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Weatherwax trained dogs – Contest #2
Who's who among
Bob's Hollywood working dogs
Danny the Anatolian Shepherd
I purchased Danny from a competitor – a fellow training in the entertainment industry. The
Anatolian turned out to be a great acquisition
to add to my kennel. He was very smart and very big. With the natural expression of his face, it was
easy to give the impression that he was mean or could look mean. But in reality, Danny had a
happy disposition. He starred in the television
show "Simon and Simon" for about
seven years – the length of the series.
Danny and the star, Gerald McRaney,
bonded from the start.
They got along really well.
Danny was just a lovable dog.
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Mel Gibson the Jack Russell terrorist
Sometimes in the entertainment business, trainers
will rent dogs from one another for certain projects.
I rented Mel for Lassie VII's television series in
which he played a small part. I fell in love with the feisty little guy and purchased him as a traveling companion for Lassie VIII. Mel also appeared in Lassie VIII's television series that was filmed in Canada. Mel had potential as a
money maker – one of those dogs that can do anything in any kind of role – but he was born to
be Lassie's best friend and my little guy.
Mel was considered for a part in the John Travolta movie Michael, but another of my dogs was cast instead. Mel lived a very long life of 18 years.
He was like my shadow.
I still turn around and expect to see him
right by my side.
Jo (short for Josephine) Cocker
I got my dogs from a number of places – some
from my dad, some from the shelters, and – I'll
admit it – some from pet stores. Jo came from a pet store. I needed a specific kind of dog for a dog
food company commercial. There was this adorable blond cocker spaniel. She looked so feminine, and
she had such long eyelashes. Besides the dog food commercial, Jo did the Isotoner commercials for
three or four years. She also had a role on the
Shirley Jones Show, a television series about a
widow with children. Jo was incredibly smart;
she knew about 90 commands. Sam Williamson
assisted me in training her. She was so talented that she would scratch with either hind leg on command,
as though she had a flea. In real life, she was a heck
of a watchdog. One night at abut 3 A.M., she alerted
us with her distinctive bark and stopped an
attempted robbery at my home from taking place.
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O.J. the Old English Sheepdog/Collie mix
O.J. was another great find at the shelter. The first time he came out into my big yard, he grabbed a football and ran around the yard with it three or
more times. My son was watching and said that the dog was just like O.J. Simpson, the football player.
(As a disclaimer, I should say that Simpson was
only known as a championship sportsman
at the time.) Sometimes, I needed what I
considered to be an all-round dog, a great shaggy type that would stand out when casting just about
any kind of movie. I sure got the right dog with
O.J. He was so smart and worked all the time in
so many movies and television shows, including Stonefox, Skeezer, Who's the Boss,
Back to the Future just to name a few.
He passed away when he was about 12.
I consider him one of the smartest dogs I ever
trained and owned.
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Pokey the Basset Hound
I got Pokey at a shelter. Yeah, pure breds are
there sometimes too. We tend to get used to
certain names and use them over and over.
This Pokey got his name from a Basset that my
dad had may years ago who appeared with
Tommy Rettig. My Pokey played on the television series Hill Street Blues. He was another great acquisition for my kennel; I always thought every
dog I had was great one way or another.
Pokey's job was to be the ultimate Basset.
Physically, he was very slow. He would just sit
around and look adorable as only a
Basset Hound can.
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Scamp an all-American dog
My father gave Scamp to me. You'd have to ask
Dad why he named the dog that name.
This little dog was another great one for me and
my kennel. He did quite a lot of work including
the television movies Moment by Moment
and Child of Glass and many television episodic shows. He even worked three times with the
magician David Copperfield. I remember one
funny story during the filming of
Moment by Moment. Olivia Newton-John stopped
by the set one day to say hi to John Travolta.
(This movie was made after Grease.) She was
playing around with Scamp and decided to give him
a big kiss. She happened to be wearing bright red lipstick. When she planted one right on top of
Scamp's head, the lipstick left its mark, and we had one heck of a time getting the lipstick off so that Scamp could get back to the shoot. Scamp worked about 9 or 10 years. He lived a good long life, dying when he was 13. I really loved him, and
David Copperfield liked him a lot too.
