Last modified: Monday, August 18, 2008 3:13 AM EDT Employee Michelle Bettencourt gives a Bichon Frise dog a massage at Off the Leash Doggy Day Care in Attleboro. (Staff photo by Mark Stockwell) Bichon Frise dogs filmed in Attleboro for Animal Planet appearance BY SUSAN LaHOUD SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - What did 32 Bichon Frise dogs and their owners do for a hastily arranged gathering so they could be taped for an appearance on the cable channel Animal Planet? They had a "Beach" day. Emily McHugh Gasbarro, who with her husband Ralph Gasbarro runs Off The Leash Doggie Daycare in Attleboro, got all of the dogs and their owners together at Bishop Feehan High School's Beach Field on July 11, within three days of being contacted by a TV producer. McHugh Gasbarro said the producer located her through meetup.com where there is a posting for the small dog meet-up group held once a month at Off The Leash. "A lot of our members are Bichons and Bichon owners," she said. There was a picture of a Bichon on the meet-up site and the owner of the Bichon referred the producer to Off The Leash. "It was quite a large, impromptu Bichon meet-up," McHugh Gasbarro said, laughing. She committed to 15 being there, sending out e-mails through the group as well as to Small Paws Bichon Rescue. The Animal Planet segment will follow the adoption of a Bichon through a Bichon rescue group. The show on Bichons will be part of a "Dogs 101" series on different breeds. It does not currently have an air date. "Word spread and I started to get e-mails. I knew I had 15 for sure. Then there were people coming back from vacation who were responding," McHugh Gasbarro said. Eventually, more than 30 dogs and their owners were committed to the event. "Mention Animal Planet and it's very exciting," McHugh Gasbarro said. Figuring out where to hold the gathering, which Animal Planet wanted to film outdoors, was another matter to be addressed. McHugh Gasbarro said she contacted Feehan President Christopher Servant in search of an enclosed field for the filming. "The Feehan fields are beautiful," she said, adding her husband and past generations of his family attended the school. "They were super at accommodating us. They helped us to pull off the event." "It was a little bit stressful, but ultimately that breed is an adorable breed," McHugh Gasbarro said. Her husband Ralph said "everyone was really excited. It was funny." "There was a lot of running around with the dogs," said Michelle Bettencourt, an employee at Off The Leash who lent a hand at the meet-up. The gathering lasted about two hours. "They asked if anyone had tricks or something cool that they do," she said of the Animal Planet staff. "There were also some dogs with disabilities." "They got close to the dogs on the ground," said McHugh Gasbarro of those taping the segment. Animal Planet staffers interviewed owners about the breed and the particular care the dogs require. "They also got interactions of the dogs and their owners on camera," McHugh Gasbarro said. "Thankfully, it was a beautiful day, although it was very hot." Animal Planet also did some filming at Off The Leash where the dogs were encouraged to use the doggy playground. Of course, she acknowledged, "you never know how much they'll use" of the footage in the show. "It was just a fun, once-in-a-lifetime event and fun to be part of," McHugh Gasbarro said. "We'll definitely record it to show at one of our meet-up groups." SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.