Onion is a miniature bull terrier with a taste for stardom. At seven years old, she’s been in a movie and a pop promo, earned a Gold Good Citizen Award and been the face of three fantastic art events! A dog light modelled on Onion’s curves is available from the Onion Shop! 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 won Best of Breed at Crufts
2006! Onion won rosettes at Crufts 2005 and 2006, but her true talents
lie elsewhere…
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 Bill Sikes in a recent adaptation of Oliver Twist).
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 Onion's blog for more about her red-carpet appearance!
Pop bitch
Aged 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. An arty shot shows her sitting still while footage of her barking is
projected on to her face, and in another scene she is serenaded by ’80s pin-up Morten Harket.
See links to access the video.
Light dogtastic
Onion was the model for the amazing Onion Light, the stylish nightlight that is now seen around the world! It's even on the cover of an album by Arctic Monkeys' Matt Helders! To purchase the light, see the Onion Shop. And to see more pictures of Onion Lights (with other gorgeous bullies!) see the Gallery.
Pet-tastic Pooch
Onion has proved an inspiration to various artists! She is the face of artist Rachael House's Pet-tastic events, joyous dog fancy-dress picnics! Lewisham Pet-tastic in April 2007 earned Onion a write-up in the Independent on Sunday. For pictures of Onion's Peckham Pet-tastic outfits (including the fabulous Blackpool Pet-Tastic 2009 sailor'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!
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 and of her unique approach to agility...
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!