Moose R.I.P.

Moose, the Jack Russell Terrier who played Eddie on Fraiser, died Thursday. He was 16 1/2 years old (that'd be around 115 1/2 years in dog years...).

Moose's beginnings showed no indication of stardom to come. Born in Florida, as a puppy Moose could be rambunctious. He would bark frequently, tear things up, and even refused to be house trained. His family called dog trainer Mathilde Halberg in hopes of getting Moose under control. Not only did Halberg get Moose properly trained. In no time he was cast as Eddie in Fraiser. He played the role for ten years before retiring and passing the part of Eddie on to his son, Enzo.

Moose made several television appearances throughout the years, on shows such as Late Night with David Letterman, Phil Donahue, The Tonight Show, and various shows on both the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. He played the older version of Skip in the movie My Dog Skip (his son Enzo played the younger version). With co-writer Brian Hargrove, Moose wrote his autobiography, My Life as a Dog. In 2003 Animal Planet ranked Moose at number five on their list of 50 Greatest TV Animals.

I have always had a weakness for dogs and Fraiser was probably my favourite sitcom of the Nineties. For that reason I always adored Moose in the role of Eddie. He could easily steal scenes from his co-stars and added a good deal of warmth and humour to an already funny series. While he lived a very long life for a dog, I still can't help but being saddened by his passing.