Burbank residents looking for a furry addition to the family may find the perfect companion at the Burbank Humane Society, but they will also find a unique piece of Hollywood history during their visit, the Animal Walk of Fame.

Beginning in 1951, Hollywood started to recognize the animal contributions to the film industry, and created the PATSY award, standing for Picture Animal Top Star of the Year. For a decade the winners would have their paw or hoof prints immortalized in cement akin to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre’s famed forecourt.

Several of the winners were trained by Frank Inn, a pioneer in animal training. At 17 Inn hitchhiked from Indiana to Hollywood, leaving his Quaker family behind. His first Hollywood gig was less than glamorous, working maintenance at MGM. Inn was soon hit by a drunk driver, but he made lemonade out of the lemons. Inn was gifted Jeep, a puppy, who would become Inn’s ticket to stardom. While recovering, Inn used a wheelchair, and was able to train Jeep to get things for him, such as his keys. Fully recovered and out of the wheelchair, Inn returned to MGM, where they were filming The Thin Man, including scenes with a dog who just wasn’t cooperating. Inn brought in Jeep and showed off his talents, landing a job that would kick off a career that would last decades.

Among some of Inn’s stars was the 1952 PATSY winner, here billed as Rhubarb, but was actually Orangey, a famed cat (or possibly cats, depending on the story you believe) who won for the title role of Rhubarb. Orangey would go on to win again for Cat in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Inn also trained the adorable Arnold the pig in Green Acres, and the lovable dog in the Benji films.

Other notable winners include Francis the mule, who won several times, Sam the dog for his role in the John Wayne picture Hondo, Samantha the goose for the film Friendly Persuasion with Gary Cooper, Spike from Old Yeller, Pyewacket the Siamese cat from the Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak film Bell, Book, and Candle, and Shaggy, of the Disney film The Shaggy Dog.

Sadly not much is written about the Animal Walk of Fame, or the PATSY awards, so against my better judgement and traditional MO, I did get a fair share of this from PATSY Wikipedia page. So take what I have written above with a grain of salt. However I did stumble upon footage from the 1954 ceremony!

Visit the prints of the furry and feathered stars of the Animal Walk of Fame at the Burbank Humane Society at 1150 N. Victory Place in Burbank. And remember, adopt, don’t shop when looking for your next animal friend!

Sources
Bohdanowicz, Sofia, director. The Hardest Working Cat in Show Biz. 2020. Vimeo.
Hamilton-Lowe, Angielyn. “The Trainer Who Created Four-Legged Stars.” NPR, 28 June 2012.
“PATSY Award” Wikipedia.

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