“I Have a Dog That Enjoys People and I Love It" – An Interview with Greatest American Dog's Bill McFarlin and Star

It's hard to tell who was loved more, Star or Bill. They are both mellow, wonderful characters in this first season of Greatest American Dog. Message boards all across the internet are firing up, much like they did when Tillman and Ron were expelled from Canine Academy! There are many people upset that the beloved, down-home duo of Bill and Star were sent home. So many people not only identified with them, they just loved them. Here are a few samplings from CBS's Greatest American Dog message board:

"Star was definitely one of the older dogs there. Star was truly awesome! Bless her furry heart! I wish the two of them the very best! If I could, I would love to give Bill a big hug!"

"His gentleness will be missed every episode left."

And my favorite, "Bill got the short end of the dog bone last night…"

Personally, I wasn't ready to talk to Bill this week, as I figured he'd be one of the last three standing. I was thrilled, though, to hear his down-home Texas drawl and his warm words. It was a joy to get a few moments with him.

RealityNewsOnline: Thanks for taking a few minutes to chat for the RNO readers. Bill, I was so not ready to hear from you this soon.

Bill: Are you saying that you're sad to see me go, or Star? You're going to miss my beautiful face? (He completely caught me off guard with that one and we were both laughing!)

RNO: Was it a relief to go? You sort of looked like you were done.

Bill: I wanted to win! Let's get that out in front. I wanted to win or get in the top two or three. I knew there were a lot of great dogs and trainers on the show. I knew I had my hands full. I feel fortunate to get that close to the end.

RNO: I hear that you weren't ready for another dog when Star came along, so we know she's super special to you. How did you find out about, and get on, the show with her? Did they find you on the agility training circuit?

Bill: I was at an agility show in Rockwall (a town about 25 miles east of Dallas, TX). One of my friends and I were sitting on the floor with our dogs doing pet tricks. People were watching, clapping, hooting, and hollering at all the stupid tricks we were doing. One of them was a talent scout. This lady made a note and tried to find me later. She had a tough time though, as I don't do agility with Star anymore, but one of my black and white dogs.

She eventually found me through some other trainers in the area. She e-mailed me this huge application and I filled it out. I made it through a 2-3 hour interview in Dallas and not a lot of questions were about the dog. Later I was called back to go to California for more interviews where there were about 30-35 other pairs. Each day a few more pairs were eliminated and it got down to about 17 to 18 of us.

Once it got down to that, I still wasn't sure what exactly the show was about or what I was getting myself into. It was "Big Stupid Goes to Town" (laughing). I really didn't understand all of it, so I told one of the producers, "I don't have a clue what this show is about!"

She sat me down and explained that it was a reality show and it would involve both me and Star. I still wasn't sure, so I asked, "Well, what do you win?"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand," she answered.

"Well, put me down then. I'll do it!" (With that he let out a hearty laugh.)

RNO: Here in Texas, I recently ran into a wonderful lady named Pat who knows you from the agility circuit. She said that the orange shirts we saw you wear on the show regularly are your trademark. Is that because you have a great orange dog or is there some other reason? How did that get started?

Bill: You really want to know about that? Well, in agility, you run around with your dog. (Completely deadpan and convincingly, he continues.) I dress in orange because of safety. I'm fat and old and am not a good athlete. I dress like a safety cone for your protection. I get this much meat going and you want to know where it's gonna fall!

Naw, it really started when I was doing bird-dog stuff where you do wear a lot of orange for safety. I went into an agility meet one time when it was really cold wearing my orange clothes. It just kept on after that.

RNO: I hear you created a special award in agility events for the best human fall?

Bill: Wow, Pat really did tell you a few things! Yes, I did. It's called the "Kiss the Dirt" award. When someone takes a really good spill in agility, I run out with this award, a big orange set of lips, and give it to them. I have about a thousand of those stickers all over the place now. It's just a fun thing to do in the competitions and it makes people smile.

RNO: Are you still competing in agility with Star?

Bill: No, she's just doing visits with people. I have one of my other dogs in agility now.