This page is devoted to Dorothy's beloved companion, Toto. From start to finish, Toto plays a very important role in MGM's classic film, The Wizard of Oz. These include the following scenes:

• As the movie begins, Dorothy and Toto are running toward the Gale farmhouse. Dorothy nervously says to Toto, "She isn't coming yet, Toto ... ." She, of course being Miss Gulch, because Toto got into her garden and chased her nasty old cat! And, supposedly Toto bit Miss Gulch as she indignantly says to Uncle Henry upon her visit, "I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!"
• Since Miss Gulch has an order from the sheriff allowing her to take Toto, Dorothy is forced to hand Toto over to her. But, never fear, because ornery Toto escapes from Miss Gulch and returns to Dorothy. Dorothy realizing the danger that Miss Gulch will return, decides to run away with Toto.
• The next time we see Toto's antics is when Dorothy meets up with Professor Marvel. As the Professor is roasting a wienie, Toto runs forward and grabs it off of the Professor's fork. Dorothy exclaims, "Oh, Toto! That's not polite! We haven't been asked yet!"
• After the cyclone scene, Dorothy and Toto arrive in the Land of Oz. During the scene in which the Wicked Witch of the West makes her first appearance, she is very upset that Dorothy has killed her sister and is wearing the Ruby Slippers. It's during this meeting that the Wicked Witch of the West furiously says to Dorothy, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"
• Dorothy and Toto begin their journey along the Yellow Brick Road to meet the Wizard. Along the way they take up with the Scarecrow, then the Tinman. All goes well until they meet the Cowardly Lion who in turn tries to show his prowess by chasing after Toto. The Cowardly Lion arrogantly says to Toto, "I'll get you anyway, peewee!"
• Toto's next big scene comes in the Witches Castle. After arriving there, along with Dorothy, Toto is used as leverage by the Wicked Witch of the West in order to get Dorothy to hand over the Ruby Slippers. Unfortunately for Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West is unable to remove them from her feet. Toto doesn't miss the opportunity to escape once again from the Witches Castle by jumping from the rising drawbridge and landing on the rocks on the other side of the castle. At this point, Dorothy exclaims the infamous line, "Run, Toto, Run!"
• Toto runs back to the Haunted Forest to get the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion. The Scarecrow comments to the others, "He's come to take us to Dorothy!" And, Toto does just that.
• Toto's next scene is one of the most dramatic in the film. It takes place in the Wizard's throne room after Dorothy and her friends have returned with the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. Toto runs over and reveals 'the man behind the curtain' who really isn't a Wizard after all.
• As the movie nears the end, Toto once again can't resist getting in trouble. As Dorothy and the Wizard prepare to launch off in the hot air balloon, Toto suddenly cocks his ears and growls. The next scene shows an Oz woman holding a cat in her arms. The cat meows and Toto jumps out of Dorothy's arms. Dorothy shouts, "Oh, Toto! Come back! Toto! Toto!"

Toto Trivia:

• Toto was a Cairn Terrier whose real name was "Terry". And, even though Toto was referred to as a "he" in MGM's classic film, Toto was really a "she".

• Aljean Harmetz points out in her book, The Making of The Wizard of Oz, that "It was not a human actor but the dog, Toto, for whom the longest search was made. The Property Department was handed a copy of L.Frank Baum's book and told to find a dog that looked like the dog in W.W. Denslow's drawings ... . No one in the Property Department could recognize the breed Denslow had drawn." Below is a picture of W.W. Denslow's depiction of Toto which he drew for Baum's, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
  

• Carl Spitz, Hollywood animal trainer, acquired Terry, who would play the role of Toto, almost four years before the film was made. Believe it or not, as Spitz began training Terry, the dog was so shy that for three weeks it didn't come out from under the bed as Harmetz notes in her book.

• And, not to be slighted, Terry, or rather Spitz, received a salary of $125.00 per week for the use of the dog in The Wizard of Oz.

• Just like her human co-stars, Terry was not exempt from receiving injuries during filming. Harmetz elaborates in her book as follows, "One of the Witch's soldiers stepped on Terry, the Cairn terrier who played the part of Toto. It had taken the dog weeks to learn how to cope with the wind machines. Eventually, she had learned to duck behind the principals when the wind machines were turned on. Then, during the rehearsals of the scene where Toto is pursued by the soldiers, one of them jumped on top of her and sprained her foot."

• Lastly, did you know that the role of Toto in L.Frank Baum's 1902 musical version of The Wizard of Oz was played by humans as a spotted calf named "Imogene" rather than a dog? This was before the time of training animals was as commonplace as it is today. In his book, The Annotated Wizard of Oz, Michael Patrick Hearn includes Baum's own explanation of his decision to do this. "We found Toto an impossiblity from the dramatic viewpoint, and reluctantly abandoned him. But we put the cow in his place. It may seem a long jump from a dog to a cow, but in the latter animal we have a character that really ought to amuse the youngsters exceedingly, and the eccentric creature accompanies Dorothy on her journey from Kansas just as Toto did in the book."

The sources that I consulted in order to compile this page are listed below:

• Harmetz, Aljean. The Making of The Wizard of Oz. New York, NY : Dell Publishing, 1977, 1989.
• Hearn, Michael Patrick. The Annotated Wizard of Oz. New York, NY : Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1973.
• Langley, Noel, et al. The Wizard of Oz : The Screenplay. New York, NY : Dell Publishing, 1989.