Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 4, 2014

8

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 4, 2014


LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND?

WHO’S WHO AMONG 
HOLLYWOOD’S CAST OF 
CANINE CHARACTERS?

Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

 Looking For A Best Friend??

 So is Hope! 

 Hope is really hoping for 
someone to adopt her and give 
her a loving, forever home! 
She is a very pretty, sweet and 
affectionate, white & gold, 1 ½ 
year old, 12 lb. Cairn terrier girl 
with lots of love in her heart. 

 She is a happy gal with lots 
of personality and has made 
a lot of friends with staff and 
volunteers. She loves people and 
is the happiest when she is in 
their company, sitting in a lap 
and giving kisses. Hope enjoys 
playing with toys, going on casual walks and just 
chilling on the grass on a warm Fall day. She has a 
comfortable energy level and is easy to handle on a 
leash.

 Hope has been with a few different kennel mates 
since she has been with us and gets along with all 
of them. Based on our experiences, she would 
probably be the happiest and most content in either 
a one or two dog household.

 Hope would love to meet you 
and is hoping you will come to 
the shelter soon. She is hoping 
you are the one she is waiting for! 

 She currently resides at the 
San Gabriel Valley Humane 
Society located at 851 E. Grand 
Avenue in San Gabriel with 
her roommate. We are located 
off San Gabriel Blvd., north of 
Mission and south of Las Tunas. 

To arrange a ‘Meet and Greet’ 
with Hope, please stop by any 
time from 10:00am to 4:30pm 
Tuesday thru Sunday. 

 Her adoption fee is $120 which includes a 
microchip, spay surgery, first vaccinations 
and a free wellness check-up at a participating 
veterinarian. Feel free to call us at (626) 286-1159 
for more information on Hope. 

 See our website at www.sgvhumane.org for 
information and photos of all our available pets. 

 
I’ll never forget how embarrassed I was, when at age 
7, I cried openly while watching the movie, Lassie Come 
Home. I was spending the night at a friend’s house, and it 
was the last scene of the movie, where Lassie appears on 
the hilltop and runs down to meet Timmy, who takes her 
into his arms and begins crying his own tears of joy over 
having her back home.

 There I was, centered between my friend and the rest 
of her family of 5, sobbing about a fictional dog who’d 
gone missing and ended up being the hero of the show. 
I was a basket case! The next morning at breakfast, I was 
ribbed by my friend’s 2 older brothers for my display 
of emotions, after which I packed my bag and headed 
home. The hardest part was living it down at school 
the following week, when my friend’s brothers shared 
the ordeal with the rest of my class mates. At the time, 
I considered myself to be a big baby, blubbering over 
Lassie, but in retrospect I give myself a break, and even a 
pat on the back for caring about the welfare of a dog, any 
dog, even an actor dog!

 This nostalgic memory inspired me to look up some of 
my favorite famous canine characters, hoping to find as 
much information as I could about who they really were. 
I started my search with Lassie, since she was the one 
who brought this idea to mind. I found out that although 
the Lassie character was a female in the movie, the dog 
who played her part was actually a male Rough Collie 
named “Pal”! Pal was born on June 4, 1940 at Cherry 
Osborne’s Glamis Kennels in Hollywood, and had his 
first film debut in Lassie Come Home (1943) - the one that 
brought on my embarrassing blubbering ordeal. He went 
on to play the same part in 6 more MGM Lassie features, 
after which he starred in two pilots of the TV series, then 
retired and finally died in 1958. During his life of 18 years, 
“Pal” must have touched the hearts of more youngsters 
than any other canine ever cast in film.

 My second favorite famous dog was “Duke” on The 
Beverly Hillbillies. The part of Duke was played by a 
wrinkly purebred Bloodhound named “Stretch”. At 
13 years of age, Stretch was replaced by a younger 
bloodhound who continued to play 
the part of Duke until the final episode. 
Following his 10 year career as Duke on 
The Beverly Hillbillies, Stretch appeared 
in the military comedy film entitled 
No Time for Sargents (1958), starring 
Andy Griffith as newly recruited army 
private Will Stockdale. I couldn’t find 
any information about who owned 
Stretch, or how he was discovered, 
but I will say he is one of the reasons 
I fell in love with bloodhounds, and 
chose that breed as my own pet. My 
dog Tater is so much like Duke. The 
resemblance is undeniable, and like 
Duke, Tater would much rather lay 
around than take a walk or perform a service, such as 
hunting or tracking, as bloodhounds are bred to do.

