Vincent is one of many survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 that mysteriously crashed on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific. When the plane crashed, Vincent was in the cargo hold. Like the other survivors, he managed to get free of the wreckage and find safety along the island's coastline.

On the island, Vincent spends much of his time in the jungle. To summon Vincent, John Locke (Terry O'Quinn), one of the survivors, used a makeshift whistle to call the dog. Ironically, Vincent's appearances seem to foreshadow ominous events.

Vincent's first owner was Brian Porter who lived in Sydney Australia with his new wife, Susan Lloyd and her young son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley). But when Susan died of a rare blood disease, Brian contacted Walt's biological father, Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineaux) to come for the boy and take him back to the states (New York). As a parting gift, Brian told Michael to give Walt his dog.

Although devoted to the dog, Walt has left Vincent twice. First, Walt set sail on the raft along with Michael, Jin and Sawyer to find help. Before he leaves, Walt gives Vincent to Shannon, a fellow castaway (who later dies from a gunshot). But Walt never makes it far from the island because he is kidnapped by another group on the island known as "The Others."

In order to get Walt back, Michael's father betrays his fellow castaways. In return, The Others release Walt and provide both of them with a boat to sail to safety. Vincent remains behind on the island.

Vincent near crash site

TRIVIA NOTE: Madison the dog who plays Vincent on the show is a female. She is owned and trained by Kim Stahl, a 1992 graduate of North Hills High School in Pittsburgh who moved to Oahu, Hawaii in 1998 with her husband, Tim, an Army reservist and computer network engineer. When not training Madison, Kim works full time as an accountant.

Kim became involved in the TV series LOST by accident when a friend told her of an animal audition. Hoping to a get a few days of work in a local commercials, Kim took Madison to the gathering and ended up with getting her dog hired on a prime time hit series.

Before her days in the limelight, Madison the dog had trained as a tracking dog and obedience competitor. In 2001, Madison ranked eighth among the best obedience dogs in the state of Hawaii.

Madison the dog has since appeared in 16 of the show's 24 first season episodes and continues to have a recurring role on the series.

Some trivia about the dog. Madison's nickname is Humphrey Dogart. She is fitted with hair extensions for the series. Madison lives with actor Matthew Fox who plays Dr. Jack Shepherd on the show and whenever Jorge Garcia (who plays Hurley) sings, Madison howls. Oh yeah, Madison loves to play with tennis balls.

To honor Madison, the folks at Rygwood Labradors (the home of Madison) sponsored a video contest. The top three winners received authentic Madison (Vincent) "PAW"tographs courtesy of Rygwood Labs in Hawaii.