Few movie characters are as instantly recognizable and beloved as Toto, the loyal canine companion who journeyed down the yellow brick road alongside Dorothy. But behind the iconic character was a real animal actor with a remarkable story. Many fans simply know her as Toto, but The Dog In The Wizard Of Oz had a name, a history, and a significant career in Hollywood’s Golden Age. Her real name was Terry, and her path from a problematic puppy to one of cinema’s most famous dogs is a fascinating piece of entertainment history, largely brought to light by Hollywood historian Allan R. Ellenberger. This is the story of Terry, the Cairn Terrier who captured hearts as Toto.
From Humble Beginnings to Hollywood Hopeful
Terry, a purebred Cairn Terrier, was born in Alta Dena, California, in 1933. She was adopted by a childless married couple in nearby Pasadena. However, Terry had a persistent issue with house-training, frequently wetting the rug. Her owners lacked the patience for the problem and soon sought help from Carl Spitz’s renowned dog training school located in the San Fernando Valley.
Spitz successfully trained Terry, curing her of the habit within weeks. But when her training concluded, her owners were late paying the kennel fees. Spitz’s attempts to contact them failed as their phone had been disconnected. With the owners seemingly vanished, Carl’s wife suggested they simply keep the terrier. Terry became the Spitz family pet, her potential as a performer yet unrealized.
Adorable brindle Cairn Terrier puppy, similar breed to Toto the dog in The Wizard of Oz, running playfully in a grassy field.
Carl Spitz: The Trainer Behind the Star
The man who turned Terry’s fate around was Carl Spitz, a German-born dog trainer with a legacy in the field; his father and grandfather were also trainers in Heidelberg. Spitz initially trained dogs for military and police work during World War I, even observing Red Cross dogs searching for wounded soldiers in no man’s land, which deeply influenced his dedication to training dogs.
Spitz emigrated to the US in 1926, eventually settling in Los Angeles and opening his first dog training school on Ventura Boulevard around 1927. By 1935, he moved to a larger, ten-acre facility at 12350 Riverside Drive near Laurel Canyon. This Hollywood Dog Training School was a premier establishment, boasting long runs, grass playgrounds, bathing facilities with hot and cold water, an electric dryer, and a special kitchen preparing daily soup for its canine boarders. Spitz described it as a place where “dogs go to classes just like children,” offering “grammar school, high school and college” levels of training.
Initially serving the public, Spitz’s skills soon attracted the attention of the burgeoning movie industry. The advent of sound film required him to adapt his methods, developing a system of silent hand signals instead of verbal commands. His first sound film work involved training two Great Danes for Al Jolson’s Big Boy (1930), followed by Moby Dick (1930) starring John Barrymore. As it was costly for studios to maintain their own trained dogs, Spitz’s services became highly sought after. His kennel produced notable canine stars like Buck the St. Bernard (Call of the Wild, 1935) and Prince Carl the Great Dane (Wuthering Heights, 1939).
Terry’s Journey to Stardom
Terry’s big break came unexpectedly. Clark Gable and columnist Hedda Hopper visited Spitz’s kennel for publicity photos related to Gable’s film Call of the Wild, which featured Spitz’s dog Buck. During the visit, Terry made an impression. Recognizing her potential, Spitz took her to Fox Studios the next day to audition for a role in Shirley Temple’s upcoming film, Bright Eyes (1934).
Spitz guided Terry through tricks like playing dead and barking on command for the executives. The final decision rested with young Shirley Temple herself. Terry was placed beside Temple’s own dog, a Pomeranian named Ching-Ching. After a moment of mutual inspection and sniffing, the two dogs began playing together. Shirley Temple picked up Terry, handed her back to Spitz, grabbed her own dog, and declared with a giggle as she left, “She’s hired.” Bright Eyes, co-starring Jane Withers, marked Terry’s film debut.
More roles followed quickly. She appeared in Ready for Love (1934), The Dark Angel (1935) with Fredric March and Merle Oberon, the acclaimed Fury (1936) with Spencer Tracy, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Buccaneer (1938), and had an uncredited part in Stablemates (1938) alongside Wallace Beery and Mickey Rooney.
Landing the Role of Toto: The Dog in The Wizard of Oz
When MGM announced its ambitious production of L. Frank Baum’s classic, The Wizard of Oz, Carl Spitz recognized an opportunity. Terry bore a striking resemblance to the illustrations of Dorothy’s dog, Toto, in the book. Spitz immediately began training her in the specific actions Toto performed in the story. Two months later, MGM called for an audition.
