Braveheart(2012-2016)
Born in January of 2012, Braveheart was an 80-pound dog of the rare Cané Corso breed. (Pronounced "KAH-nay COR-so", it is Italian, and comes directly from the Latin, meaning "companion dog".) Cané Corsos are sometimes called an "Italian mastiff". The breed was developed by the Roman Army for area defense, bravery in combat, and intense loyalty. Braveheart was also keenly intelligent.
Braveheart was a rescued dog. His owner and manager is actor Tom Kovach, who is a history aficionado. One day, Tom was at a small battlefield historical park. It was early Spring, and the grass had not been mown. Something bumped the back of Tom's leg. (Tom thought it was a snake!) He spun around, and there was a little puppy looking up, "Yip, yip, yip." There was no one around. The puppy had been abandoned. It was love at first sight.
The park is in an industrial part of town. Big trucks were going by. But, the little puppy showed no fear. So, Tom gave him the name Braveheart. After a check-up by a veterinarian, it turned out that Braveheart's estimated birthdate was January 3rd -- the same as Mel Gibson.
On his very first walk outside the yard of his new home, Braveheart did three things that most puppies do not. He accepted the leash. He learned to stop on command. And, he learned to sit on command.
Tom Kovach is a former career Air Force law enforcement supervisor, who worked closely with military K-9 handlers. Tom recognized that Braveheart's level of natural intelligence was at least as high as that of most Military Working Dogs. So, Tom began to train Braveheart and to consider that his dog would someday belong with him on movie and TV-show sets.
Braveheart worked as an actor only twice. He appeared as the "neighborhood dog" in a background scene of Nashville (2012) -- Episode 3.10 -- _"Nashville" (2012) (First to Have a Second Chance (#3.10))_. He was very well liked on the set. During the lunch break, both of the principal actors in the scene -- Sam Palladio and Gunnar Sizemore -- came over to pet him. Several members of the crew (especially those that were military veterans) did likewise. Braveheart also worked on the pilot episode of _Generation: Hero_ -- a children's TV series that showed examples of positive behavior in various situations. (The series did not get picked up, though.)
Braveheart died of lymphosarcoma in December of 2012. From the time that Tom's wife felt a lump under Braveheart's neck one Friday evening, until the beloved dog died, was only 13 days.
Braveheart was a rescued dog. His owner and manager is actor Tom Kovach, who is a history aficionado. One day, Tom was at a small battlefield historical park. It was early Spring, and the grass had not been mown. Something bumped the back of Tom's leg. (Tom thought it was a snake!) He spun around, and there was a little puppy looking up, "Yip, yip, yip." There was no one around. The puppy had been abandoned. It was love at first sight.
The park is in an industrial part of town. Big trucks were going by. But, the little puppy showed no fear. So, Tom gave him the name Braveheart. After a check-up by a veterinarian, it turned out that Braveheart's estimated birthdate was January 3rd -- the same as Mel Gibson.
On his very first walk outside the yard of his new home, Braveheart did three things that most puppies do not. He accepted the leash. He learned to stop on command. And, he learned to sit on command.
Tom Kovach is a former career Air Force law enforcement supervisor, who worked closely with military K-9 handlers. Tom recognized that Braveheart's level of natural intelligence was at least as high as that of most Military Working Dogs. So, Tom began to train Braveheart and to consider that his dog would someday belong with him on movie and TV-show sets.
Braveheart worked as an actor only twice. He appeared as the "neighborhood dog" in a background scene of Nashville (2012) -- Episode 3.10 -- _"Nashville" (2012) (First to Have a Second Chance (#3.10))_. He was very well liked on the set. During the lunch break, both of the principal actors in the scene -- Sam Palladio and Gunnar Sizemore -- came over to pet him. Several members of the crew (especially those that were military veterans) did likewise. Braveheart also worked on the pilot episode of _Generation: Hero_ -- a children's TV series that showed examples of positive behavior in various situations. (The series did not get picked up, though.)
Braveheart died of lymphosarcoma in December of 2012. From the time that Tom's wife felt a lump under Braveheart's neck one Friday evening, until the beloved dog died, was only 13 days.
