Scott D. Pierce: It’s a miracle — there’s a well-behaved chihuahua on ABC’s ‘Will Trent’

PASADENA, Calif — There is a bonafide miracle happening Tuesday nights on ABC. It’s part of that network’s new police drama, “Will Trent,” and it’s not human.

In the first episode, Will (Ramon Rodriguez) reluctantly adopts a dog. A chihuahua. And this dog is — believe it or not — completely trained and beautifully behaved. Both on and off the set.

Really. A chihuahua!

I’ve got a (mostly) chihuahua living at my house. I love him dearly, but he is, well, not beautifully behaved. He’s sort of a monster, at least some of the time.

That is not the case with Belle, the 7-year-old who stars as Betty in “Will Trent.” She accompanied series star Ramon Rodriguez to the Television Critics Association’s press tour, not just sitting quietly sitting on his lap but settling down and taking a nap.

“Anybody that’s in the business knows you don’t do scenes with dogs or babies,” Rodriguez said. “Animals and kids — it’s a risk. It’s a gamble. You don’t know what you’re going to get.”

But he and the rest of the cast and crew have been pleasantly surprised to learn that Belle is a “bona fide pro.”

“Look at her,” Rodriguez said. “This is what it is on set. She’s very relaxed. She’s looking at her trainer for the treat. … She’s got the best job, honestly, out of all of us. She comes in, knocks out her scenes, goes home in, like, an hour. … We lucked out. She’s amazing.”

On “Will Trent” — based on a series of crime novels by Karin Slaughter — Betty both provides comic relief and softens the title character somewhat. Will Trent is a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who is beyond quirky. Abandoned at birth, he grew up in the foster care system and has a violent past.

“He’s pretty much a loner,” Rodriguez said. “And one of the brilliant things in the pilot that I thought was a great way to introduce a character … is to have this scene with the chihuahua where we see him adopt Betty.”

He wants to leave the dog at a no-kill shelter, but then he’s told the shelter isn’t completely no-kill ... and he’s guilted into taking Betty home with him.

I don’t have the words to tell you how incredibly well behaved Belle is. I had a chance to meet her offstage, and she is the most even-tempered small dog I’ve ever encountered. My astonishment was prompted by my experience with Chester, my daughter’s three-quarters chihuahua/one-quarter Shih Tzu. He was a sweet, tiny little puppy, and then one day when I took him out for a walk he screamed at the neighbors. That’s the only way to describe it, and he’s been reacting loudly to every dog and person he encounters ever since.

He’s food-aggressive. He’s possessive of toys. He has been known to bite. Chester can be 10 pounds of terror, although — given his size — no one is actually afraid of him.

Yes, he’s been to obedience classes. No, they didn’t help much.

I love that Chester makes my daughter happy. I love that he makes my aging and mobility-challenged Shih Tzu happy. (The other Shih Tzu is much less happy to have him around.) I love Chester.

I do wish he could spend some time with Belle’s trainer. Did I mention that Belle’s behavior is miraculous?

Adapting the books for TV

As is generally the case with any book or book series adapted as a TV show, there are those who object to changes made in the translation from one medium to the other. One TV critic who read the Will Trent books questioned the differences and said that “a lot of the changes are kind of difficult for me to accept” and that she was “really bothered” by some.

You know who’s not at all bothered by the changes? The books’ author.

Slaughter said she was “flattered and excited” when she was approached about a Will Trent TV series, and she was impressed by showrunner Liz Heldens.

“I don’t want to slam anybody in Hollywood,” Slaughter said, “but normally they’re like, ‘Oh, I love this,’ and you can tell they’ve never read it. But Liz had actually read it.”

The author recognizes that it’s not possible for a TV series to be a scene-by-scene recreation of a book.

“The book is the book and the show is the show,” said Slaughter. And she had nothing but praise for the TV adaptation.

“This show gives all of the things that I wanted to do in the books,” Slaughter said. “I’m incredibly impressed and flattered that something that I did in my pajamas in my cabin in north Georgia, now these people are bringing to life in such a tremendous way.”

She’s not at all unhappy that the producers and writers are putting “their own imprint into it, because they’re creative people. They’re not mimeograph machines. So they’re taking it and expounding upon it in a wonderful way that, as the originator, I’m very pleased with.”

I have no reason to doubt that she was being honest about her feelings. She certainly seemed pleased. And she’s got a producer credit on “Will Trent” — which basically means the show’s writers and producers can consult her if they wish.

It’s also true that, in success, Slaughter stands to make a lot of money from the show. And from the increased book sales the publicity will bring.

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