Dinosaur Inspired Dog Names

Outside of Lassie, very few television shows have ever featured a live action dog almost exclusively as the main character. Several others have walked the line, but even Full House’s Comet, the Little Rascals’ Petey, and Frasier’s Eddie have all been afterthoughts or devices for comic relief or fodder for one-off plot lines and the rest of the candidates have all been animated. 

Although it may not be super familiar to American audiences, Inspector Rex (originally known as Kommissar Rex in its native Austria) did exactly that, taking a German Shepherd and making it the true star of its own show. 

Rex, revealed to be registered as Reginald von Ravenhorst in the pilot episode, is not only featured in 58 of the show’s original run, but plays a pivotal role in just about every one of them. Many establishing shots catch him demonstrating one of his new abilities which range from carrying objects, physically stopping or restraining criminals, sniffing for clues, opening doors, pointing, tracking, and various other activities that prove to be inherent to each episode’s plot or action. Even in the first episode, which has Rex and his partner looking for a place to live, he proves the anti-dog landlord wrong by sniffing out a gas leak in the building. 

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Rex is also not only an extremely smart dog in the show, but also an undeniably lovable character. On top of solving crimes, Rex still plays the role of comic relief, often being purposely mischievous, especially with his crime-fighting partners when not on duty, making him that much more real and endearing. 

Rex had to be played by several different dogs over the course of the show, as it lasted 18 seasons in total, spanning far beyond the average life expectancy of the average canine, let alone a German Shepherd. The original Rex was played by a dog named BJ, who was selected at just 20 months old to begin training, which lasted 5 months in itself before he was able to act on-screen. While he was originally trained in English, Rex also understood commands in German, the native language to where the show originated in Austria. He acted from 1994-1999 until he got too old, then retired to enjoy his golden years. 

At least two of three other dogs who played Rex were also trained by Theresa Ann Miller, a Hollywood pro who took them under her wing throughout the show’s original run, subsequent tapings and releases in several other countries, nearly all of which were universally adored by fans.