Moose the Dog, a.k.a. Eddie and the Cast of Frasier

Eddie belonged to Martin Crane (John Mahoney) a retired disabled cop who lived with his psychiatrist son, Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) in a high-rise apartment in Seattle, Washington. Eddie spends his days lolling on Dr. Crane's expensive sofa or curled up in the hideous green lounge chair of his master.

Martin's stone-faced dog could do one thing extremely well - sit still and stare. Eddie's obsession with staring often drove the neurotic Frasier Crane bonkers. Even when the doctor was out of the apartment Eddie would find a picture of Frasier and just stare at it.

Martin nicknamed his dog "Eddie Spaghetti" because he had worms. David Hyde Pierce who played Niles Crane called Moose "Laurence Olivier in a hair shirt."

On episode "The Unkindest Cut of All" aired September 27, 1994 Eddie impregnates a neighbor's dog, and it's decided it's time for Eddie to get neutered. As Niles and Frasier try to catch Eddie, he flees out the door and into Seattle.

On episode "Death and the Dog" aired February 11, 1997 Eddie is feeling blue, so Martin hires a dog psychiatrist to determine the cause of his depression.

Eddie was played by Moose the dog. His girlfriend, Folie (a.k.a. "Mrs. Moose") served as his stand-in on the show. Eddie's trainer was French-born Mathilde DeCagny, who worked for Hollywood animal supplier Birds & Animals Unlimited. She uses a massage technique called the "Tellington Touch" to sooth Moose's hyperactive nerve's and relax him; and offers Moose treats from her "bait bag" to entice him to obey her commands.

Moose was born in a barn on December 24th 1990 in Weirsdale, Florida. He was the fourth in the litter delivered by his mother, Tag the dog. Moose spent his early years as a house dog in Orlando, Florida until his first owners, Connie and Sam Thise, put him up for adoption because he was just to frisky.

After his next owner (a blacksmith) returned the dog because Moose was just too hard to handle, the dog was finally adopted by Kathy Morrison of Universal Studios - Florida.

Immediately, Moose landed a starring role in Universal’s “Animal Actors’ Showcase.” A short time later, the up-and-coming canine moved to Hollywood and landed the role of Eddie on FRASIER.

Moose soon made the rounds on the TV circuit with appearances on NBC’s “THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, LEEZA, THE PHIL DONOHUE SHOW, and numerous guest spots on various PBS, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet programs.

He also appeared as "Sparky" in a Super Bowl Rold Gold Pretzels commercial; graced the magazine covers of Life magazine, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly and Seattle Cigar Lifestyle; and had his own calendar.

In January 2000, Moose with the help of screenwriter Brian Hargrove released an autobiography published by Harper Collins entitled My Life as a Dog that offered a canine perspective on life.

During one such musing Moose said "My main role in the show is the little irritant that will never go away. When the writers deviate too much from my mission, I have to remind them of what I'm all about. so I politely suggest that they have me star Frasier down again. They must always remember that I am the Jack Benny of the Show and Frasier is my Rochester."

The same year Moose costarred in the theatrical film My Dog Skip (2000) portraying the mature version of Skip. Moose's son, Enzo, played the young Skip in the film (Enzo was also his dad's stand-in on FRASIER).

In a US magazine article (10/20/2000) we leaned that "Moose possesses no teeth, having chewed them off on plaster, rubber, wood, marble, vinyl, masonite, beaverboard, slate and cat dolls." And Moose's trainer Mathilde DeCagny summarized her thoughts on that choice of dog breed saying "By the way, if you want a small dog for your apartment, get a bulldog -- a toy poodle, a dachshund or, better yet, a mutt from the pound. If you are thinking of getting a Jack Russell, don't."

On Thursday June 22, 2006, Moose the Dog died of old age at the Los Angeles home of his trainer Mathilde DeCagny Halberg. He was 16 and a half.

TRIVIA NOTE: Other dogs on the show were Gerhart & Gestalt, two Doberman Pinscher owned Frasier's brother, psychiatrist Niles Crane. They were later given away by Niles' estranged wife, Maris. Once, Niles purchased a skinny, anemic looking dog (a Whippet). Niles' brother, Frasier Crane looked at the dog and realized it must have subconsciously reminded Niles of Maris. 

Martin: It acts like Maris, it barks like Maris. Aside from the fact that it eats once in a while, they're practically dead ringers. -- Episode "Death and the Dog"

Frasier on Niles' dog: She is high-strung, cold to the touch and ignores you. My God, stand her upright, take ten pounds off her, put her in a Chennil suit and whaddya got? -- Episode "To Kill a Talking Bird "

• Frasier (IMDb)

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