Mervyn LeRoy, the film’s producer, had reportedly been seeing around 100 dogs a day for a week. When Spitz presented Terry, he confidently told LeRoy, “Here’s your dog, all up in the part.” Terry demonstrated her skills: fighting, chasing witches, sitting up, speaking on command, and even catching an apple. Crucially, she immediately bonded with Judy Garland (Dorothy) and got along well with the rest of the principal cast, including Frank Morgan (the Wizard), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (Cowardly Lion), and Jack Haley (Tin Man). On November 1, 1938, Terry secured the role of Toto without needing a screen test.
Life on the Set of The Wizard of Oz
Terry’s contract earned her $125 per week, a salary notably higher than that paid to the actors playing the Munchkins. To foster their on-screen bond, Terry lived with Judy Garland for two weeks before filming commenced. Garland grew deeply attached to the dog and tried to adopt her, but Spitz declined to sell his star pupil. Decades later, Garland’s daughter, Lorna Luft, shared a humorous anecdote her mother told: Terry apparently had “the worst breath in the world.” Luft recalled, “It all made us laugh, because the dog was constantly put in her face [with its] silly panting, and she did everything but wince because poor little Toto needed an Altoid.”
On set, Terry was generally professional, though she showed hesitation when placed in Dorothy’s basket and exposed to the powerful wind machines used to simulate the tornado sequence. Tragedy nearly struck during filming on the Witch’s Castle set. Amidst the chaos with numerous costumed Winkie guards, one accidentally stepped on Terry’s paw. Her pained squeal brought cast and crew running, including a concerned Judy Garland, who insisted Terry needed time off to recover. A canine stand-in was used for several days until Terry was well enough to return.
Terry Becomes Toto: Fame and Legacy
Following the enormous success of The Wizard of Oz in 1939, Terry, now synonymous with Toto, became a bona fide celebrity. She attended the film’s premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theater alongside the human cast. Her paw print became a sought-after collector’s item. Riding the wave of popularity, Terry made numerous public appearances, and Carl Spitz eventually made the decision to officially change her name to Toto.
1939 was a peak year for the canine star. Besides The Wizard of Oz, she made a cameo in MGM’s star-studded drama The Women and had a significant role in Bad Little Angel with Virginia Weidler. Her career continued into the early 1940s with appearances in films like Calling Philo Vance (1940), Twin Beds (1942), and Tortilla Flat (1942), reuniting her with Spencer Tracy. Her final screen credit was George Washington Slept Here (1942), starring Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan.
Alert adult Cairn Terrier, the breed of Terry who played Toto, posing attentively in an outdoor park setting.
After her final film, Toto retired to Carl Spitz’s expansive training facility on Riverside Drive. She passed away sometime around 1944 or 1945.
The Fate of Toto and Her Trainer
Carl Spitz continued his work, even publishing a book, Training your Dog, in 1938, featuring a foreword by Clark Gable. Having long advocated for military dogs, Spitz finally saw his vision realized during World War II. He offered to provide the Army with 50 trained sentry dogs at no cost and became an expert advisor, helping establish the K-9 Corps for the Army and Marines. Carl Spitz passed away on September 15, 1976, and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.
Sadly, Toto’s final resting place suffered an ignominious fate. While several of Spitz’s other dogs were interred at a pet cemetery, he chose to bury Toto on the grounds of his Hollywood Dog Training School. However, around 1958, the construction of the Ventura Freeway cut directly through the property. The school was forced to relocate (it still exists today at a different location), and Toto’s grave was paved over, lost beneath the concrete.
A Star Remembered: Toto’s Memorial
Though her grave was lost, Toto’s memory endured. In recognition of her contribution to cinematic history, a permanent memorial marker for Toto was dedicated at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on June 18, 2011. There, she symbolically rests among many collaborators from her film career, including Wizard of Oz director Victor Fleming and cinematographer Harold Rosson, The Buccaneer director Cecil B. DeMille, and actors like Ann Sheridan from her final film.
Terry the Cairn Terrier’s journey from an unwanted pet to Toto, The Dog In The Wizard Of Oz, remains one of Hollywood’s most endearing animal success stories. Her intelligence, training, and undeniable screen presence helped make The Wizard of Oz the timeless classic it is today, ensuring her place not just in film history, but in the hearts of movie lovers everywhere.
Based on the work of Allan R. Ellenberger, author of several books on Hollywood history.
Featured Image Credit: Characters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. All rights reserved to the copyright owners.