 During my quest to identify the canines that were 
cast as Hollywood characters, I remembered a show 
that featured an enormous dog with bigger-than-life 
facial features, but because I was only about 5 when I 
watched the reruns, I couldn‘t remember the title of the 
show. After some internet research, I figured out that 
the TV comedy series was Topper, all about a couple 
buried in an avalanche with their guide dog, “Neil” while 
skiing in Switzerland. After the accident, they return as 
ghosts (including the dog) and carry out a plethora of 
shenanigans that keep the new home owner, “Topper“ 
on his toes.

 The part of Neil was played by a gorgeous Saint Bernard 
named “Buck”. Buck was raised by Beatrice Knight of 
the Sanctuary Kennels in Oregon. I couldn’t find much 
information about Buck, but I did learn that there was a 
feature film entitled Topper, based on the same novel, and 
in the movie the canine character is a Wire-haired Terrier 
named “Mr. Atlas”, played by a dog named “Skippy”, and 
that Skippy later played the part of “Asta” in the TV series, 
The Thin Man.

 Another Hollywood-cast canine that I really enjoyed as 
a kid, appeared in the movie trilogy, Benji. To my delight, 
I found out that the remarkably talented pup who played 
the part of Benji was actually a mixed-breed, rescued 
shelter dog named “Higgins”, who was trained by Frank 
Inn, and that one of his offspring, “Benjean” played the 
same part in subsequent films.

 There are so many other doggie actors that I could 
include in this article, but unfortunately I don’t have 
the time or space, so I hope you’ve enjoyed the bits of 
information that I did share about the famous canines 
I treasured growing up. I am personally very impressed 
with the dog’s ability to be trained to entertain, and it 
means a lot to me have had so many canine characters 
who played an important part of entertaining me as a 
child.


DogWalking & Sitting ServicesSierraMadre, Californiawww.canyoncanine.comchris@canyoncanine.comChris LeclercCanyonCanine626-355-8333 626-533-9536CCConCaCanyonCanineCanineeeieCCChris LeclercChris Leclercae,
chris@canyoncanine.com.canyoncanine.comwwwnCaSierraMadrare, CaliforCaalking&SonDogWWalking & Sitting ServicesonCa626-355-8333 62onCayeclercinnia6-533-95362eclerccanine.comanine.comani,CaliforirnanineSittingServiceseaninee
PET OF THE WEEK MAX: Animal ID #A4755692

Meet Max, a stellar pup that loves to please! Max 
(A4755692) is a charming 2-year-old black and 
white male Shorthaired Chihuahua mix puppy 
who was found as a stray and brought into the 
Baldwin Park Animal Care Center on September 
13th. Weighing 10 pounds, Max is a mature soul 
considering he is such a young pup—sweet and 
calm. He is really eager to get in your lap and 
cuddle, loves to meet new people, and other dogs 
too! Max is intelligent and treat motivated too. 
Max knows how adorable he is so he prefers to be 
carried in your arms than walking on leash! We 
know however with a little confidence and once 
in a loving home he will become a great walker. 
Max is the perfect mellow pup who will make a 
super indoor pet for an individual or family living 
in a private home with a nice big, gated backyard! 
To watch a video of Max please visit the following 
link: http://youtu.be/hZcx_9N0nPw 

 To meet Max in person, please see him at the 
Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 N. Elton, 
Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-430-2378 
or 626-962-3577). He is available now. For any 
inquiries about Max, please reference his animal 
ID number: A4744692. The shelter is open seven 
days a week, 12 pm-7 pm Monday-Thursday and 
10am-5pm Friday-Sunday. This is a high-intake 
shelter with a great need for adoptions. For more 
information about Winston or the adoption 
process, contact United Hope for Animals 
Volunteer Adoption Coordinator Samantha at 
Samantha@hope4animals.org. To learn more 
about United Hope for Animals’ partnership 
with the Baldwin Park Shelter through its 
Shelter Support Program, as well as the many 
dogs of all breeds, ages, and sizes available for 
adoption in local shelters, visit http://www.
unitedhope4animals.org/about-us/shelter-
support-program/.