The adage is that actors should never work with kids or dogs, right? Well, Will Trent star Ramón Rodriguez, who shares the screen with an adorable Chihuahua, strongly disagrees. “She’s a bona fide pro,” he raves. “She comes in, knocks out her scenes, gets treats and goes home in, like, an hour. She’s amazing.”
“She” is Betty, one of the reasons the new quirky crime drama (ABC, Tuesdays) is just so doggone irresistible. Based on Karin Slaughter’s popular book series, it focuses on Rodriguez’ eccentric agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. Abandoned as a child and raised in foster systems, Will Trent wears his three-piece suit as an emotional shield. But in the first episode, he reluctantly adopts little Betty after finding her tied up all alone in his neighborhood. They bond in a hurry. “He wasn’t just going to let this dog stay out there,” Rodriguez says. “That simple act shows you how much heart he has.”
That’s exactly why Slaughter, also an executive producer, introduced the four-legged character in her 2006 book, Will Trent: Triptych. “Will certainly had no intention of getting a dog, let alone a Chihuahua,” she explains via email. “Betty is the kind of dog a young pop star would carry in a leather satchel. But Will is a man who grew up in an orphanage and can’t take a dog to the pound. Now she whiles away the hours until Will comes home. Will Trent has lots of strong women in his life. Betty is just another one on the list.”