With social media and a cell phone, one can easily watch a video about a pet, push the like or share button and soon the animal will have thousands of followers. But to become famous and be remembered decades down the line is truly special. These five pets worked hard and will never be forgotten!
1. Lassie
Lassie is a wonderful classic with many different remakes. The female character inspired the popularity of the rough collie breed, and is still one of the most famous canine characters of all time. The female character, Lassie, was actually played by a male rough collie named Pal, who appeared in a series of short stories, TV shows and films – of which the most famous was Lassie Come Home, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowell. Pal lived for 18 years, after which his descendents continued to portray the Lassie character.
2. Toto
Another classic movie, The Wizard Of Oz, was released in 1939. The faithful little companion of Judy Garland’s heroine, Dorothy, was actually a female Cairn Terrier, named Terry. At the time of filming, Terry was paid a weekly salary of $125, which is around R1 600 – an astronomical sum for its time. In fact, it was more money than most of the human actors made. Although Toto in The Wizard of Oz was her most memorable role, Terry went on to act in at least 13 other feature films. She died in 1945 and was buried on a farm.
3. Beatrice
The weimaraner from the movie Best in Show has made many people fall in love with the beautiful dog breed. Can Ch. Arokat’s Echobar Take Me Dancing (called Peach) is the dog who portrays Beatrice. The movie is presented as a ‘mockumentary’ of five dogs and their owners destined to show in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, held in Philadelphia. The owners and their dogs include Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock), with their weimaraner, Beatrice. As an upper-class, stereotypical yuppie couple from Chicago, they think they are taking great care of Beatrice (although, really, they are just confusing and upsetting her with their neurotic behavior), going as far as taking her to a therapist after she sees Meg and Hamilton ‘in bed’.
4. Puffy
Everyone remembers Puffy, the border terrier in There’s Something About Mary. This little pooch (called Slammer in real life) gets put through her paces in the movie – even wrapped in a full-body cast – but rest assured, she was never hurt in the making of the movie!
5. Sassy
The cat from Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey was played by Tiki and voiced by Sally Field. In the movie, Sassy is a Himalayan cat who, along with a bulldog and a golden retriever, trek across the Rockies to reunite with their family. Prior to her debut role in the film, Tiki was originally rescued from a kitty mill. She went on to thrive under her trainer, Tammy Maples, and learned how to do stunts on cue. She even had her own IMDb page!