Onion is a miniature bull terrier with a taste for stardom. At only four years old, she’s already been in a movie and a pop promo, and earned a Gold Good Citizen Award. A light modelled on Onion’s curves is now available from the Onion Shop, and a range of stylish Onion items is in production! So, here’s her story…
There’s something about Onion…
Onion was born into a litter of high-achievers: Sister Elsa and brother
Measle are stars of the show ring; Elsa even won Best of Breed at Crufts
2006! Onion won rosettes at Crufts in 2005 and 2006, but her true talents
lie elsewhere… As a puppy, she started learning tricks (barking
and ‘whispering’ on command), her evident love of an audience
giving an early hint of her screen career to come!
Screen debut
Aged 18 months, Onion was picked for a canine part in gentle British
comedy Scenes of a Sexual Nature. Set on London’s Hampstead Heath,
the movie traces seven relationships as they unfold over a day. It
stars the cream of British talent (Ewan McGregor, Sophie Okonedo, Catherine
Tate, Dame Eileen Atkins, Hugh Bonneville …) and Onion! Onion
plays alongside sexy pin-up Tom Hardy (Queen Elizabeth‘s heartthrob
in TV’s The Virgin Queen, and the nemesis in Star Trek: Nemesis).
A failed seduction on the Heath leaves a hapless Hardy with his trousers
round his ankles, chased by Onion. And as the credits roll, Hardy and
Onion are reunited: Onion jumps all over Hardy on a bench. The film
premiered in London's West End in October 2006 (and Onion was there!), and is now available on DVD.
See links for the movie’s official website and Onion's blog for more about her red-carpet appearance!
Pop bitch
When she had just turned two, Onion won a part in the music promo for
Norwegian band A-ha’s single ‘Cosy Prisons’. The
group, famous for 1980s hits ‘Take On Me’ and ‘The
Sun Only Shines on TV’, filmed the video in a disused pumping
house in London’s East End. Onion had to bark on command, and
an arty shot shows her sitting still while footage of her barking is
projected on to her face. In another scene, see Onion, apparently fascinated
by the sight of ’80s pin-up Morten Harket serenading her, and
managing to stay put for most of the song despite all the activity
of the set.
See links to access the video.
Light dogtastic
Onion has proved an inspiration to various artists! She is immortalised
in a painting, she’s the subject of a range of line drawings,
and has even been sculpted. A select range of products
inspired by Onion is available for sale on this site.
Our first Onion product is the amazing Onion Light. Onion posed for model-maker Myra Heller (who, among other things, created a series of latex politicians including Ian Paisley for the Spike Milligan stage show), who sculpted her from life. Four models of Onion were eventually made, the final one a puppyish stylised Onion, complete with quizzical expression and ‘questioning’ ears. This model was then recast in wax and finally in bronze. A stylish and quirky addition to any home - adding character to a bachelor pad or as a nightlight in children’s bedrooms – the Onion Light now shines out in homes around the world! See the Onion Shop. And to see more pictures of Onion Lights (with other gorgeous bullies!) see the Gallery.
Pet-tastic Pooch
Most recently, Onion has become the face of artist Rachael House's Pet-tastic events for 2007. These are joyous dog fancy-dress picnics! Lewisham Pet-tastic in April earned Onion a write-up in the Independent on Sunday. Peckham Pet-tastic is set to take place on 23 June 2007. For more information and pictures of Onion's outfit see the Onion Blog.
Bull terrier bling
Many people swear the single-minded, stubborn bull terrier can’t be trained – don’t believe a word of it! Onion is a film star and a pop bitch, and she likes a bit of bling. What better way to wear gold than to achieve the Kennel Club Good Citizen Gold Award?
Trained with kindness (and a clicker and LOTS of tasty treats), at two years old Onion took her Gold test and passed with flying colours, fulfilling all the criteria, including a 3-minute stay with owner out of sight for 30 seconds, an emergency stop, going to her bed when requested, etcetera.
See links for details of the Kennel Club site.
Click for a trick
On top of that Onion’s a whiz with tricks. Introduced to clicker-training when she was just a few weeks old, Onion can bark, ‘whisper’, spin, reverse, ‘surrender’, roll a ball with her nose, do an Elvis impression, pretend to be sleepy and much much more – all on cue. Dog tricks are one of the joys of dog ownership!
See Onion’s YouTube page, where you can see video clips of her performing!
Lap dog
Despite her brush with celebrity, Onion lives the life of any pet dog:
her favourite place is curled up in her master’s lap, snoring
and snuffling like a good 'un!