I'll confess - my favorite movies and TV shows are the ones who star animals - and Harrison Ford (cue the music for "Call of the Wild").

I've got some other personal favorites besides Mr Ford's star turn as the caretaker of Buck, the wolf-dog. Here are just a few.

DC, Haley Mills and Dorothy Provine from That Darn Cat, 1965

That Darn Cat - oh my gosh, cutest Siamese cat EVER. I had one who looked a lot like him. How they ever trained that cat is beyond me, because I could never get Isis to do any of that stuff ("But you look just like D.C., Isis - c'mon! Open the door!")(Isis nonchalantly licks his left front paw and pretends I don't exist.)

Toy Story - okay, the dog is a slinky toy, but isn't he great? Brave, too. And speaking of brave, how about…

Jon Provost and Lassie in publicity portrait for the television series 'Lassie', 1954. (Photo by CBS/Getty Images)

Lassie (the TV show) - I'm old enough to remember both Tommy Rettig and Jon Provost as Lassie's "Boy" - Not sure Tommy ever fell down a well, but Timmy (Jon Provost) - well, Timmy had a real talent for getting into trouble, and thank goodness, Lassie was well-versed in getting him out of it. What Lassie really needed was a cell phone attached to her collar and speed dial - But then the episodes would have been a lot shorter.

Fury - big black horse. Oooo, maybe this is where my love of big black horses comes from. No Saturday was complete without a visit from Fury.

Legend of Zorro

Toronado - Zorro's horse - both on the TV show, and later on as the esteemed mount of the delectable Antonio Banderas. And actually, the horse who played Toronado in "Legend of Zorro" with Mr Banderas, and galloped alongside the train (remember that?), is someone with whom I've spoken personally. He is currently in the care of one of my friends, Dr. Martha Farraday. Here is a link to a story about Ari and his journey back to health. https://equinium.com/press/f/zorros-horse-unmasked-galloping-again-thanks-to-serraquin-es15

The Black Stallion. Oh yeah. Another big black horse.

Two Socks - Dances With Wolves, 1990

The wolf from Dances With Wolves. I have only seen that film once. As much as I liked the movie, I could not sit through seeing the wolf killed again. I loved that wolf. A friend of mine watched the movie over and over and I asked him once how he could stand to see that particular scene - he told me he would fast-forward through it. He also thought all cats should be outside all the time, so suffice it to say I deep-six'd his email address.

Watership Down - bunnies and all of their friends. And then there's Animal Farm.

101 Dalmatians. Big Red. Old Yeller. Savage Sam. Bambi. Secretariat. We kept the Disney coffers full. (Confession - I was five when I saw Bambi in the big theatre. After the movie, my mom and I were standing outside on the sidewalk, and I suddenly started sobbing. I realized Bambi's mom was (spoiler alert) dead, so my poor mom had to deal with an out-of-control five-year-old who even at that age wanted to talk with the animals and make sure Bambi was okay with what happened)

Through the years, animals have been front and center in the cinema. They show us the best (and worst) of that pack animal called a human, and sure made a believer out of this girl that there's a lot more going on behind those eyes than "where's my treat?"

What's your favorite celebrity animal, or animal movie of all time? My favorite celebrity animal? I gotta say "Mr Ed" - he proved to me that animals really can talk!

Alan Young as Wilbur Post, Architect - and his assistant, Mr. Ed