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The truth about Lassie and other familiar furry faces

American Humane Association helps watch for acting animals’ safety, finds them homes after filming

Alicia Morrell MOR02026@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Hollywood actors and actresses are often in the public eye. In fact, with the constant media buzz, it’s no wonder they have become a central part of American culture.

With all of the attention surrounding these actors, however, a large part of Hollywood is being overlooked — the animals.

Like their human counterparts, animal actors must go through vigorous training for their roles.

Training usually begins at least a few months before filming; this allows the animal to adapt to the environment, interact with the human co-stars and to “become the character,” according to www.americanhumane.org.

Although some of the animals have glamorous lives now, they did not always start out that way.

In fact, more than 80 percent of dogs and cats used in motion pictures come from shelters, according to www.americanhumane.org.

The American Humane Association serves as a “watchdog” for animals in films as the authority behind the “No Animals Were Harmed” disclaimer on film and TV productions.

The primary purpose of the organization is to protect animals from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

The American Humane Association rescued famous furry faces like Fang from the Harry Potter series, Max from How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Happy from the television show 7th Heaven.

Yvonne Milosevic, the communication associate for the film and television unit of American Humane Association, said most roles require more than one animal to do the acting.

“American Humane monitored the animal action in Disney’s new movie The Shaggy Dog and seven dogs were on call for the title roll,” Milosevic said.

Some roles require several look-alikes because each animal has a different skill or a particular trick that may only be used in one scene in the film.

“Multiple understudies are critical in movies so that if one animal gets sick or doesn’t feel like working, production doesn’t have to come to a grinding halt,” Milosevic said.

After filming, human actors and actresses often get attached to their furry co-stars.

Viggo Mortensen adopted TJ, one of the horses from the film Hidalgo, and Halle Berry adopted Play-Doh, a feline in Catwoman.

As for the rest of the animals not adopted into famous homes, they are also taken care of until a permanent home is found.

“Any animals the trainer doesn’t keep will be adopted into families after the production finishes,” Milosevic said. “Some of our certified animal safety representatives have adopted animals from the set, and film crew personnel often fall in love with the animals they’ve been working with. These animals have been trained so well, they make perfect pets after the limelight.”

Unlike human actors, the animals need someone to watch out for them and guarantee their safety and well-being.

“American Humane has overseen movie sets since 1940 to make sure animal actors stay safe while portraying heroes, villains, companions and comedians,” Milosevic said.

Perhaps in the next few years, animal actors everywhere could be recognized with a new Academy Award — Best Animal Actor — where each of the famous furry friends could receive acknowledgement for their contributions to the world of entertainment.