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I Toto : The Autobiography of Terry, the Dog who was Toto

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I, Toto is a delightfully well written book by Willard Carroll about the life of Terry, a Cairn Terrier who became famous in movies. The book is based on a scrapbook Willard Carroll found that documented the life and movie career of this well trained dog; and the book is primarily set up to look just like a book typed on an old typewriter--written, of course, by the dog itself.

The book starts with the story of how Terry was born, adopted and eventually given up by her owners because of her troubles with housetraining; and we learn how Carl Spitz professionally trained dogs to perform in movies. Spitz, an excellent trainer who worked with many dogs, wound up training Terry professionally. Spitz used both kindness and discipline to train his dogs, including Terry, very well; his talents are obvious when we consider that Terry (aka Toto) appeared in at least fourteen major motion pictures including The Wizard Of Oz.

Carroll cleverly writes the memoirs of Terry, or Toto, in the first person as if the dog herself had written the book. This provides the reader with an extra slice of humor when Carroll writes about things that happened on the sets of pictures or in Carl Spitz's training camp for dogs. Carroll does an excellent job of getting readers to be charmed out of their trees by Terry who eventually becomes renamed Toto for the sake of her career. A movie star dog has to consider Hollywood politics, after all!

The book is filled with wonderful reproductions of ads for the movies Terry was in; and we see numerous publicity shots from movies including Bright Eyes with Shirley Temple and Terry as Rags the dog. Of course, we get plenty of stills from The Wizard Of Oz and there are very nicely done "hand written" asides to the reader that also appear to be written by Terry. The result is a charming look back at the life of Terry, the dog who became Toto and enjoyed great movie fame--and treats along the way!

Overall, classic movie buffs will enjoy this book; and people who love The Wizard Of Oz will appreciate this book very much since so little was known about Terry before Willard Carroll wrote this book. The book is well written and a real page turner; it grabs your attention and never lets it go.

Great job, Willard Carroll!

As a Cairn Terrier "mom" of many many years, I had to have this book, no matter how good or not good it may turn out to be. As it turns out, it is PRICELESS! So many pictures, clips, factoids, behind the scenes stuff...more like a well done scrapbook than a straight book. This is a must have! I will treasure it always.

I read this in an evening. Really enjoyed it as I am the owner of 2 Cairns and a lifelong fan of the Wizard of OZ.

I was looking at silver-screen bio's in the library when I came across this clever little volume. Author Willard Carroll knows a lot about Oz, and he also understands a lot about animals and the people who love them. Whether you are a fan of the Wonderful Land of Oz, a dog-lover, or both, you are going to get such a kick out of this book. If you're like me, you're going to breeze through it, and then go back and read it again, preferably with someone nearby to whom you can read the funniest, most touching or trivia-friendly bits. Toto, who began as Terry, a little dog abandoned by her owners, has a very good friend indeed in Mr. Carroll.

This is a story about Toto, but it is also the story of Carl Spitz, who had been training dogs since 1919. When he came to Hollywood in 1927, he opened a training school which combined kindness and discipline, an innovation which most at the time considered "nonsense." Mr. Spitz and his dogs broke into silent movies; he developed a series of silent commands when talkies came along. His dogs appeared with the stars: Prince the Great Dane and Lawrence Olivier in Wuthering Heights; Buck the Saint Bernard and Clarke Gable in The Call of the Wild. The English mastiff and the Scottish terrier were in major productions, too.

Mr. Carroll captures Toto's "voice" so perfectly, even using a font that looks like my mother's old portable Underwood typewriter for the star's narrative. Toto also comments on the dozens of photos, movie stills and other memorabilia of a busy career with red pen.

Toto hobnobs with the stars and has some once-in-a-lifetime moments, such as when Mr. Gable came to visit the kennel owned by Carl Spitz, the trainer who adopted and worked with Toto and many other canine performers. (Don't want to tell you what happened, but it made Mr. Gable smile. Eventually.) She works with Spencer Tracy in Fury and Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes. (Of the latter, Toto reports, "Shirley had her hair cut and recurred and had endless wardrobe fittings and makeup tests. I had a flea bath, a toenail trim, and an enema.")

