CANINE CO-STAR ENJOYS WAGS-TO-RICHES CAREER.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

For the co-star of Eddie Murphy's new movie, ``Dr. Dolittle,'' acting is all animal instinct - and a generous helping of liver-flavored biscuits.

Sammy, a 5-year-old terrier mix rescued from the East Valley Animal Shelter in North Hollywood three years ago, stars as Lucky, a mutt who teaches Murphy's character how to recapture the ability to communicate with animals, a skill he lost as a youngster.

``Sammy loves to work,'' said trainer Mark Forbes, with whom Sammy lives when he's not working. ``He's so eager, he's almost overeager. He wants to please you so bad. And he'll do anything for a liver treat.''

Sammy, picked up as a stray, was rescued from the shelter by fellow trainer Roger Shumacher. Both Shumacher and Forbes work for Gary Gero's Birds and Animals Unlimited of El Toro, which provides trained animals for movies, television shows and commercials, plus live shows at Universal Studios.

``We get 75 to 80 percent of our dogs from shelters; most of the animal movie companies do,'' Forbes said. ``Sometimes we'll go to a breeder if a show wants a very specific breed, but most shows want just an average, everyday kind of dog. And shelter dogs need a home anyway.''

Gini Barrett, director of the Western Regional Office of the American Humane Association, which oversees and safeguards animal actors, said some of the best actors - as well as some of the best pets - come from shelters. More than 255,000 dogs and cats are housed annually at public and private shelters in Los Angeles County, and 67 percent of those are euthanized because no one adopts them.

``There is something about a dog that's been either on the streets or in the shelter,'' Barrett said. ``They're sensitive creatures. They understand fear and danger and abandonment and sadness. And when you're the person who took them from that danger, there's a bonding there that's pretty special.

``Most animals, particularly dogs, love to work, and they say: You saved me and you want me to shake hands for you? You got it.

``That's why the motion-picture industry is the perfect life for such a dog.''

What is there about a shelter dog that catches a movie animal trainer's eye?

``We look for a look, but more for an attitude,'' Forbes said. ``And shelter dogs, if they're strays, have been out in the world. A lot of the time, they're really street-smart, which works well for films.''

When Shumacher visited the shelter, Sammy dashed right up and stuck out his paw, Forbes said. On the grassy area outside the cages, he romped and played, signs that he'd be amenable to training.

Casey, a sheltie mix who also appears in ``Dr. Dolittle'' and whose voice is supplied by Ellen DeGeneres, also is a rescued dog ``with the cutest little face,'' adopted by Forbes from the Baldwin Park shelter.

Casey was in a cage with two bigger dogs that were beating her up, he said. ``We put her with another dog more her size, and she got over being scared and learned to play and turned out to be a great dog for us.''

Unlike other films in which computer animation is used to make it seem that animals are talking, visual-effects supervisor Jon Farhat wanted animals that would move their mouths on cue, making their ``speech'' a more natural starting point for computer imaging.

Sammy was the first one to try. Forbes found a spot on the dog's jaw that, when pressed, would prompt Sammy to open his mouth; at the same time, Forbes would give the command, ``Talk.'' Then Sammy would get a liver-biscuit treat.

Soon, a mere touch would make Sammy open up, and with a bit more training, the dog learned to open and close his mouth on no more than a verbal command.

In the film, Sammy's voice is provided by comedian Norm Macdonald, whose sarcastic delivery fits Lucky's character. His first line, after being run down by Dr. Dolittle's car: ``Watch where you're goin', bonehead!''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Gini Barrett, left, director of the Western Regional Office of the American Humane Association, and animal trainer Mark Forbes admire Sammy, co-star of ``Dr. Dolittle.''

David Sprague/Daily News

(2) Dr. Dolittle, played by Eddie Murphy, left, describes his dog Lucky's predicament to a surly veterinarian, played by Jeffrey Tambor.

20th Century Fox