Nowadays there aren't any great four-legged TV stars, but just a generation ago the airwaves were full of them.
From cowboys and their trusty steeds to dogs who managed to save the day every episode, there was no shortage of amazing TV animals.
It may seem like a gimmick for a TV show to feature an animal in a leading role, these hard working creatures were great actors in their own right, and lots of them did their own stunts! See how many of the famous animals on this list you remember watching!
1. Silver from The Lone Ranger
"Hi-yo Silver! Away!" This masked hero's trusty horse was always ready to help him fight the villains on this classic western.
2. Arnold from Green Acres
This pig who thought he was a human was so popular a class of sixth-graders from Ohio once wrote to Arnold, saying they would stop eating pork chops in his honor.
3. London from The Littlest Hobo
Depending on where you grew up, there's a chance you've never heard of this classic TV dog. He roamed from town to town helping people in need.
4. Flipper
So how exactly did Flipper learn to understand English? And how did he figure out how to stop the bad guys' plan every episode? I guess we'll never know, but this was still a fun show.
5. J. Fred Muggs from the Today Show
One of the anchors on this famous morning show decided to quit instead of hosting alongside this adorable chimp, but the joke was on him because this little chimp became a huge star for the network.
6. Kitty Kat from The Addams Family
Kitty Kat wasn't a regular character on the show, and in fact they usually just recycled the same footage of him walking down the stairs, but this was still a great joke that fit perfectly with the zany antics of the Addams Family.
7. Gentle Ben
We have to give young Clint Howard credit for showing up to film with a live bear as his co-star every day. Bruno, the main bear who played Ben on the show, was apparently so well behaved that he shared an apartment in Miami with his trainer.
8. Mister Ed
A horse is a horse (of course, of course) unless that horse is the famous Mr. Ed. No, they didn't use peanut butter to make the horse "talk." Bamboo Harvester, the horse that played Mr. Ed, learned to talk on cue. Eventually he just started "talking" once Alan Young finished his line.
9. Rin Tin Tin
More than a decade before Lassie became a household name, this TV and movie star dog was already famous. He actually earned the most votes to win the 1929 Best Actor Oscar, but they Academy wanted to look serious, so they gave it Emil Jannings instead.
10. Elvis from Miami Vice
Unlike most of the TV animals on this list, Elvis wasn't a big help to the other characters on his show. He didn't solve any crimes, mainly he just slept on Crockett's houseboat and ate anything he could, but we loved him for it.
11. Lassie
The most recognizeable TV dog of all time, Lassie is just one of 3 dogs to make it onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Rin Tin Tin is one of the other two). Pal, the original Lassie, played the dog in 7 movies, while his son Lassie Junior played the heroic dog on TV.
