Here, boy! Bring 'The Dog Whisperer' back to Suddenlink - TV - The Charleston Gazette

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August 29, 2012

Here, boy! Bring 'The Dog Whisperer' back to Suddenlink

Courtesy photo

Cesar Milan, aka "The Dog Whisperer," no longer can be seen on National Geographic. It was moved to National Geographic Wild, which Suddenlink does not carry -- and has no plans to carry.

By Amy Robinson

Courtesy photo

Lauren Ambrose stars as Susan Wheeler in the A&E miniseries "Coma," airing Monday and Tuesday. The thriller follows a young doctor who suspects something isn't right when seemingly healthy patients fall into comas while on the operating table.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Recently, reader Leah Bostic brought it to my attention that "The Dog Whisperer" no longer is on National Geographic. It turns out, it was moved to National Geographic Wild not long after season seven aired in 2011.

Wild is a fairly new channel (it debuted in 2010) and one that focuses exclusively on animals, so moving "The Dog Whisperer" to it made sense for the brand. The show is one of National Geographic's most popular, so why not switch it to the upstart network in hopes of drawing more eyes there?

Unfortunately, at least in our area's case, it's now pulling in fewer eyes. That's because Suddenlink subscribers don't get the channel.

This means Leah and other fans missed season eight, which aired earlier this year, and are now missing the show's ninth and final season. They'll also miss Cesar Milan's new 12-episode series, "Leader of the Pack," debuting next year.

When Leah called Suddenlink about this, she was told the company has no plans to add the network to its lineup and that channel additions are only made by popular demand.

In her email, Leah asked me "to please ask readers to place a call to Suddenlink to request that National Geographic Wild be placed in the lineup if they would be interested in seeing this show and other shows like it."

Surely, we can afford to give up one of five cable news channels or the seven sports-related ones already on the lower dial or one of the six children's channels and seven music ones in the 300s. Won't you think of the animals, folks?

If dogs don't interest you, what about monkeys, polar bears, sharks, killer shrimp or even Henry Rollins (he hosts "Animal Underworld")? And there are enough adorable animals to send you into cute overload.

Also, two words: Penguin Palooza.

•••

Since it's a holiday weekend, there are plenty of marathons to be found around the dial. Note, however, that I did not say plenty of good marathons. My top picks are in italics

A&E: "Hatfields & McCoys," 6 p.m. Saturday; "Longmire," 11 a.m. Sunday (the bulk of season one); "Storage Wars," 6 p.m. Sunday and 8 a.m. Monday.

ABC Family: "Switched at Birth," 7 a.m. Monday (includes midseason premiere at 8 p.m.)

AMC: Clint Eastwood films, 10:15 a.m. Monday (starts with Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy).

Animal Planet: "Tanked: Unfiltered," 10 a.m. Saturday; "Call of the Wildman," 9 a.m. Monday.

BBC America: "Doctor Who," 8 a.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Saturday (includes season premiere at 9 p.m. Saturday).

BET: "The Game," 10 a.m. Saturday; "Sunday Best," 10:30 a.m.; "The Parkers," 8 a.m. Monday.

Bravo: "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," 9 a.m. Sunday; "The Real Housewives of New York City," 7:30 a.m. Monday.

CMT: "Reba," noon Monday.

Discovery: "American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior," noon Monday.

E!: "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," 1 p.m. Monday.

FX: "How I Met Your Mother," 7 a.m. Sunday; "Two and a Half Men," noon Monday.

History: "Swamp People," 8 a.m. and "Pawn Stars," 8 p.m. Saturday; "Mountain Men," 3 p.m. Sunday; "Pawn Stars," 8 a.m. Monday.