I guess it is just advertising?
Although i agree that it may be pointless (dog's wont need to use this skill in life, for now ) i think that showing people that dogs can do amazing things with training is putting across a positive image to dog owners that might not otherwise train?
I think its quite smart - no more pointless than all the other activities we train our dogs to do! Broken down, all they have trained is turning a wheel and alot of targets
Given that some people still seem to think that adult rescue dogs are untrainable due to their age, I think it's a very good idea. It's mental stimulation for the dogs, and good PR for the rescue - win-win.
I wonder if Henry could be trained to do this... I quite like the idea of being chauffeured around by him once in a while, rather than the other way round!