How to Make Your Dog Famous

By Camille Platt

Instructions

Step 1:
Get a sob story. Everyone loves a puppy with a tainted past. Rin Tin Tin, for example, was found by an American serviceman in a bombed-out animal shelter in France during World War I. Heroic mutt Benji was played by a number of different dogs from animal shelters across the United States. He later became the only canine actor to make the centerfold in Playgirl Magazine. The sadder the back-story the better.
Step 2:
Don’t be afraid to cross-dress. Female dogs are cast less often because their coats are shinier and their muscular build helps with stunts. Lassie was a male dog playing a female role.
Step 3:
Be willing to share the spotlight. Casting crews often hire multiple pets to play the same role. Verdell in Jack Nicholson’s As Good As It Gets, for example, was played by six different Belgian Griffons. The Wizard of Oz’s Toto had a stand-in ready at all times, and the investment paid off – the original pup broke his foot in the middle of taping when one of the witch’s guards stepped on his paw.
Step 4:
Audition young puppies for quick jobs like commercials so directors aren’t tempted to pass out a pink slip when size becomes an issue. In Charlie Chaplin’s A Dog’s Life, Scrapps grew so quickly that the crew had to spend hours working creative angles and creating oversized props to hide it.
Step 5:
Get famous yourself. Having your own presence in Hollywood helps. In Rocky and Rocky II, Sylvester Stalone’s bullmastiff Butkus plays himself. In The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock makes a brief appearance with his two dogs, Geoffrey and Stanley, two minutes into the film.

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