![]() Frank Baum described Toto as a “little black dog” with “long silky hair.” The original illustrations in the book certainly make him look like a Cairn Terrier. Terry was the dog who played Toto in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz.” The producers only had a bit to go on when they were casting the role. Who is the canine behind Toto in the movie? My Todo used to climb to the top of a large boulder in our yard (about five feet up) and position himself to bark at birds. They like to be very active and love playing. They are great family dogs because they generally like children. Their heritage includes hunting down foxes (and other prey) in Scotland so it is no surprise they are scrappy. They are alert and spirited, but also scrappy and pushy. They are also usually intelligent (like most dogs that are used for hunting). They generally have short, wide heads and are often only about 10 inches high. My Todo lived to be about 16 was appeared black with a sliver tinge at the end of his life. They often become more black and silver as they get older. It can also only really appear when you lift their coat and look under the hair. Their brindle pattern can be strong, giving a distinct striped effect. The breed still carries this trait: my Todo put fear into the hearts of mice far and wide. Cairn Terriers come from the Scottish Highlands, where they hunted among the cairns (large piles of rock). Her real name was Terry (more about her later). The dog playing Toto in “The Wizard of Oz” was a female Cairn Terrier. Frank Baum’s classic book, but I wonder how much of what appeared on screen came from the “actor” playing Toto. I know the script for “The Wizard of Oz” was based on L. ![]() In fact, he sounds similar to Toto from the movie. He was also friendly and loving but could be fierce when confronted with “threats” to our house from the mailman and random electrical meter checker. My Todo had a bit more black than Dorothy’s. He was what they call “brindle,” which means he had sort of a striped pattern of browns and blacks mixed in his coat. My Todo was very similar to Dorothy’s Toto from the movie. Actually, because of our heavy New England accent, we spelled his name Todo. He looked just like Dorothy’s dog Toto and we took him home. My family loved it so much that we adopted a small dog that had wandered a local Veterinarian office. It was a once-a-year event in our house: NBC used to show it on Easter. I did grow up watching in (in the days before DVDs, or even VCRs). The film became a classic before many of us were born. Probably most people that you speak to will remember MGM’s “The Wizard of Oz” (1939). Do you know which character in the Wizard of Oz is in more scenes than Dorothy? You guessed it! The answer is Toto! The dog appears in every seen that Dorothy is in, even if it is only for a few seconds.What kind of dog is Toto in Wizard of Oz? Terry died in 1945 at the age of 13 and was buried in the pet burial area behind Carl Spitz’s residence and kennel. ![]() She returned to the scenes a few weeks later to finish. In addition, she suffered a sprained food after accidently being stepped on by one of the Wicked Witch’s guards. The wind machines to mimic the tornado was very scary for Terry. Keep in mind that the spotlight was not always glamourous for Terry! She was very scared to be in the basket when Miss Gulch took her away from Dorothy. How did Terry get paid for her time? She received a $125 weekly salary which happened to be double the amount that the Munchkins earned during filming. Her first appearance was in Ready for Love in 1934. The Wizard of Oz was the only one in which she got a screen credit. ![]() Terry was to appear in 15 films altogether. Spitz adopted Terry in 1933, when she was just a year old. Her owner and trainer was a man named Carl Spitz who ran the Hollywood Dog Training School. She is billed as “Toto” playing the role of “Toto”: You may be wondering how Terry found her way to stardom. So, this talented girl dog played a boy dog during filming!Īnother fact is that Terry received incorrect billing in the closing credits. If you remember, Toto was portrayed as a boy in the film. First, we need to address that the actual name of the dog is Terry, but she went by Toto in the movie. We wanted to share some fun facts about the little black Cairn terrier. Who doesn’t love the Wizard of Oz? A main character in the classic film is Toto. ![]()
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