Happy National Pets in Film Day!

You may have seen his face on TV shows and commercials, mingling with the likes of Betty White and James Cromwell, even co-starring with Hollywood A-listers like Reese Witherspoon and acting in an Academy Award winning film…

Did I mention he is 10 years old?

And a dog?!

That’s right!  It’s Uggie – Hollywood’s hottest new IT-pooch, star of The Artist! But, Uggie wasn’t born famous… he was adopted from a shelter and his previous owners had relinquished him for being, “too wild”. Thankfully, he found a great home with Omar Von Muller. (A man with a knack for training dogs how to do the coolest of tricks – like skateboarding!)

Even movie stars like Lassie, Benji and the lovable St. Bernard, Beethoven, have their own stories that the camera  didn’t capture…

Benji was perhaps one of the most famous dog actors in history and he was adopted from our local Burbank Animal Shelter. Benji’s real name was Higgins and he was born in 1957 and adopted from the shelter by dog trainer Frank Inn. Frank Inn trained thousands of dogs over his career and said that Higgins was, by far, the smartest one of them all. Higgins lived to the righteous age of 17 and was cremated, his ashes were buried with his owner and trainer, Inn, in 2002.

Beethoven was played by 3 different St. Bernard dogs in “Beethoven’s Big Break“.  One was Benz; the dog referred to on set as the “Rock Star”. He rarely worked with other animals – but was incredible at performing tricks that gave his human co-stars a run for their money.  Then, there was Boomer; he was largest dog on set. He loved to play in the mud and make a mess with his drool – making him the perfect fit for the role.  And finally, there was Dolly. (Yes, Beethoven was played by a girl!)  Dolly was known as the nurturing and playful one on set. So, naturally she made the perfect scene partner with – - puppies!

Uggie, Benji and Beethoven are just a couple of the lovable, companion animals we’ve admired on the silver screen. On June 19th, we’ll celebrate them all on National Pets In Film Day.   National Pets In Film Day was created in 2011 by Celebrity Pet & Family Lifestyle Expert, Colleen Paige. Her mission was simple: to remind others to spend more time with pets and family members.  The happiness and bonding we see with the pets and people in movies, can happen in our very own lives.

So take the time to curl up on the couch with a good movie starring your favorite four-legged movie stars and spend the day with the pets in your lives!

What is your favorite pet in a film? Can you suggest a great animal film that we should add to the books & movies section in our Amazon Store? Tell us in the comments!

Dog Adoption    dog training