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Cairn terrier ancestors are from Scotland, where the wire coat repels water and keeps the dog dry even in rainy or damp climates. Keeping the Cairn terrier coat in its original state will prevent possible skin irritations. As dead hair is removed by stripping the coat, new growth comes in and the skin and coat remain healthy.

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Humble beginnings

This week's #historichounds has an incredibly impressive resume and researching this wiry canine proved to be more interesting than I'd initially expected. Starring in one of Hollywood's most iconic movies early on in her career cemented this pooch's Star status and she now has her on memorial statue and plaque in the Hollywood Forever Memorial Park.

This week's historic hound was a purebred Cairn Terrier, born in 1933 in Alta Dena, California. Her early life was nothing special and there was definitely no indication that she would be one of Hollywood's most famous and highly paid dog actors. Terry the Cairn Terrier had a horrible habit of "watering the carpet". Her original owners tried everything they could to get Terry to kick the habit and relieve herself outdoors. But funnily enough, if it hadn't have been for this annoying behaviour Terry would never have become Toto.

Terry's owners got so fed up with her unsavoury urinary habits that they sent her to Carl Spitz's glamourous doggy hotel and training retreat. Spitz was a 3 rd generation police and military dog trainer from Germany who moved to California in 1924 and established The Hollywood Dog Training School-where at one time, seventy-five of the best-known dogs of the screen lived in tranquil comfort. Within a few weeks Spitz had cured Terry of her unattractive indoor toiletting and had taught a few key tricks to boot. When Terry's time at the Hollywood Dog Training School was up her owners couldn't pay the bill and wouldn't return Spitz's calls. Spitz and his family adopted the reformed Cairn Terrier and welcomed her in as their family pet. Maybe Terry just knew she was destined for greatness.

Carl Spitz had an impressive Hollywood reputation for training dogs and he used silent hand signals instead of the traditional verbal commands which was important because at the time more films started to have sound. Spitz had not intended to use Terry as a dog actor but she took matters into her own paws. One day Clark Gable and Hedda Hooper stopped by Spitz's dog hotel to take some press photos for Clark's upcoming film, Call of the Wild (in which he starred alongside Spitz's St. Bernard named Buck) Terry made herself known and in Carl's words, "made quite an impression".

As legend would have it, the very next day Spitz took Terry to audition for the Shirley Temple film, Bright Eyes (1934). The directors instantly liked Terry and she impressed them with all of her tricks, but she wasn't granted the role until Shirley Temple gave her the final seal of approval. The final test was whether or not Terry could get along with Temple's Pomeranian named Ching-Ching. Upon meeting Ching-Ching, Terry rolled onto her back signalling she would not be a threat and was hired to star in her first film. She then went on to star in 5 other Hollywood films before catching her big break.

From Terry to Toto

Terry didn't earn herself true Hollywood notoriety until her pivotal role in L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz. Spitz had gotten wind that the movie was in the works and worked tirelessly to pre-train Terry to do all the tricks mentioned in the novel (e.g. catch an apple falling from a tree, speak, sit in a basket, sit in front of giant fans to simulate a tornado etc.). All of Spitz and Terry's hard eork paydd off and she aced the audition process beating 100s of otherodog applicants. It is said that Terry even took an immediate liking to the magnetic Judy Garland.

Terry received a weekly salary of $125 ($2200 in today's money), which was more than the studio paid the Munchkins. Before filming began, Terry spent two weeks living with Judy Garland, who fell in love with her and tried to buy her from Spitz, but he refused. Terry had a reputation for smelly breath and Judy's daughter, Lorna Luft, once said that her mother told them that the dog had the worst breath in the world. "It all made us laugh," Luft said, "because the dog was constantly put in her face [with its] silly panting, and she did everything but wince because poor little Toto needed an Altoid."

After winning the hearts of movie goers around the world, Terry went on to star in 15 more films and became so famous that her paw print brought top prices among autograph seekers. Soon she began making public appearances and became so popular, that Spitz officially changed her name to Toto.

