What 'In The Dark' Star Perry Mattfeld Really Thinks About Her Canine Co-Star
The television series, “In The Dark” premiered in 2019. The show follows Murphy Mason (Perry Mattfeld), a woman who lost her eyesight when she was a teenager and is focused on figuring out who murdered her friend. Murphy has a guide dog by the name of Pretzel, portrayed by a very good girl called Levi. To get the 8-year-old pup ready for the role, the show hired dog trainer Violetta Hessing.
While speaking to the New York Post in April 2019, Hessing shared what it is like working with Levi. She revealed the pup has an excited demeanor, meaning she is not the ideal candidate for a guide dog in real life. The trainer told the publication:
“Levi has always been a 0-to-60 dog and has a lot of energy because she’s the happiest dog in the world. I had to really work on her being more of a sedate dog. Perry was great and had a relaxed aura whenever Levi was going to perform. Guide dogs are supposed to be calm and relaxed and take the environment in and not react to what’s going on around them.”
During a July 2021 interview with CBS, Hessing revealed that she is impressed with how Perry Mattfeld acts alongside Levi.
Photo by Anthony Persegol on Unsplash
"In terms of crafting a bond with a dog, Perry is the most incredible actor I've worked with. I've never seen a performer give so much to an animal. And Levi is so happy working alongside her. This is a case where you can truly say that the dog is at one with the actor,” said the dog trainer.
Mattfeld spoke highly of Levi during an April 2019 interview with Jared Jr. The actress shared that she is “so in love with that dog.” She also revealed that she gave the pup extra attention when she had to film a scene where Murphy is not kind to Pretzel.
“I was saying before that there’s times in the pilot you see where Murphy’s a little rough with her dog, so when we would cut I would pull her aside and tell her, ‘You’re so talented and we love having you here and you bring so much depth to the character,’” shared the 27-year-old.
The actress asserted that the Golden Retriever “is so brilliant and so talented.” She also mentioned that during the show’s production, Hessing “can’t always give vocal cues to the dogs, so she has to give a lot of cues from off camera that are just visual cues with her hands.”
“Levi can respond to those and put her head down and roll or speak with just a visual cue from the trainer, Vee, without a vocal cue. So, she’s perfect,” explained Mattfeld.
The actress went on to say that she believes “Levi is really the star of the show.”