How these Long Island pets are making it in the movies, on TV and more

Josephine Ciuzio is a stage mother whose star walks on four legs, barks and doesn’t exactly sign autographs, although fans can ask for paw prints — also known as “pawtographs.”

Her English bulldog, Minnie, has appeared as Winnie, Martin Short’s dog on Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” where the pooch has had her own trailer, including a dressing room with a couch, bathroom and bed.

Her memorable scenes include one where she licks Sting in an elevator. “We had to put stuff on his shoes so she would start licking them,” Ciuzio said. 

The Plainview resident, whose day job is managing a physician’s office, tried peanut butter and rubbing the musician’s shoes with a cloth covered with dogs’ scents before finding that cream cheese did the trick.

While many people dream of being in show business, some find their brush with fame by putting their pets on TV, in movies, modeling, as social media stars and onstage. 

Those in this business say the gigs can be lucrative and enjoyable, but also demanding of their time, requiring lots of waiting, traveling and effort to figure out how to get pets to do what directors want.

“The animals have spun me into this crazy world that’s really fun,” Ciuzio said. “It’s so much fun going on set, watching them. I’m so proud when they’re able to do a scene.”

Animal talent agency

Colleen Wilson, CEO of Pets On Q, a Los Angeles-based animal talent agency that represents more than 20,000 animals, including nearly 100 in Nassau and Suffolk counties, said living on Long Island is a plus.

“In New York City productions, you’re more likely to be booked if you’re there,” she said.

Besides dogs and cats, Wilson’s roster includes horses, birds, reptiles and farm animals. “Everyone looks for something different,” she said.

“Influencers work from home with content creators who take pictures of pets and post pictures of them along with brands,” Wilson said. “Some influencers have a few thousand followers and some have millions.”

Pets typically have headshots posted on sites, such as theanimallist.com, where casting directors can browse for performers.

“Sometimes they just want her regular headshot,” Ciuzio said of Minnie. “Sometimes they want her look with a costume.”

Ciuzio’s performer pets — Minnie, as well as rescue dogs Luna and Barney — have resumes that can help get gigs.

Minnie has performed in “Only Murders in the Building” (which includes a subplot where someone tried to poison her), as well as on “Saturday Night Live.”

She has also appeared on Amazon Prime’s “Etoile” and modeled for brands such as Aeropostale and Rubie’s Costume Co. (based in Queens and now known as Rubies II LLC).

“Her bed on the show is very fancy,” Ciuzio said of “Only Murders in the Building.” “When she does a scene on that bed, she’s in her happy place.”

Although pets may appear briefly on camera, pet owners typically must put in a lot of work to prepare them.

“I’m a big stage mama,” said Ciuzio, adding her dogs typically earn $1,000 a day.

150 tricks and commands

Haley Deecken, 22, of Glen Cove, said a lot of work goes into caring for and training pets. Deecken teaches with treats including freeze-dried chicken that she gives to Dunkin, a Labrador-pitbull mix who is her biggest star.

“It’s a full-time job, taking care of them alone,” she said, adding she trains other dogs as well. “I’m up at 7 a.m. every day. In the morning, we do our training sessions.”

Dunkin knows more than 150 tricks and commands, including how to grab drinks from the fridge, turn lights on and off, take jackets off, untie shoes, ride a skateboard and do a back flip.

“It’s endless what this dog can do,” Deecken said. 

While talent and tricks help, Ciuzio said temperament is crucial for a pet to be on set.

“The animal has to be comfortable in the spotlight with the camera and the lights and people moving,” Ciuzio said. “Most of the time, they want them to just be a dog.”

All of Ciuzio’s dogs have appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” where she said pets are pampered. “They have dressing rooms for the dogs,” she said. “They put us in a nice space where we hang out.” They sometimes film on location ahead of time, but often shoot live, she said.

“You’re there at 11:45. When it’s time to go on, it’s one, two, three, giving the dog to the actor,” Ciuzio said, noting temperament is even more crucial for live performances. “It’s very intense.”

