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Toto Biography

Fictional Dog

Toto the dog is a character in L. Frank Baum's 1900 fantasy story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Toto is the pet of Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl who is blown "over the rainbow" into the magical land of Oz. Toto appeared in various "Oz" books written by Baum and others, but the dog became really famous after the release of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy. The film became a popular classic with baby boomers, thanks in part to annual showings on network television. Toto was immortalized in Dorothy's famous line, "Toto... I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" and in the Wicked Witch of the West's threat to Dorothy: "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"

Extra credit: Toto's breed is not specified in the Baum books, but in the movie he was played by a female Cairn terrier named Terry... Toto is also the name of an American rock band and the nickname of Italian comic actor Antonio Clemente (1898-1967).

Other famous dogs on Who2 include Checkers, Cerberus and Scooby Doo.