Page 23 - (DK) The Dog Encyclopedia

DOGS IN RELIGION, MYTH, AND CULTURE

White Fang fifth member of the Famous Five in a stream
The 1906 novel White Fang by Jack London tells the story of of stories written by Enid Blyton between
a dog-wolf crossbreed. After successfully fighting several other
dogs, he is matched with a bulldog that nearly kills him. the 1940s and 1960s. Timmy helps to save the
day in all kinds of improbable adventures,
An early fictional dog with enduring but he is nonetheless a more believable dog
appeal is “Crab,” from Shakespeare’s The than Nana, and one that children can readily
Two Gentlemen of Verona (c.1592), whose imagine as a companion. Other old faithfuls
owner, the servant Launce, mournfully include Snowy the white terrier, sidekick to
describes him as “the sourest-natured dog the boy detective Tintin (see p.209), and
that lives.” This heartless hound, usually Dorothy’s dog Toto in The Wizard of Oz.
played on stage for laughs by a real dog,
may have been less than a “best friend,” DOGS ON SCREEN
but in most dog stories devotion has always Since the 20th century dog stories have
been the keynote. been a huge success in movies. Walt
Typical of a genre more popular a century Disney’s cartoon dogs have delighted
ago than today are the books of Jack moviegoers for decades—hapless Pluto;
London, such as The Call of the Wild (1903) well-bred Lady and street-wise Tramp; the
and White Fang (1906)—tales told partly 101 Dalmatians (see p.286). Real-life dogs
from the dog’s point of view, combined with have appeared in other popular films, such
rip-roaring action. Despite their undeniable as Lassie (see p.52), Old Yeller, Big Red,
elements of brutality, these books survive and The Incredible Journey. In the tradition
as classics. of Shakespeare’s “Crab,” dogs make good
Among cozier storybook canines that have film comedians and many leading actors
stayed the course, one of the best loved is have allowed themselves to be upstaged
Nana, a sad-eyed Newfoundland (see p.78) by a canine costar; such memorable screen
dog, nurse to the Darling children in Peter dogs include the lugubrious mastiff helping
The Incredible Journey Pan, who marches her charges to school and with police investigations in Turner and
One of the biggest tearjerkers of the 1960s, The Incredible
Journey was based on a book of the same name and told the nags them into the bathtub. Also familiar Hooch (1989), the delinquent Labrador
story of Luath, the Labrador, Bodger, the Bull Terrier, and Tao, to millions of children is Timmy, the in Marley and Me (2008), and the scene-
an indomitable Siamese cat, as they journey across hundreds
of miles of dangerous wilderness to reach home. rough-coated mongrel who features as the stealing Jack Russell in The Artist (2011).

The Artist
Uggie is a Jack Russell Terrier famous for his roles in Mr. Fix
It, Water for Elephants, and The Artist. Uggie’s role in The
Artist (a still from the movie above) drew great acclaim
worldwide and the film went on to win multiple awards.

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