Wilson said she knows pets that make zero up to $200,000 a year. And just as actors wait on set, pets do too.

Jodi Ekberg, 64, of Selden, has two Siberian huskies in the business, including Eros, 5 years old, and Clifford, age 3.

When Clifford did a Target ad, he worked for two hours, but got paid for five, earning $500 after taxes. “They say if you’re booked for five hours, they’re keeping you from booking another job,” she explained.

Sometimes pet owners turn down gigs because of demands on their time. Eros was going to get $300 for each of 48 performances of a play, or about $14,000, but the time commitment would have been too much. “I couldn’t take off two months of work,” Ekberg said. “It would’ve been six days a week, two performances a day.”

Ciuzio said her first star dog, Howard, did ads for Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Bark Box, and he appeared in a nine-week Metropolitan Opera production of “Der Rosenkavalier.”

Ciuzio had to “shlep him in to the city” to walk on stage with one of the opera singers. “It was pretty exciting,” she said. 

Pats from the stars

Performers, including stars, tend to be kind to pets on set, Ciuzio said. 

The cast of “Only Murders in the Building” “make a point to say hello, she said. “They pet her, make sure she feels safe and comfortable.”

Ciuzio knows how to get the most out of her dogs, doing what directors desire, so things go smoothly. They wanted Luna to stand and look into a toilet bowl while they were filming a 1-800-Petmeds commercial. “I worked with her a few minutes, and she gets it,” Ciuzio said, adding that she used treats as rewards.

Ciuzio’s French bulldog, Barney, who barks on command, appeared in Paramount’s “Best Man” movies with Taye Diggs, including a scene in which a wealthy woman pushes her way into a cab with her dog, while someone with children is left on the curb.

Ciuzio sometimes turns down work for Minnie if she doesn’t like the product. Minnie commands $200 for videos, often posted on Instagram, although Ciuzio said big pet influencers can get much more.

Instagram, TikTok

Ciuzio’s three dogs have an account called “Baby Howard’s Buddies” on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok with 30,000 followers.

A video in which Dunkin grabs a knife “blew up to over 100 million views,” and another of him roundhouse kicking someone reached 30 million, Deecken said.

Influencers, who typically work at home, sometimes don’t need a high follower count to make money. “A brand will send you their product,” Wilson said. “You shoot the content and send it back to the brand to use and then you get paid.”

What makes a pet influencer successful? Wilson said it comes down to the owner. “Posting good content and consistently, connecting and building an audience,” she said. “Consistency, authenticity, good content, following a pattern and story.”

Human cameos

Pet parents often end up on the payroll for travel and/or training, but they can also make an onscreen appearance. Ciuzio gets paid for driving and parking and sometimes as a trainer, but also appeared on camera in her red Mini Cooper for the Peacock series “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” alongside Barney.

“They saw my car and asked if they could use it for the scene,” Ciuzio said. “And I got paid for it.’

She walked Luna for a scene in “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” “We both got paid for doing the scene,” Ciuzio said.

She looks at this as giving her pets “their best life,” while enriching her own. She honors them in other ways, such as celebrating Barney’s birthday recently.

“This week we’re in North Carolina with Barney,” Ciuzio said. “It’s his fifth birthday. He’s having a lakeside retreat.”

Pet paparazzi

Pets sometimes become minor celebrities. “We travel across the country to dog expositions,” Deecken said of Dunkin. “Every time we’re there, people recognize him and ask for photos. It’s mind-boggling how many people love this dog along with me. It’s beautiful.”

When paparazzi were near Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin, the stars of “Only Murders in the Building,” Ciuzio was pushing Minnie in her stroller.

“People came up and asked me if they could take photos with her,” Ciuzio said, noting some asked for “pawtographs,” and she sent paw prints afterward. “They were so excited.”

While compensation and adulation count, pet owners also get a special satisfaction from their pets’ prowess. “It’s awesome that I get to showcase my dog’s work,” Deecken said, “and it’s shown to millions of people nationwide.”