Disney Inspired Dog Names

Perhaps no Disney dog is more well known and endearing then Old Yeller. The movie of the same name made its debut in 1957 and continues to live on in the hearts of anyone who has ever seen it. 

The iconic film was based on a children’s novel written by Fred Gipson. Fred Gipson was born in 1908 in the Hill Country of Texas. He based his book Old Yeller on a true story that his grandfather recounted to him. 

The movie, Old Yeller,  takes place during the 1860's. Travis, the boy in the movie, takes a job working in a local cornfield to help his family make ends meet. While working he encounters a yellow Lab mix in the field. At first, Travis doesn’t like Ole Yeller because he views him as a worthless thief when the dog steals the family's last chunk of meat. However, as the movie progresses, the dog starts to prove his worth by rescuing Travis’s mother from a pack of wolves, he also stands his ground against wild boar and saves Arliss, Travis’s little brother, from a bear. Eventually, Old Yeller’s official owner finds the dog but he agrees to trade the canine to the family for a meal and a toad. 

Unfortunately, the movie Old Yeller is a tearjerker. Old Yeller bravely fights off a rabid wolf to save the family. During the fight, he sustains a bite. Travis is forced to shoot Old Yeller because he knows that he will ultimately fall ill with rabies and there is no cure. However, during Old Yeller’s life, he mates with a neighbor’s dog and she has a litter of puppies. Travis is able to adopt one of the puppies to help ease the grief of Old Yeller’s death. 

Eventually, the puppy sired by Old Yeller will play the leading role in a spin-off book called Savage Sam. In 1978, a third book in the series is written called Little Arliss. 

Many Old Yeller fans wonder who the dog star was that played the yellow dog in the movie. Old Yeller was played by a dog named Spike who was raised and owned by animal trainer Frank Weatherwax. After his starring role in Old Yeller, Spike would go on to star in A Dog of Flanders and a series called The Westerner. Spike sired a son and grandson who also both became famous movie star dogs. They played key roles in Junior Bonner and Blue Dolphins.