Hooch
'Turner & Hooch'

I know some think Beethoven rules, but for my money, the king of doggie droolers was Hooch, the slobbery French mastiff who co-starred in the 1989 comedy. And what a classy dude; he never showed a smidge of attitude despite being paired with Tom Hanks during Hanks' C-list days.

Jill
'As Good as It Gets'

The Brussels Griffon (played by ace performer Verdell) owed by
Greg Kinnear's character acted circles around most of the humans
(including Jack "Gimme That Oscar for Phoning It In" Nicholson),
and provided the film, along with Kinnear, with its heart.

Toto
'The Wizard of Oz'

As Lou Grant said memorably of Mary Richards, Toto had spunk. He more than held his own with his top-notch co-stars, and was pretty fearless with that mean old witch and the scary flying monkeys. Run, Toto, run!

Huckleberry Hound
'The Huckleberry Hound Show'

It's hard to pick just one classic talking TV dog (Scooby Doo; Augie Doggie & Doggie Daddy; Goofy; Astro on "The Jetsons" and Brian on "Family Guy" all have their fans), but Hanna-Barbera's Southern gentleman Huckleberry Hound really launched the genre -- and had a whole generation of '60s kids singing "Oh My Darling Clementine," completely off-key.

Gromit
Wallace & Gromit

The star of the "Wallace & Gromit" shorts and features is the best straight man -- to hapless inventor-owner Wallace -- in the biz. His clay-mation eyebrows express more than most actors' clown faces, shrieks or spewing death scenes. Pass the Wensleydale.