Sniff opens the door to a new genre of film – a serious documentary wrapped in a fictional comedic story. Two British actors, hired to be the dress-up concierges of a high-end San Francisco dog hotel, decide to use the opportunity of their year-long contract to fulfill a dream and make a documentary about dogs. The trouble is, they’re not quite making the same film.
Neil (British star Neil Morrissey: Bob the Builder, Men Behaving Badly) wants to regale us with a host of heart-warming stories of unusual dogs. But his dour partner Richard (Richard Huw: The Four Minute Mile, Splitting Heirs) is bent on investigating the life and times of working dogs. Juliette (Amanda Plummer: Pulp Fiction, The Fisher King) is Neil’s former love-interest and the co-owner of the Infinite Paws dog hotel along with her slightly conservative husband Derek (Maurice Godin: House, Monk, Working) .
With Richard, we follow in detail the lives of two puppies raised at Guide Dogs for the Blind as their paths diverge: Mikey, a yellow Labrador Retriever, who completes his training to become a working Guide Dog, and Gabby, a black Lab who is socialized at Guide Dogs but switches careers mid-stream to become a Search and Rescue Dog.
Neil’s footage takes us on a romp in the ocean with Zoe, a Jack Russell, at the Coronado Bay Surf Dog Competition. We run on the beach with Gus, a McNab herd-dog, who has taken to rounding up sea-gulls for want of a good sheep, and we marvel at Retriever Harley as he and water-shy Rover tag-team ball retrieval from the Klamath river.
With their project nearly complete, our two heroes lose their jobs, split up, and run out of money. But in the end of course, the friends reunite, the two films become one and there’s even a surprise ending for the astute viewer.
Sniff is peppered with fascinating bits of science and dog lore, intended to deepen our appreciation for these extraordinary creatures, but we have kept it light, playful and fun for the whole family – just the way the dogs would want it!
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