Taco Bell Dog - 11-inch tall Spanish-speaking Chihuahua seen in a series of successful commercial spots created by TBWA Chiat/Day ad agency in the late 1990s for Taco Bell. Played by Gidget the Dog, (a female) the male Taco Bell dog wanders busy streets, climbs fire escapes, and enters people apartments to beg for Taco Bell food products. His catchphrase is "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" (translated "I want Taco Bell"). The Taco Bell dog's mission was the never-ending quest for ultimate satisfaction, namely Taco Bell products. Its character was to be perceived as a girl-crazed 19-year-old guy in a dogs body who primarily thinks about the taste of Taco Bell food. In one ad spot, our canine spokes-animal presses the VCR rewind button on his remote to watch a special 99-cent Mexican Pizza offer. After several rewinds, he says "I think I'm in love." In a promotional ad for the movie Godzilla (1998) The Taco Bell Dog exclaims "Heeeere, Lizard, Lizard." as he tries to catch Godzilla, but after seeing the size of the monster remarks "Uh-oh, I think I need a bigger box." (an homage of the 1975 movie Jaws when Roy Scheider first sees the great white shark and says "You're gonna need a bigger boat"). And in another popular spot he cries "Woo, Drop the Chalupa!" The dog's mouth movements were provided by Michael Killen, a computer graphic designer from North Coast Studio in Pittsburgh. The Taco Bell pooch first barked "Yo quiero Taco Bell" in the summer of 1997. Leaders of some Hispanic groups had complained that the Taco Bell Dog and its accent (voice provided by comic Carlos Alazraqui) was demeaning. Eventually, in July of 2000, the Taco Bell Dog campaign was dropped. In the meantime, the Taco Bell campaign had sold millions of plush toy versions of their sassy Mexican pooch. Gidget the dog who played the Taco Bell dog also appeared in the feature film Crazy in Alabama (1999). Gidget was owned by Paul Calabria, the head of Studio Animal Services in Castaic, California. Her trainer was Sue Chipperton. On the set, Gidget liked to play with a stuffed toy named "Mrs. Hedgehog." Gidgets' backup dogs were Dinky and Taco. Taco, a male Chihuahua,  was discovered in a Florida animal shelter.  TRIVIA NOTE: On a comedy skit called "Famous Last Words" on THE TONIGHT SHOW with Jay Leno (11/2/98) the Taco Bell Dog's final words in this world were "I'm going to see what they do in the kitchen." Gidget weighed 8 pounds. So, at 8 pounds you could make 23.58 tacos, if you were so inclined.