49 Fun Facts About TV Pets

Eddie, Martin Crane's dog on Frasier, was what breed?

Eddie's habit of staring down Kelsey Grammer became a running sight gag; the dog reportedly received more fan mail than the human cast.

What was the name of the dog who played Eddie on Frasier for the first several seasons?

His son Enzo, bred as a stand-in, took over the role later in the run and did the stunt work.

Comet, the Tanners' golden retriever on Full House, was played by which future Air Bud star?

The only episode actually shot in San Francisco was the season eight opener 'Comet's Excellent Adventure'.

Salem, the talking cat on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, was sentenced to how long as a cat?

His crime was trying to take over the world; on the sitcom he was mostly an animatronic puppet, voiced by Nick Bakay.

The talking horse Mister Ed was played by a palomino gelding with what name?

The voice was former Western actor Allan Lane; the show ran 143 episodes, all in black and white.

Mister Ed will only talk to which character?

The running gag is other characters overhearing Wilbur and asking whom he is talking to.

Flipper, the 1960s TV dolphin, was played mainly by female dolphins with which two names?

The show was co-created by Ricou Browning, who had played the monster in Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The first dog to play Lassie on screen, and the founder of the Lassie line, was named what?

Pal was male, though Lassie is female; the Saturday Evening Post called his the most spectacular canine career in film history.

For how many seasons did the Lassie TV series run on CBS before moving into first-run syndication?

The first four seasons had Lassie living with Jeff Miller; then came the orphan Timmy and the Martins on the farm.

In The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, the dog and the boy Rusty live at which cavalry post?

The pair were the only survivors of a raid on their wagon train; the character was played by Rin Tin Tin IV.

The original Rin Tin Tin was rescued as a puppy from a World War I battlefield in which country?

American soldier Lee Duncan found him in Flirey and nicknamed him Rinty; he went on to make 27 films.

What was the name of the Jack Russell who played Wishbone, the PBS dog?

Voice actor Larry Brantley won the part in a five-minute audition, imagining the dog's thoughts as he obsessed over a tennis ball.

Brian Griffin of Family Guy is what breed of dog?

Seth MacFarlane created, designed and voices him; he can talk, drive and stand on two legs.

How did the Simpsons come to own Santa's Little Helper?

Homer and Bart were at the dog track hoping to win Christmas money in the very first episode, 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire'.

Alongside Santa's Little Helper, what is the name of the Simpsons' cat?

The original Snowball died before the series began; later replacements were renamed Snowball II so nothing had to change.

Astro, the Jetsons' dog, talks with every word beginning with which letter?

Don Messick voiced him and later reused the same growling trick for Scooby-Doo.

Dino, the Flintstones' pet dinosaur, was voiced for nearly 30 years by which legendary voice actor?

Dino appears in the opening credits of the pilot but is not named until the fourth episode.

Scooby-Doo is what breed of dog?

In early treatments the dog was a bongo-playing sidekick called Too Much whose breed wavered between Great Dane and sheepdog.

Ross Geller's pet in the first season of Friends was a capuchin monkey named what?

The monkey on screen was actually a female called Katie.

On Lost, whom does Walt give his dog Vincent to before leaving the island on the raft?

The Labrador survived the whole series and is lying beside Jack in the final shot.

Buck, the Bundy family dog on Married... with Children, was what breed?

The joke was that the French-hating Al owned a French breed; Buck's inner voice was writer Kevin Curran, and occasionally Cheech Marin.

After Buck died on Married... with Children, he was reincarnated as which dog?

The plot let the dog actor Michael retire; in animal heaven Buck learned that God is a cat.

What stayed in the Brady Bunch back yard for the show's entire run after the dog Tiger disappeared?

The original dog playing Tiger died early in season one and was quietly replaced.

Cheddar, the beloved dog of Captain Holt and his husband Kevin on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, is what breed?

The finale revealed Holt's mysterious tattoo: Kevin's head on Cheddar's body.

Stella, Jay Pritchett's French bulldog on Modern Family, first belonged to an inventor played by which Broadway star?

Jay talked Guillermo out of his dog-related invention and into going back to school, and got the dog in the deal.

