Hypnodog
{{Short description|Canine stage hypnotist act}}
Hypnodog is a canine stage hypnotist act.
Professional hypnotist Hugh Lennon discovered Oscar, a 10-month-old black Labrador Retriever puppy, on a farm in Yorkshire.{{cite news|url=http://www.citsu.ie/publications/backissues/volume5/january2004.pdf|title=Hugh Lennon and Oscar the Hypno-Dog|last=Clifford|first=Tim|date=January 2004|publisher=ExpliCIT|accessdate=2008-05-10}} Lennon states that initially he bought Oscar as a pet and brought him to shows for companionship, but "one night I brought him on stage with me. He started staring at this girl and she fell into hypnosis, without me doing a thing".{{cite book|title=Petspeak: Share Your Pet's Secret Language!|editor=Pets, Part of the Family|publisher=Pets, Part of the Family|year=2000|isbn=1-57954-077-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/petspeak00edit}} Lennon maintains that a number of dogs and other carnivores have a natural ability to hypnotise prey.{{cite news |date=2001-08-07 |title=The eyes have it as Milo the hypno-dog joins the show |url=https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/5396564.the-eyes-have-it-as-milo-the-hypno-dog-joins-the-show/ |accessdate=2025-05-05 |work=Dorset Echo}}
In 1995, Oscar made headlines in the UK and all over the world, when he went missing while appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland.{{cite news |last=Bitee |first=Gunna |date=1995-12-17 |title=U.K.'s "Hypno-Dog" Dazes Audiences |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/1995/12/17/uks-hypno-dog-dazes-audiences-a-mesmerizing-lab-named-oscar-is-leaving-his-subjects-spellbound/ |accessdate=2025-05-05 |work=New York Daily News}} Oscar is also familiar to many students of English as a second language, as materials about Oscar and his act are featured in the Oxford University Press English language course.{{cite book|last=Duckworth|first=Michael|author2=Gude, Kathy|title=Countdown to First Certificate Workbook|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=1999|isbn=978-0-19-453352-2|url=http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/elt/catalogue/0-19-453354-9-a.pdf|accessdate=2008-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108032829/http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/elt/catalogue/0-19-453354-9-a.pdf|archive-date=2007-01-08|url-status=dead}}
In 2001, after 12 years performing, Oscar's eyesight failed and he was no longer able to hold the penetrating stare necessary for stage hypnosis.{{cite news|url=http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2001/7/31/98142.html |title=Wanted: Dog with entrancing looks |date=2001-07-31 |publisher=Dorset Echo |accessdate=2008-05-10 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304200725/http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2001/7/31/98142.html |archivedate=2009-03-04 }} Open auditions were held at the Weymouth Pavilion for a replacement dog; the eventual replacement chosen was Milo, a three-year-old German Shepherd-Rottweiler crossbreed. However, Lennon later worked with Murphy, one of Oscar's sons.{{cite news|url=http://archive.bournemouthecho.co.uk/2005/8/15/110428.html|title=Completely barking?|date=2005-08-15|publisher=Bournemouth Daily Echo|accessdate=2008-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304191817/http://archive.bournemouthecho.co.uk/2005/8/15/110428.html|archive-date=2009-03-04|url-status=dead}}
Lennon and the Hypnodog have appeared on numerous television and radio shows, including This Morning and Kelly,{{cite web|url=http://www.twisterscomedyclub.co.uk/tuesday_night.htm|title=Hugh Lennon and Hypnodog|publisher=Twisters Comedy Club|accessdate=2008-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501104617/http://www.twisterscomedyclub.co.uk/tuesday_night.htm|archive-date=2008-05-01|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thekellyshow.com/wacky.html|title=Wacky World|publisher=UTV|accessdate=2008-05-10|archive-date=2011-07-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717005018/http://www.thekellyshow.com/wacky.html|url-status=dead}} and at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/music/leeds_festival/festival_2004/lineup_comedy.shtml|title=A festival of fun|date=2004-08-20|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2008-05-10}}{{cite web|url=http://www.strathstudents.com/pages/whats_happening/freshers_week_2007/monday_24_september.html|title=The Union|publisher=University of Strathclyde Students' Union|accessdate=2008-05-10 |url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726182659/http://strathstudents.com/pages/whats_happening/freshers_week_2007/monday_24_september.html |archivedate=2008-07-26}}
The show was taken over in 2014 by Hugh's niece Krystyna Lennon and her dog Princess after his retirement in 2007. The duo are based in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Krystyna has since appeared on a number of different TV shows worldwide.