Atlas Terrier Dog Names

The Atlas Terrier is a wonderful mix of terriers, one of them being the Jack Russell Terrier. While there are no Atlas Terriers in pop culture yet, their "cousin" is quite well-known in the movie and book world. Whether you were a child in the 90s or had a child in the 90s, you have probably heard of the pawpular pup, Wishbone. The cunning canine, who is a Jack Russell Terrier, was the star of his own television show (that was even named after him) from 1995 until 2001. The show aired on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in the fall of 1995 as a children’s show told from a dog’s point of view. The creator and producer of the show, Rick Duffield got his idea from wondering what his own dog thought and what he would say if he could talk.

The 30-minute show was about a Jack Russell Terrier named Wishbone who lived with his owner, Joe, in Oakdale, Texas. Wishbone daydreams a lot about being the hero or lead character in the classic literature that he sees Joe reading. The intelligent canine even knows how to read, and he is constantly imagining himself in the middle of a storybook that relates to one of his human family’s current dilemma or situation. For example, one time Joe caught the lunch lady donating food to a homeless shelter and another time it was about his family planting a tree for Arbor Day. 

Wishbone has portrayed himself as Sancho Panza in Don Quixote and Louis de Conte in Joan of Arc, but his most popular episode was when he portrayed the king who saved Robin Hood before he was jailed, and it paralleled the real-life issue of Joe being saved by the principal at the last minute. At the end of each show, Wishbone would spend a couple of minutes explaining how the episode was produced, how the special effects were done, how costumes were designed, and even how the stunts were done. 

Wishbone was played by a Jack Russell Terrier named Soccer who started out doing Nike and Mighty Dog commercials. At the Wishbone audition, the pawsitively perfect pooch won the role over 100 other pups who auditioned. He lived in Plano, Texas with his trainer and owner, Jackie Martin Kaptan where the Wishbone series was filmed. When the spunky pup crossed over the rainbow bridge in 2001, he was buried nearby. However, there were actually five Wishbones including Soccer and his three stunt doubles named Shiner, Slugger, Bear, and Phoebe. This wonderful PBS show also won a Peabody Award, four Daytime Emmys, and honors from the Television Critics Association.