The Santa Clause Inspired Dog Names

 There are dogs in all walks of life that share names with the characters from The Santa Clause movie trilogy. Scott Calvin, the man destined to be Santa Clause, can find Scott the dog working as a hearing dog alongside Reverend Mary Whittaker, the first born-deaf minister to work at the Church of Scotland. While the reindeer with the most screen time, Comet, shares his name with the canine star from the television show Full House, it was family dog Dasher that came to the rescue when two-year-old Dante Berry wandered off into the Australian bush. Dasher, a German Shepherd who was only seven months old at the time, followed Dante when he wandered away from home and kept him safe from harm for fourteen hours until search and rescue workers were able to return the pair home safely.

In the first two movies Scott’s son, Charlie, stole the show, first as an adorable and idealistic young child in The Santa Clause, then as a disruptive but good-hearted teenager in The Santa Clause 2. On the Today show in August of 2016, a puppy named Charlie stole the show as their new “puppy with a purpose,” the second canine with that designation. Charlie is a black Lab and he was specifically chosen to be trained as a service dog through America’s VetDogs, a non-profit organization that trains physical and emotional support animals to serve veterans and first responders in combat. Charlie made many appearances on the Today Show while he was in training to be a service dog, highlighting his progress with trainer Olivia Poff and introducing him to many situations that were new and unusual to him, including baseball games, an outing to a nearby farm, and even a plane ride. He met several new friends on-air and even had his first birthday party on the show, eventually being paired with photographer Stacey Pearsall, a veteran whose most notable awards include a Bronze Star Medal and an Air Force Commendation with Valor that she earned for combat actions in Iraq. Charlie will be helping Stacey to manage spinal damage and seizure activity while she continues to highlight our military veterans through the Veterans Portrait Project.

In the last movie, Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Charlie was nearly grown and it was the warmth of his younger half-sister’s heart that saved the day. Like Lucy in the movie, Lucy, the world's smallest working dog, manages her miracles with her warm heart as well. Lucy, just 5.7 inches tall and weighing less than three pounds, is a Yorkshire Terrier who works as a therapy dog for a program called Leashes of Love, where she visits hospitals, schools, and hospices, even helping with presentations on fire safety by demonstrating how to “Stop, Drop, and Roll.” Lucy was also awarded a Hero Dog citation from the state of New Jersey in recognition of her acts of kindness.