And a Woof! Woof! There Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rin Tin Tin

Rin Tin Tin's first film was "The Man From Hell's River" (1922), when he stood in for an uncooperative wolf. His first starring role was in "Where the North Begins" (1923), the first of many Warner Brothers films. On April 15, 1930 "The Wonder Dog" premiered on radio, featuring the voice of the original Rin Tin Tin until his death, when he was replaced by his son Rin Tin Tin, Jr. Rin Tin Tin III and Rin Tin Tin IV continued the family tradition, with the latter being the primary star of the television series "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" (1954-1959).

In this series, Rin Tin Tin was the companion of a boy named Rusty who was growing up in a cavalry post called Fort Apache at some indeterminate time when the West was wild and being settled.

Answer: Toto

As the owner of a Cairn terrier, I cannot help but feel that Terry often steals the scene from her human companions. She was lucky to get the part - there was some uncertainty as to what breed of dog Toto was in the original book, as it was never stated and had to be deduced from a description and the illustrations. Opinion is divided as to whether "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900) showed a Cairn terrier or a Yorkshire terrier, which was very popular at that time.

Some later books in the series showed him as a Boston terrier, a much larger dog (up to 44lbs, or 20 kg) with a smooth coat. Most movie, stage play and musical adaptations of the novel have chosen to use a smaller dog for the part of Toto!

Answer: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Without giving away the plot of this classic, I can let you know that the hellhound was actually a real dog made to look scary and remind those who saw it of a local legend involving a family curse, distracting attention from a much more mundane motive for murder.

In the book (originally published in serial form between 1901 and 1902) this was accomplished by painting its head with phosphorescent paint; in the 1939 movie it wore a mask. Conan Doyle's classic novel has had over 20 film versions, but this one starring Basil Rathbone is usually considered one of the best, even if it is one of the least faithful to the original.

Answer: The Call of the Wild

"The Call of the Wild" explores the ways in which Buck's environment affects his ability to resist his deep animal instincts. Kidnapped from a comfortable life as a California pet and sold to be used as a sled dog, he struggles with the other dogs in the pack for leadership, undergoes maltreatment from an ignorant owner, nearly dying in the process. After recovering, he accepts that his old life with humans is a thing of the past, and answers the call of the wild by joining a wolf pack. Both movie versions mentioned here focus on the final part of the story, as Buck recovers under the care of a prospector who has rescued him, and struggles to decide where he belongs.

The original Buck was a Saint Bernard cross, but the movie and television versions have been of varied breeds, including St Bernards and German Shepherds.

Answer: Greyfriars Bobby

Bobby belonged to night watchman John Gray, who dies of tuberculosis when the dog was two years old. The dog maintained a graveside vigil (although some say that he left for food, and may even have spent winter nights in nearby houses) for fourteen years in Greyfriars Kirkyard, and became a minor celebrity. He was buried just outside the gates, and there is a statue to his memory nearby, as well as a much-decorated headstone at the actual grave.

Eleanor Atkinson changed many details, including turning John Gray into an agricultural laborer and romanticizing the dog's situation. This novel was the basis of the 1949 film "Challenge to Lassie", which adapted the tale for the established collie star. In 1961 Walt Disney released "Greyfriars Bobby", again based on Atkinson's novel, but this time starring a Skye terrier. Another movie, released in 2005/2006, reverted to a plot closer to the actual story, but using a West Highland white terrier ('Westie') in the title role.

Answer: One Hundred and One Dalmatians

"One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (often abbreviated to "101 Dalmatians") changed the original storyline to make Perdita and Pongo the parents of the puppies (where Perdita had been a friend of Pongo and Missis in the book who was reunited with a lost love at the end of the story), and add some human romance as well. The puppy numbers had to be adjusted up by two to keep the Dalmatian total at 101.

Cruela's intention (in the movie) to turn the dogs into fur coats is clearly the inspiration for the episode of the television show "The Simpsons" in which Monty Burns sings the song "See My Vest".

"Twilight Barking" was the way dogs communicated with each other across large distances; "Hell Hall" was the name of Cruella de Vil's home; "The Great Dog Robbery" was the subtitle of the original book.

Answer: Labrador retriever, bull terrier, Siamese cat

The film was considered realistic in that Luath (the young Labrader retriever), Bodger (the older bull terrier) and Tao (the Siamese cat) do not speak, or behave in unnatural ways, aside from showing amazing inventiveness and resilience as they overcome the hurdles placed in their way.

A later version in 1993 used human voices to convey the thoughts of the animals during their journey. The three animals are left with a pet sitter while their family is away on a lengthy overseas trip, but he in turn leaves them to be tended by a daily housekeeper while he is away on a hunting trip. Lonely, the animals decide to head for home, looking for their original family, and take out on their incredibly difficult journey.

Answer: Benji

Higgins, a scruffy-looking black and tan dog of indeterminate terrier-ish breeding, appeared on many episodes of the television series "Petticoat Junction" between 1964 and 1970, playing "Dog", and won a Patsy award in 1967. He came out of retirement to star in "Benji", his greatest film success.

His daughter, Benjean, played Benji in a number of the sequels, both on the silver screen and in the 1983 television series "Benji, Zax and the Alien Prince".

Answer: Border Collies

Fly trains the piglet Babe along with her own Border Collie puppies, but Babe has his own ideas about how to handle sheep - he prefers to ask them politely, as advised by the elderly ewe Maa, instead of nipping and staring them into obedience. The movie adds the character of Rex, who has issues with pigs herding sheep, to the cast of the original 1983 book titled "The Sheep-Pig" ("Babe the Gallant Pig" in the U.S.). "Babe" uses a combination of human actors, real animals, and animatronic characters.

Answer: Newfoundland

The original Nana was a Newfoundland, as was Luath. The costume for the original production in 1904 has a two-tone coat patterned after the coloring of Barrie's pet. This has led to some confusion as to the dog's breed, since Newfoundlands more commonly have a solid coat color. Nana has been described (and portrayed) as a St. Bernard, an Old English sheepdog, and a Pyrenean Mountain dog, among others, but never as one of the small dogs listed as incorrect options!

On stage, Nana was portrayed by a boy or small man (Arthur Lupino originated the role on stage, George Ali played Nana in the 1924 silent film adaptation). According to Barrie's stage directions, the actor should be on all fours, and "must never be on two legs except on those rare occasions when an ordinary nurse would be on four." Disney's animated version in 1953 took some liberties with this restriction.