There's No Place Like Home

Terry died at age 11 in Hollywood on September 1, 1945, and was buried at Spitz's ranch in Studio City, Los Angeles. The grave was destroyed during the construction of the Ventura Freeway in 1958.

On June 18, 2011, a permanent memorial for Terry was dedicated at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles. On the memorial it says, "There's no place like home".

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This week's #historichounds has an incredibly impressive resume and researching this wiry canine proved to be more interesting than I'd initially expected. Starring in one of Hollywood's most iconic movies early on in her career cemented this pooch's Star status and she now has her on memorial statue and plaque in the Hollywood Forever Memorial Park.

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Contrary to popular belief, the little black Cairn terrier who played Toto in The Wizard of Oz was not named Toto. That is, until The Wizard of Oz became so popular that almost everyone forgot what her original name was! Like all the other cast members, she had a character name, Toto, and a real name: Terry. She may have been the best actor on the set, too, because without even the benefit of makeup or a costume, the girl dog played a boy dog.

Interestingly, Terry received incorrect billing in the closing credits. She is billed as "Toto" playing the role of "Toto." Her actual name, at the time of filming, was Terry.

Terry's owner and trainer was a man named Carl Spitz. He ran the Hollywood Dog Training School. Spitz adopted Terry in 1933, when she was just a year old. He had no plans for Terry to become a movie star. Her original owner had left Terry to be trained, but then never returned to pick her up.

Terry was to appear in 15 films altogether. The Wizard of Oz was the only one in which she actually got a screen credit. Her first appearance was in Ready For Love in 1934. This was just one month before her first major film with a big star. Later that year, Terry appeared with Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes, playing the role of "Rags."

In 1938, Terry was taken to a casting call looking for a dog that resembled Dorothy's black dog in the Wizard of Oz books. Terry was hired on the spot and immediately began living the high life. This meant living for two weeks at Judy Garland's house! Judy became quite fond of the dog and wanted to adopt Terry after filming ended, but Carl Spitz said no.

Terry received a $125 weekly salary (which was over twice as much as the Singer Midgets each received for playing the Munchkins). But life in the spotlight isn't always glamorous. Terry didn't like being in the basket when Miss Gulch took her away from Dorothy. She cowered when the set's wind machines were turned on to simulate the twister that swept her and Dorothy our of Kansas to the land of Oz.

She also suffered a sprained foot after accidentally being stepped on by one of the Wicked Witch's guards. But Terry recuperated and returned a few weeks later to finish her scenes.

After her immortal role as Toto, Terry appeared in a half-dozen other films. In 1942, three years after The Wizard of Oz, Terry's name was officially changed to Toto.

Terry died in 1945 at the age of 13 (that's 91 in human years). She was buried in the pet burial area behind Carl Spitz's residence and kennel. But according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Terry was stuffed and auctioned in 1996 for $3,600! Which story is true? Your guess is as good as mine! Somehow, I'm sure we all hope it was the former instead of the latter.

I Toto, the biography of Terry the dog, was published in 2001.

Okay, here's your bar bet for the week. Which character in The Wizard of Oz is in more scenes than Dorothy? Yes, you guessed it: Toto! Hard to believe? I agree, I was surprised myself.

Well, according to one book I read, Toto is in more scenes in The Wizard of Oz than Dorothy. Now, I do find this hard to believe, but it is possible. Remember, Toto is in pretty much every scene Dorothy is in, even if only for a few seconds. Yes, even when Judy Garland sings "Over the Rainbow."

Toto is alone early in the film when she escapes from Elvira Gulch's basket and later she escapes alone and runs to get the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow alone, in order to help rescue Dorothy from the Witch.

Obviously, Dorothy (Judy Garland) has much more screen time, but Toto may be in more total scenes. If anyone ever counts their relative scenes, let me know.

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Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.Contrary to popular belief, the little black Cairn terrier who played Toto in The Wizard of Oz was not named Toto. That is, until The Wizard of Oz became so popular that almost everyone forgot what her original name was!

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Few things can make a movie more delightful than a cute animal, as either the star or a supporting character.

