“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog”: The Final Cut: The World Premiere of “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog”; Chapter Thirty Two (32)

Bob, Fay and Dillie accompany me to Los Angeles flying on a Disney private jet for the world premiere of “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog”. We are staying in a huge Beverly Hills mansion provided to us by Disney but all promotional interviews will be at The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles. Security is heavy as Bob has received death threats from an Egyptian terrorist group “The Brothers of the Correct and Only Islam” upset at the portrayal of Egyptian society in the Disney film and furious that a filthy cur Reggie prays to Allah which they call blasphemy. These are the type of small-minded men (women are not permitted to join) that arrested and executed my original master Anwar for writing articles critical of the Egyptian government. Hateful. Narrow minded and fanatical they are dangerous lunatics. Dogs are seen as playthings of the infidels. Most street dogs in Cairo have more morals and decency than these self-appointed guardians of the faith. In this world crazy politics and ideologies some humans make me proud to be a dog but then again there are so many kind humans that helped me Egypt so I must not forget that and Bob made that very clear when writing the screenplay.

Ollie will be bomb sniffing at The Ritz Carlton Los Angeles as part of a special FBI team. The Mookster is liaising with his political and counter-intelligence contacts for social media chatter. Kit Kat will be closely surveying guests to determine if in his experience any don’t “fit in”. Penny will be in the in the interview suite at The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles hiding in a wheely basket ready to attack intruders. Mr. Antonio will be driving us in a steel reinforced Mercedes van brought over from Lisbon and packing his World War Two Luger and a special Dirty Harry Edition 357 Magnum. This is very tense indeed.

As a result of the death threat Bob and Fay have had to sell their house and move to the Bridle Path area in Toronto. Our new house is massive and well fortified and will be manned by private security. We have a famous musician on our new street called Drake who I have heard much about on the BBC show “Entertainment” and another older musician called Gordon Lightfoot who I know nothing about other than he his loved by many Canadian Boomers.

Bob, Fay, Dillie the Westie and I attend promotional interviews with the crew that worked on the film and the actors that are doing the voice overs. Cameras are popping and questions galore!  I recognize the anchor from BBC America News and romp up to her and give a friendly bark and she pats me Reggie the former street dog, on the head and gives me a little hug! Anwar, a BBC devotee, would be so pleased and proud! Then that dainty and well chiselled news anchor from ABC news I see following the BBC news every night gives my head a firm ruffle! Dillie has a big smile on his face like when he goes off-leash. He gets lots of comments how cute and sweet he is and boy he is all groomed and looks like the sharpest and coolest Westie. Why do those BBC people insist upon calling him “Dylan” and me “Reginald” (like I am some butler) ?

The interviewers ask Bob if he is fearful about his safety considering the death threats from the “The Brothers of the Correct and Only Islam”. He replies that he is but no one could have foreseen the idiocy of such a group. Bob says the film is a family feature but it has a deeper meaning describing the plight of street dogs of Egypt and the special people there and in Canada that are doing all they can to stop the poisoning and killing of so many dogs in governmentally encouraged culls. Bob says he means no disrespect to Egyptians and Islam by his story but those “Egyptian experiences” have changed so many lives. And he hopes it will change millions more.

It has been a very long day and dinner is served to us at our Beverly Hills temporary home. We sit and eat by the television and there is yet another story of a black person being gunned down by a white policeman. There is not only madness on the streets of Cairo but on the streets of the United States! Mr. Antonio patrols the perimeter of the mansion and Penny has completed a sweep of the neighborhood in her Oodlecopter.

Bob takes Dillie and I for a walk on the grounds of the gated mansion and we are so tired we all head back to bed as tomorrow night is the world premiere of “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog”!

Morning comes strangely to both dogs and humans who are bound by circadian rhythms. We are up at 7 a.m. Toronto time which is 4 a.m. L.A. time as Dillie the Westie barks to go out and pee and tired Bob lumbers down to take my ageing pal out and me too to keep Dillie company. Bladders and brains are all mixed up! But we do our business and every human and dog sleeps until 10 a.m. and we are wide awake.

Bob and Fay head downstairs and give us dogs a hug and kind words. And Carmela an older Mexican lady has prepared Mexican homemade dog food for Dillie and I with pork and black beans and it is like nothing we have eaten before. We wag our tails and ask for more with a gentle bark and Carmela obliges. OMG so good and different. The black beans give us some gas but not the runs….thank goodness. Bob and Fay have Huevos Rancheros and tortillas and a big pot of coffee. Penny has her customary enoki mushroom omelette and organic sourdough bread.

We spend the morning by the pool with Bob throwing us balls until we are panting and too tired to continue. At 2 p.m. Carmela prepares a Mexican feast of epic proportions for the humans. And the canine crowd enthusiastically chomps down on special homemade Mexican dogfood feast with pork and chicken without any beans. Bob and Fay have a drink called Cuba Libres.

At 4 p.m. we gussy ourselves up to attend the premiere. As dogs running and playing we are smelling very doggy and receive a quick bath by “dog trainers”. We are primed and ready to go and we head off to a big theatre in LA with Mr. Antonio driving his blast proof Mercedes van and his pistols on the front seat. There is a red carpet and for security reasons we appear for only 15 minutes on the carpet and go to the “Green Room” to prepare the film to roll. Kit Kat has been heading our security team keeping a close eye on the invitees and Ollie has been sniffing for explosives. Thery give us an all clear to take our seats in the theatre when we are ready but first backstage we meet many big Hollywood stars. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson pick me up and as Rita and Tom are Greek Orthodox like Fay they say come visit us in Greece on our island. Our jet is at your disposal Tom says to Bob.

There are famous people all over. The film runs and there is quiet then standing ovations explode for half an hour. Dillie and I are picked up by Bob and Fay and shown to the audience and the crowd goes wild.

Indications are as we read the critics’ reviews in the L.A. papers next morning this is the Disney hit of the century. No ever!!!!

The cast party was a dream after the screening for anyone in the Hollywood National Enquirer sphere. We should mention who did the voice overs of our characters in this animated production who were all in attendance;

Reggie:  Rick Mercer

Karim: Riz Ahmed

Bob: Rylan Gosling

Fay: Jennifer Aniston

Dillie the Westie: Peter Mansbridge

Anwar: Eduardo San Juan Breña 

Narrator: Mahershala Ali

Ollie: Mathew Broderick

Kit Kat: Cary Grant (AI generated)

The Mookster: Jimmy Stewart (AI generated)

Penny: Talyor Swift

The party was a “wrap” at 4 a.m. and returning home in our Mercedes Van Bob receives a call from the CEO of Disney that “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” is charting as a monstrous hit. I am glad for this. But can I fathom what this means for our lives? As for immediate realities Dillie and I are exhausted and have no energy for a walk but to be put outside for a long pee and bed is all we want!