Famous pets have been dogs, cats, monkeys, horses, and all other species. Some may consider famous pets to be just real-life animals like Rin Tin Tin or Mr. Ed, while others will include fictional pets like the Budweiser frog or Curious George. I’m going to come up with some examples that are my personal favorites and focus on real life pets.
A mascot in my local area is the famous pink poodle Lacie, the unofficial mascot for the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Georgia. And the most famous of Macon’s pets. Every spring, thousands of people from across the country and the world descend on central Georgia for the annual event. There’s arts and crafts, parades, softball, and other sports, and just driving around town looking at the cherry blossoms that put out beautiful pink flowers. But one of the most famous and notable attractions may be Lacie, the pink poodle. She is owned and trained by Paul and Alice Williams, owners of Pet Grooming.
The other famous mascot in my state and one of the most famous in the world is Uga, the official mascot of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. For more than 50 years, this white bulldog has been walking on the sidelines, sitting on his block of ice, and occasionally terrorizing opposing players at Sanford Stadium. The original Uga, known simply as Uga I, first left in 1956. His descendants, all owned by the Frank W. Seiler family of Savannah, have been on their way. Currently, Russ occupies the throne of Uga on an interim basis. Uga V became a college football celebrity in 1997 when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and starred in the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” But Uga V is not the only Uga to achieve media fame. Uga IV appeared in Time, Newsweek, and Football News, as well as Sports Illustrated (as did Uga VI). The Ugas have been honored by the Georgia House of Representatives, the Georgia Senate House, and the Georgia Governor’s Office, and the Uga tradition was also the subject of a recent documentary, “Damn Good Dog.”
One of the most famous cats of all time is Morris the Cat. Morris the Cat is the mascot for 9Lives brand cat food, featured in packaging and television commercials. A large, tabby cat, he is “the finest cat in the world” and eats only the 9Lives brand, which he does through voice-over comments when offered to him by other brands. He also starred in the film Shamus with Burt Reynolds and Dyan Cannon in 1973. He is a “spokesperson” for responsible pet ownership, pet health, and pet adoptions through animal shelters. He has “authored” three books: The Morris Approach, The Morris Method and The Morris Prescription. Over the years, various cats have played Morris. The original Morris was discovered at the Hinsdale Humane Society, a Chicago-area animal shelter,[1] in 1968 by professional animal keeper Bob Martwick. All the cats to play Morris have been rescued, either from an animal shelter or from a cat rescue. The current Morris lives in Los Angeles with his manager, Rose Ordile.
And one of my all-time favorite pets is Trigger. Trigger was the horse ridden by Roy Rogers. Trigger and Rogers performed rodeo stunts and appeared in numerous movies and television segments. Trigger had his own following, but few people know his original name: Golden Cloud. That wasn’t western enough, so the name was changed to fit Hollywood’s vision of a western horse. Trigger and Roy Rogers performed together for 27 years. The horse died in 1965 at the age of 33.
So while famous pets come from all walks of life and have all gained different shades of notoriety, they are all famous pets in my book.