Last year a cat played himself as the star and the hero of A Street Cat Named Bob, based on James Bowen's best-selling book about an animal transforming the life of a recovering drug addict.

A few years back, a Golden Retriever named Marly also showed how an animal can play an integral part in a human's life, and in 1998, the piglet Babe proved that mud-clad farm animals can be pretty cute too. Who can forget the cute and cuddly, unexpectedly huge St. Bernard named Beethoven? Or Lassie for that matter, who completely stole the show, as well as our hearts, and remains the most prominent star in "Pet Hollywood."

Yet, there's one charming little Cairn Terrier and the stardom she obtained is considered the gold standard for animals on screen. Terry, the dog who walked an actual golden road (well, yellow brick road) on screen, got a salary bigger than most members of the human cast that performed alongside her in The Wizard of Oz.

Before being cast in Viktor Fleming's 1939 musical film adaptation of the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Terry was already a movie star. Born during the Great Depression, her first ever film appearance was in Ready for Love. This was released on November 30, 1934, no more than a month before her first major film appearance with Shirley Temple in 1934's Bright Eyes as the dog Rags.

Owned by Hollywood dog trainer Carl Spitz, Terry was cast as Toto in part due to her previous experience on screen; she could easily follow the instruction given to her by Spitz while filming took place. He used silent hand signals to direct her.

Her exquisite training also meant that she could do her own stunts. Amazed by what they saw, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer producers offered her owner a contractual agreement that included a salary of $125 per week for the services of his dog, which Spitz gladly accepted.

The contract meant that his dog, now assigned to portray a character important to Dorothy, as well as the story as a whole, would earn much, much more than most of the human actors. For instance, the actors who played the Munchkins, even the three from the Lollipop Guild, reportedly received $50 to $100 a week. Only the main cast of Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Berth Lar, and Jack Haley received a bigger salary than Terry. This also meant that a dog was paid more than many working Americans at the time, which was still during the Great Depression.

As the contract stipulated, she performed her own stunts during the filming of The Wizard of Oz, at least up until one scene, when one of the Winkie guards accidentally stepped on her and everyone thought that she lost her life. Fortunately, Terry turned out okay with only one foot broken. She had to recover for a couple of weeks, so the production hired a second dog as her replacement until she healed.

She spent the next two weeks recuperating at Judy Garland's residence, during which she and Garland developed an even closer friendship. After the recovery Terry hit the screen again alongside her new friend Garland, who allegedly tried to adopt her, but Spitz refused.

Due to the popularity of the movie and her rise to fame, her owner and trainer changed her official name to Toto. She attended the premiere of The Wizard of Oz at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Terry, as her owner envisioned, came to have an illustrious career, starring in a total of 16 film appearances. Three of these were playing in theaters at the same time in the fall of 1939: The Wizard of Oz, The Women, and Bad Little Angel. Nonetheless, Toto remains the role she is most remembered by.

In her last film, Tortilla Flat (1942), she was reunited with Oz director Victor Fleming, and with Frank Morgan who had played the Wizard. Three years later, she died at the age of 11.
Read another story from us: Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West, suffered 3rd-degree burns while making "The Wizard of Oz"
Carl Spitz buried her on his estate in Studio City, California. However, the construction of the Ventura Freeway in 1958 destroyed her grave site. Years later, on June 18, 2011, a permanent memorial for Terry was dedicated at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

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Terry, the ultra-professional canine actor who played Toto, earned more than most of "The Wizard of Oz" cast

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Few things can make a movie more delightful than a cute animal, as either the star or a supporting character. Last year a cat played himself as the star and the hero of A Street Cat Named Bob, based on James Bowen's best-selling book about an animal transforming the life of a recovering drug addict.

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Toto (1933-1945) - Find A Grave Memorial

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Animal Actor. A Cairn Terrier originally named Terry, she was born in Alta Dena, California, and was abandoned by her original owners at Carl Spitz's Hollywood Dog Training School. Spitz kept the dog himself, training her with his pioneering technique of hand signals, and in 1934, the trainer took her to her first...