And then there was Oz. Toto is miffed when a studio official gushed, "She's the one! Looks just like the dog on the cover," for she considers said beast "a genetic mutation of terrifying proportions," but the role is hers and she revels in it, for she soon realizes that the story "IS ALL ABOUT ME!!! ... I'M IN ALMOST EVERY SCENE IN THE BLESSED PICTURE!!!" Toto includes a page from the shooting script with all six of her lines circled, as proof positive of her importance to the film.

Of course, it isn't all green grass and marrow bones. There are those scary wind machines and the shock of seeing that nice Maggie dressed up in black, with her face painted green and the biggest nose since Durante, cackling away. Oh, and the Winkie guard that stepped on her paw by accident. Ouch! And the creepy flying monkeys. But Mr. Spitz' training paid off; Toto found herself able to rebound from such situations and perform like the trooper that she was.

I, Toto is now one of my favourite movie books. Cute but never mawkish, sentimental but never saccharine, informative but never overwhelming, this little story of a little dog is a big winner.

This heartwarming, charming book tells the real story of Terry, a once-abandoned cairn terrier, who became Toto in the Wizard of Oz movie. Rescued from an uncertain future by dog trainer Carl Spitz, the story is told from Terry's point of view. The "auto-biography" is written in such a charming way we can believe that Terry did write it. The discovery of Terry's scrapbook, kept safe for 50 years in a tin box, in a pile of rubble that would soon become part of the Ventura Freeway, is akin to the magic of Oz. Lovingly created (we assume) by Terry/Toto's "guardians," the Spitz's, we rejoice in its recovery and are glad Mr. Carroll has shared Terry's story with the world. As a Cairn Terrier owner, and grieving the recent loss of a 17-year companion, this book lifted my heart. The Toto in my life, Andy, is memorialized forever. The book inspired me to open my heart and share my life with another Cairn Terrier. If you love cairn terriers, dogs, Toto, or Oz, you MUST read this book. A wonderful gift for any dog lover.

If you want an Oz book that is fun to read to yourself or to children, this is the ticket! Page after page, I said to myself "this is just darling!" Toto is America's favorite canine and The Wizard of Oz is the most endearing movie of all time. I am so glad that Willard Carroll put this book together it is just terrific.

Hollywood's Golden Era is captured so well as you easily travel through page after page. I promise that you won't put it down until you're finished and the kids (especially the ones who watch the movie on a daily basis) will love for you to read this to them.

Congratulations to Author Carroll, who has Oz in his heart and soul and managed to put it down on paper for all of us to enjoy. How many times I've watched that movie and simply focused on Toto, who was just the cutest dog in the world. He makes everybody want to adopt him, well, now this is the next best thing.
Elaine Willingham
St. Louis, MO

Since my all-time favorite dog star is Toto, this book was easy for me to love. However, once I began to read, I found it to be something extra special. I, Toto is a mood lifter as well as an interesting piece of Hollywood history. Beautifully written in the first person, I, Toto will captivate the heart and mind of any dog lover.

A must read for any Oz fan as well as dog lovers of all kinds. I never knew how many movies Toto was in, and the Oz trivia was really fun, too. It was very cleverly written from Toto's point of view. I actually laughed out loud at some parts. Don't pass by picture captions and comments on the sides of the pages. It's all worth reading! Not bad for a dog no one wanted!

Written from Toto's perspective this book gives you an insight into what really would have been going through this little dogs mind. It not only captures his thoughts but is a good source of valuable information on THE dog of OZ. It is a book that should be read to or by all children who love this movie.

A really lovely little book, easy to read, thoroughly enjoyable for dog and "Oz" lovers everywhere. Photos and clever stories about being a dog in the film industry.