The Buchmans' dog Murray on Mad About You was played by a dog with what name?

The collie mix became famous for chasing an imaginary mouse around the apartment.

Bear, the dog on Person of Interest, is what breed?

Reese rescued him from white supremacists, when he was called Butcher, and gave him to Finch as protection.

Happy, the Camden family dog on 7th Heaven, had what name with her previous owners?

Simon prayed for a dog in the pilot; the former owners' daughter spotted her on TV in the season two finale and wanted her back.

Lieutenant Columbo is occasionally accompanied by a basset hound. What does he call it?

The name fits a detective who never carries a gun and rarely reveals his own first name.

Punky Brewster's dog was named after whom?

Tartikoff had also named the show after a tomboy he had a crush on as a boy, Peyton 'Punky' Brewster.

The Partridge Family had a dog in its first season that was quietly phased out. What was it called?

The dog vanished during season two, along with the original Chris Partridge, who was recast.

Porkchop, Doug Funnie's dog on Doug, is what breed?

He once saved Beebe Bluff from falling through thin ice, and was a Christmas gift to Doug.

Ladybird, the Hills' bloodhound on King of the Hill, is named after whom?

The purebred Georgia bloodhound is 13, goes deaf later in the series and never has puppies.

Arnold Ziffel, the pig treated as a son on Green Acres, first appeared on which sister show?

Because piglets grow fast, at least one new one had to be trained each year; Arnold won three Patsy Awards.

Gentle Ben, the 1960s TV bear, lived with a wildlife officer's family in which region?

Clint Howard played the boy Mark and Dennis Weaver his father, continuing their roles from the film Gentle Giant.

The dog actor Higgins, later the star of Benji, had an uncredited running role on which 1960s sitcom?

His show-business career lasted 11 years, ending with the 1974 film that made him famous.

K9, the robot dog of Doctor Who, first appeared alongside which incarnation of the Time Lord?

Introduced in 1977, K9 was never meant to be a regular but was kept on for younger viewers, and later got spin-offs of his own.

Wellard, EastEnders' longest-serving pet, was what breed?

The male character was played mostly by three female dogs across three generations: Zenna, Chancer and Kyte.

The first Blue Peter pet, introduced in 1962, was a dog named what?

The original puppy died of distemper days after her debut and was secretly replaced, a fact only revealed years later.

Which Blue Peter presenter lived with the dog Shep, and was paid a stipend for his upkeep?

Purves kept Petra and Groom kept Goldie; the other pets stayed with keeper Edith Menezes for 27 years.

The Munsters' family pet, Spot, was what kind of creature?

Spot lived under the staircase of 1313 Mockingbird Lane and was mostly seen as smoke and a tail.

Blue, the dog in Blue's Clues, leaves how many paw-print clues in each episode?

Blue is female, something many viewers never noticed; her vocal effects were by co-creator Traci Paige Johnson.

Which Blue Peter dog became the show's main dog when Petra died in 1977?

Shep was John Noakes's border collie, immortalised in the catchphrase 'Get down, Shep!'

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo was set in which fictional national park?

The 9-year-old Sonny Hammond was the son of the park's head ranger, and the show was filmed near Sydney.

How was Skippy's famous 'tchk tchk tchk' sound created, given that kangaroos make no such noise?

Between nine and fifteen kangaroos were used per episode, and the 'hands' were often human operators working separate arms.

Dreyfuss, the big dog on the 1988-95 sitcom Empty Nest, was what mix of breeds?

The original title sequence showed Harry Weston walking Dreyfuss around town, and in Italy the show was retitled 'Daddy's Dog'.

Bandit, Jonny Quest's pet bulldog, got his name from what?

Unlike Scooby-Doo and other Hanna-Barbera dogs, Bandit is an ordinary non-anthropomorphic dog, voiced by Don Messick.

The wandering German Shepherd of The Littlest Hobo was played mainly by a dog with what name?

Trainer Chuck Eisenmann taught his dogs to recognise colours and respond to English, German and French, and bred for their 'reverse mask' markings.

What is the title of The Littlest Hobo's theme song, written by Terry Bush and John Crossen?

Bush finally released the song commercially in 2005 on his debut album of the same name.