People love dogs. People also love movies about dogs or movies that star dogs. Even cartoon dogs are popular, like Scooby-Doo, Pluto, Goofy, and let's not forget Snoopy. In 1905 (that was a long time ago), the movie, "Rescued by Rover" was the first movie that starred a dog. The dog's real name was Blair. In "Rescued by Rover," a baby is kidnapped by a beggar woman and the family dog, Rover, comes to the rescue.
You can not talk about movie star dogs without talking about Lassie. Lassie is probably the most famous movie star dog of all time. Lassie was created in 1938 by Eric Knight. There are still "Lassie" films being made today. Interestingly, all of the "Lassie" dogs are males, and all of them are descendents of the original Lassie.
Rin Tin Tin was rescued from the trenches in Germany when he was just a puppy. He was brought to America by Lee Duncan, who was an American pilot during World War I. Lee Duncan was also his trainer. The first movie that starred Rin Tin Tin was "Where the North Begins," which was released in 1925. Rin Tin Tin signed his own movie contracts with a paw print, and he made a total of 25 movies during his life.
Remember the movie, "Benji Off the Leash"? And do not forget Skippy, who starred in such movies as "Topper Takes a Trip," "Bringing up Baby," and "The Awful Truth."
Any discussion about movie star dogs would not be complete if we did not mention Petey. Petey was a white American pit bull terrier with a black ring around one eye, and he made movies with a great bunch of kids known as "Our Gang."
Yes, we love our own dogs, and we love movie star dogs. There is not anything much more "American" than apple pie and a boy with his dog!