When I was about ten years old, my father surprised me by taking me to a veterinarian’s office to pick up a dog. It was a “mutt,” a mixed breed, part collie and part something else. The visit was one of my “wow” moments growing up. I named the dog Shep, and we became fast friends. He would sleep at the foot of my bed, chew at the bedpost, and wake me up every morning with a happy look. My father taught the dog to go the newsstand a block away and to bring home the paper in its mouth. I thought that was really cool. When my day did not go well, Shep was always there to cheer me up. He was my dependable friend. But, like many kids, I was not diligent about walking the dog and taking care of all the stuff that goes with caring for a pet. Eventually my mother gave the dog away, and I spent that fateful day crying over my lost Shep.

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February 18, 2012

Rein and shine

An abusive childhood is behind one man’s crusade for kindness, writes PAUL BYRNES.

Buck Brannaman is the cowboy who inspired The Horse Whisperer, the best-selling novel by English writer Nicholas Evans. Robert Redford based some of his performance as Tom Booker in the movie on his observation of Brannaman’s style, although Redford’s reaction on meeting him was that the guy was a fake. ”He looks like he’s got a costume on,” Redford said.

Buck is about so much more than horses, writes JIM SCHEMBRI

Softly spoken horse trainer Buck Brannaman is the quietly compelling subject of this lyrical, visually beautiful documentary by Cindy Meehl. She spent more than two years following Buck and capturing what goes on his “clinics”, which are as much about training people as they are about horses. Buck is big on seeing animals as reflections of the people who own them, so his attention is often on issues of earning respect and authority through firmness rather than demanding obedience through harshness. His background as an abused child provides a powerful insight into his strength of character and the love he has for the foster mother who helped save him. The extraordinary sequence with the crazy horse illustrates Buck’s belief that animal behaviour tends to reflect the humans who own them.

No More Popcorn
February 15, 2012

Buck: “Buck” actually made the academy’s shortlist, and I was a little shocked to see it didn’t make the nominations, since it’s a total crowd-pleaser in the mold of “Man on Wire.” It’s the kind of film that would make even the least enthusiastic audience member want to check out more films like it. “Buck” is about Buck Brannaman, an acclaimed “Horse Whisperer” (he was the real-life basis for Robert Redford’s character in the 1998 movie). A victim of abuse as a child, Brannaman uses his experience to relate to difficult horses, who are often victims themselves. Director Cindy Meehl brings audiences along with Brannaman in the field as he trains horses, consults with owners, and more often than not offers therapy to animal and owner alike. One of the highlights of last year’s True/False Festival was having Brannaman on site. He was a great guy to be around, and came off exactly the way Meehl portrays him in the film.

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