| image = Old-Yeller-classic-disney-9928179-853-480.jpg

Spike was a lop-eared yellow Mastador (Labrador Retriever

Labrador Retriever

The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...

/Mastiff

English Mastiff

The English Mastiff, referred to by virtually all Kennel Clubs simply as the Mastiff, is a breed of large dog perhaps descended from the ancient Alaunt through the Pugnaces Britanniae. Distinguishable by enormous size, massive head, and a limited range of colors, but always displaying a black mask,...

 mix) and a dog actor best known for his performance as Old Yeller in the 1957

1957 in film

The year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...

 Disney film of the same name

Old Yeller (1957 film)

Old Yeller is a 1957 Walt Disney Productions film starring Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire and Beverly Washburn, and directed by Robert Stevenson. It is about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. The story is based upon the 1956 Newbery Honor-winning book Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. Gipson...

 co-starring Tommy Kirk

Tommy Kirk

Thomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California...

, Dorothy McGuire

Dorothy McGuire

Dorothy Hackett McGuire was an American actress.-Career:Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she began her acting career on the stage at the Omaha Community Playhouse...

, Fess Parker

Fess Parker

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955-56 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964-70...

, and Kevin Corcoran

Kevin Corcoran

Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran is an American director, producer, and former child actor. He appeared in numerous Disney projects between 1957 and 1963, frequently as an irrepressible character with the nickname Moochie...

. Spike was rescued as a pup from a shelter in Van Nuys, California and became the pet and pupil of animal trainer Frank Weatherwax

Frank Weatherwax

Frank Thrall Weatherwax was an American actor and animal trainer. He is best remembered with his brother Rudd Weatherwax for their famous collie, Pal, the dog who became famous as Lassie in the 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Lassie Come Home.Weatherwax was born in Camp Palomas, New Mexico...

.

Spike also appeared as Patrasche in 20th Century-Fox's A Dog of Flanders

A Dog of Flanders

A Dog of Flanders is an 1872 novel by English author Marie Louise de la Ramée published with her pseudonym "Ouida". It is about a Flemish boy named Nello and his dog Patrasche....

with Donald Crisp

Donald Crisp

Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...

 and David Ladd

David Ladd

David Ladd is an American producer and former actor.-Personal life:Ladd was born in Los Angeles, California, and is the son of Alan Ladd and Sue Carol and brother of Alana Ladd...

 in 1959

1959 in film

The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....

 and as King in the 1956

1956 in film

The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...

 film, "The She-Creature

The She Creature

The She Creature is a 1956 American black-and-white horror film produced by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff , produced by Alex Gordon and directed by Edward L. Cahn...

". In 1961, Spike was the star of "The Silent Call" with Roger Mobley

Roger Mobley

Roger L. Mobley in Evansville, Indiana, is a former child actor in film and television, working primarily for Walt Disney Productions during the late 1950s and early 1960s...

, David McLean and Gail Russell

Gail Russell

Gail Russell was an American film and television actress.-Career:She was born Elizabeth L. Russell to George and Gladys Russell in Chicago, Illinois, and then moved to the Los Angeles, California, area when she was a teenager. Russell's extraordinary beauty brought her to the attention of...

; the entire movie focused on his efforts to reunite with his human family who had been forced to leave him behind while traveling from Nevada to California.

Various television episodes of the period in which Spike appeared included The Mickey Mouse Club and The Westerner

The Westerner (TV series)

The Westerner is a 1960 Four Star Television Western series on NBC created by Sam Peckinpah. The series stars Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame and features John Dehner as semi-regular Burgundy Smith...

with Brian Keith

Brian Keith

Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...

.