Spike (dog) Spike (dog) Spike (1952-1962) was a lop-eared yellow Mastador (Mastiff/Labrador Retriever mix) and a dog actor best known for his performance as Old Yeller in the 1957 Disney film of the same name co-starring Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker, and Kevin Corcoran. Spike was rescued as a pup from a shelter in Van Nuys, California and became the pet and pupil of animal trainer Frank Weatherwax. Spike also appeared as Patrasche in 20th Century Fox's "A Dog of Flanders" with Donald Crisp and David Ladd in 1959 and as King in the 1956 film, "The She-Creature". In 1961, Spike
A Boy and His Dog implied that he kills his new love and cooks her flesh to save Blood's life. The novella ends with Vic remembering her question as Blood eats: "Do you know what love is?" and he concludes, "Sure I know. A boy loves his dog." The novella won the Nebula Award for Best Novella upon its release in 1969 and was also nominated for the 1970 Hugo Award for Best Novella. The 1975 science fiction film directed by L. Q. Jones was controversial for alleged misogyny; the script included lines that were not in Ellison's original stories and that authors such as