Moose (dog actor)

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Moose is a veteran canine actor. He is a Jack Russell Terrier and is most famous for his performances as Eddie Crane on the television sitcom Frasier.

Moose was born on Christmas Eve, 1990 in Florida United States. He was the youngest of his littermates but was the largest puppy in the litter. Like Pal, the original Lassie, the obstreperous puppy was too much for his original owner. According to an article by Lori Golden: "In fact, chasing cats was one of the activities that led to this troubled terrier becoming one of TV’s most precious pooches. Originally owned by a Florida family, Moose was too hard to handle. He couldn’t be house trained; he chewed everything; he dug and barked a lot; and he was constantly escaping and climbing trees. Eventually given to the Florida manager of Birds and Animals Unlimited, a company that trains animals for TV and motion pictures, Moose was put on a plane at 2 ½ - years old and sent to Mathilde de Cagny, an LA trainer working for the show-biz animal company."

DeCagny has been quoted as saying that Moose was very highly trainable and won the role on Frasier after only six months of training. Moose had the ability to fix Kelsey Grammer with a long hard stare; this became a running sight gag on the show.

The longevity of Frasier necessitated the breeding of puppies as possible replacements for Moose. A daughter, Miko, was considered but never grew large enough; she was given to a technician; a son, Moosie, now lives with Peri Gilpin. Moose's son Enzo was a closer match and turned out to have unusually similar facial markings; later in the series he was used as a stunt double to perform the more physically challenging tricks for his aging sire. Enzo took over the role after 8 years.

Moose and Enzo also appeared with Frankie Muniz in the 2000 feature film My Dog Skip.

Moose has numerous television appearances and several magazine covers to his credit. There is an official Moose calendar and an 'autobiography', My Life as a Dog.

Moose and Enzo live in West Los Angeles, with Mathilde DeCagny (their trainer), her husband and Jill, the dog from As Good as it Gets.

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