Tally and Sage have made a home among the news desks and camera equipment of a Newton-based TV station.
The two wolfhounds sniff at the pizza on the desks of the producers, wander in and out of the range of the camera lens in the studio, and collapse in a heap on the floor between chairs in the newsroom.
The dogs were brought on board as co-hosts of the weekly show "The Secret Life of Animals" on New England Cable News, which began airing in November. Their owner, Newton resident Vicki Croke, has been an animal columnist for The Boston Globe for 14 years and is the force behind the show. She's made it a priority to have an animal presence in the studio. And Tally and Sage were the most accessible and willing participants.
"They love studio day," she said, as her dogs sprawled out on the floor of a conference room. "They want to be in the studio all the time."
Sage, the older of the dogs, stakes her claim to the couch space in the studio, where she curls up between her owner and the guest of the show, much like an oversized lap dog. Tally will also weave in and out of the picture, but as the younger of the two pups, she's sometimes tied up on the side.
The wolfhounds aren't the only animals Croke brings into the studio. She had greyhounds in last week, a lame duck a week before and cats from the Animal Rescue League before that.
"Our goal is always to fill the studio with animals," said Croke, 50. "The show is about the connection and bond with animals, and that's what I think people tune in for. We want animals to be part of the show."
Croke manages animals' unpredictability by flaunting it. She won't do another take just because a dog walks through the frame or an animal takes a squat. She had a baby bird on a show that climbed out of its bowl to poop over the rim. She took the opportunity to tell viewers that birds will rarely defecate in the nest.
"They are animals, and we want them to be animals," she said, assuring her guests that it was OK that the greyhounds were whining that day.
Through the show, which is contracted for a year, Croke wants to explore the bond between humans and animals and offer people practical information about pet care or wildlife behavior.
A longtime journalist, Croke entered a career in animals after persuading the Globe to create an animal beat. Reluctant at first, the Globe warmed to the idea after receiving an unprecedented response from readers. Croke stayed on the beat 14 years until she left to write a book about the first panda to come to the United States and the woman who brought him. "The Lady and the Panda" is scheduled for a screenplay, and Nicole Kidman is being tapped for the lead role.
Through her years in print media, Croke had longed for the opportunity to show people some of the subjects in her articles, such as llamas learning to square dance and scenes of a goose undergoing chemotherapy.
So in the summer of 2008, she began gathering sponsorships for a show about animals.
The president and general manager of NECN, Charlie Kravetz, was thrilled with the idea.
"I believe that there is just this enthusiastic passion for animals that has not been recognized with local television," he said. "We are already getting people writing in with questions and photos."
As excited as he is about a show on animals, Kravetz is just as pleased to have Croke host it.
"She's the Roger Caras of her time," he said, relating her to a regularly featured animal reporter on major networks in the 1980s. "She knows and is passionate about animals and she has a magnetic personality. She's knocked it out of the park in her first few shows."
The show's producer, Julie Cunningham, said, "It's very rare to find someone who is as comfortable and at ease on television who has very little experience (as Vicki does)."
Croke, who wrote from behind the scenes on newspapers, is still adjusting to being told how to look on camera, but she said that this job is a dream come true for her.
The 12-year Newton resident said she's eager to hear from neighbors with pet stories or videos. In the meantime, you might be able to see Croke walking her dogs through Auburndale, where the pair has amassed a large group of friends among neighborhood dogs.
For more information or to share your pet stories, photos and videos, visit www.thesecretlifeofanimals.com.
Chrissie Long can be reached at clong@cnc.com.
