Famous Pets

Over the years, pets have become famous for all different reasons. We know famous pets from television, movies, politics and even from their famous owners. Depending on your age you may remember everyone's favorite German Shepherd, Rin Tin Tin. The  original  Rin Tin Tin  was a puppy found by an American soldier in France during World War I.  The dog became famous  for  being in movies.  In the 1950's a television show based on this dog became popular.

Another famous pet from the 1950's was the much loved Lassie. Lassie was on television from 1954 to 1973. The female Lassie was actually played by various male collies, all related to the original dog, Pal. Lassie first came to life as a main character in a short story written in the Saturday Evening Post in 1938. That lead to the book "Lassie, Come Home" and the movie of the same name.

There were famous horses on television too. You probably all remember Mr. Ed, the talking horse. Of course only Mr. Ed's owner Wilbur ever heard him talking. Mr. Ed was played by a Palomino horse. Trainers got Mr. Ed  to move his lips like he was talking by giving him peanut butter. The comedy was on television from 1961 to 1965. The famous cowboy Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger performed together for over 25 years. Another popular television show from the 1950's was The Lone Ranger. He was a Texas marshall fighting crime in the old West. He had a big white horse called Silver.

Some more recent famous pets from television and movies include, White Fang, about a wolf-dog's journey through the Yukon territory during the Klondike Gold Rush, and who could forget Hooch from Turner and Hooch? Turner, played by Tom Hanks was a neat freak that got stuck with a murder victim's dog. Hooch  was played by a Dogue de Bordeaux, which is a type of mastiff. Of course Hooch  was a big  slobbery mess.  In the movie, Hooch gives up his life to save Turner.

From more recent television, we  became familiar with Eddie, the Jack Russell terrier from Frazier, and from the 1980's, Zeus and Apollo, the Doberman Pinschers from Magnum P.I.  Some of my favorite pets from television are cartoons. Think of Dino the Dinosaur from the Flintstones. Dino barked like a dog, ran around like a dog, licking faces and catching sticks. In fact Dino was not a dog, he was a snorkasaurus. Let's not forget about Astro, the Jetsons dog. Young Elroy finds the stray dog and takes him home. Of   course   Elroy is  not allowed to keep the dog until Astro saves the family from a burglar. Dino and Astro were important family members to the Flintstones and Jetsons, just like our dogs are important family members to us.

In thinking of famous pets, let's not forget the pets of the political world. Winston Churchill had an orange cat named Jock. The Carters had a Siamese cat and the Clinton family had a black and white cat named Socks. Franklin Roosevelt had a Scottish terrier, as did George H. W. Bush and Laura. John Quincy Adams kept an alligator in a White House bathroom. It was a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette. Calvin Coolidge had raccoons running around the White House. Who knew it was so crazy at the President's house? These are just a few famous pets. What famous pets do you know?

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