds a stray dog.Despite his AA spon-sors objections, Mattkeeps the dog, jok-ingly naming himYoupick (later learn-ing the true spelling,Yupik).The dog is ahandfulstubborn,erratic, and short-fused. Freds concernssoon come true. Stilltackling withdrawal,Matt isnt equippedto take care of Yupik,but his attempts toget rid of him provefutile. Soon, Yupik endears himself to Matt, and focusing onYupik is actually helping Matt to live day by day.Matt meets Julie, an ex dogsledder who recognizes thatYupik is a pull dog. She suggests that Matt should competewith his dog in a local pull, the sport of weight pulling, wheredogs pull loaded carts across snowy tracks. Yupik can pull, butsheer natural ability is not enough. To compete, one mustdeeply and emotionally connect with his dog; build trust andlearn to not fly off the handle. While Matt trains Yupik, hesactually training himself, even while his self-destructive demonsare nipping at his heels.The Year of the Dog is a story about finding connectionsin unusual places, and what it takes to pull through to the fin-ish line. Were looking forward to watching this one. Written,produced, and co-directed by Rob Grabow, who also stars inthe film as Matt, alongside Caleb, the dog who plays Yupik.The indie film was shot in Montana and beautifully shot bydirector of photography George Potter. At press time, it wasscheduled to be released in February in more than 100 theatersacross the country. UFROM SHELTER DOG TO MOVIE STARBefore landing the role of Yupik, Caleb, a Siberian Husky,bounced around from shelters to fosters homes, often labeled astoo playful and energetic for adoption. It was that spunk thatcaught the attention of California-based Performing AnimalTroupe and producer/actor Rob Grabow. Dog trainer Jon VanDyke, who knows that those qualities often make the mostmemorable dogs on screen, worked with Caleb for his film debut.Facebook and Instagram: @TheYearOfTheDogMoviewww.TheYearOfTheDogMovie.com50 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'