Uggie Book Cover - P 2012
Uggie captured our hearts in The Artist and made us laugh in Water for Elephants.
He can play dead and ride a skateboard.
He’s probably the world’s most-famous Jack Russell terrier (sorry Moose, who played Eddie on Frasier).
He’s Uggie, and his new autobiography – yes, autobiography – as barked to Wendy Holden, reveals a few of his hidden skeletons.
Here’s five surprising revelations from one of America’s favorite pups:
1. He’s in love with Reese Witherspoon.
From the opening dedication – “For Reese, my love, my light” – it’s pretty clear that Uggie has it bad for – hold for the pet name – Miss W.
After working with her on Water for Elephants, Uggie could never shake his undying affection for the blonde bombshell.
He goes so far as to say the lack of chemistry between Witherspoon and her co-star Robert Pattinson can be attributed to the fact that she only had eyes for her furry friend. Witherspoon remarried, but Uggie has remained loyal, though he did manage to sneak a kiss at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Atta boy.
2. He can be a bit of a diva.
First off, this dog is not impressed by Lassie.
He calls Pal, who played the infamous Collie, an imposter for taking on a female part.
Uggie played the female role of Queenie in Water for Elephants, people. Lassie was pretty famous, and this is probably just a case of jealousy.
Also, Uggie got used to the limelight. Hanging out with George Clooney, Charlize Theron and Katy Perry will do that to you. He’ll do tricks for attention and to please a crowd, and has proven to be quite the scene-stealer on and off set.
Still, Uggie is a sweet, family dog. Just don’t get in between him and Witherspoon.
3. He’s a troublemaker.
To put it lightly, Uggie is Jack Russell territorial.
Anyone who messes with Witherspoon or his family – dad Omar, mom Mercy, sister Terry and a slew of other pups – will surely receive the bite.
He’s also notoriously curious: He’s broken into his family’s fridge and trash can countless times.
This dog really loves his pizza. And not to mention, he’s gotten into many scuffs with other animals, which he calls cat-gate, cockatoo-gate and zebra-gate, to name a few.
4. He’s got a beef with Christopher Plummer and Martin Scorsese.
Uggie was up for the part of Arthur in Beginners. In a fortuitous turn of events, he was turned down, and another Jack Russell terrier named Cosmo was chosen instead, thus opening his schedule up for The Artist.
Plummer claims, “Between Cosmo and Uggie, I think our Cosmo was more human…Uggie was just a trickster…Our dog had soul.” Ouch. On top of that, Scorsese called Uggie “a nice little mascot who does tricks” after the Doberman in “Hugo” named Blackie was snubbed from a Golden Collar Awards nomination.
Blackie eventually got the nom, but Uggie beat out both contenders. Touché Uggie, touché.
5. He made hound history.
Uggie became the first dog to leave his paw prints on the infamous ground outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
But when it comes down to it, Uggie is just an ordinary dog. A troublemaking, Witherspoon-adoring, bit of a diva dog, but an ordinary dog at that.
The Uggie mania will surely continue – he is quite the hot commodity these days – but more importantly he demonstrates the importance of a dog’s presence in our lives, on an off screen. As he writes (or barks), quoting an unknown author, “Dogs are miracles with paws.”
