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A Famous Dog's Life: The Story of Gidget, America's Most Beloved Chihuahua Kindle Edition

by Sue Chipperton (Author), Rennie Dyball (Author), Reese Witherspoon (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 30 ratings

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¡Yo quiero! The heartwarming true story of the camera-ready Chihuahua who became a pint-sized superstar.

Her name was Gidget. To the world, she was the Taco Bell dog. This is the extraordinary story of an irresistible pup's life, and that of her devoted trainer, Sue Chipperton. It is not only the story of an adorable television star, but also that of Sue's successful training techniques, and her fascinating stories of working with both human and animal stars, like Mooni, Gidget's Chihuahua roommate and the eventual star of Legally Blonde. Sue shares her delightful tales, investing humor, warmth, and rare insight into one of the freshest and most fun Hollywood success stories ever told.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sue Chipperton started her career in Florida working with dolphins, and has been a studio animal trainer for nearly two decades.

Rennie Dyball is a People magazine writer and co-author of Christian Siriano's Fierce Style.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004Q7DOQA
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley; 1st edition (May 3, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 3, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1837 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 298 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0451233093

Best Sellers Rank: #3,541,380 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,827 in Dog Breeds (Kindle Store)
- #3,745 in Crafts, Hobbies & Home (Kindle Store)
- #4,228 in Dog Training (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 30 ratings

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About the authors

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Rennie Dyball
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Rennie Dyball is an award-winning author—her newest title, B IS FOR BELLIES: A CELEBRATION OF EVERY BODY won Best Read Aloud in the Bookstagang Best of 2023. She is the creator and co-author of the SHOW STRIDES, a middle-grade equestrian series newly acquired by Andrews McMeel Universal and the winner of two Equus awards for equestrian fiction. Her latest middle grade novel, GOOD BOY, EDDIE, is told from the perspective of a school horse. She has ghostwritten and co-authored several memoirs and other non-fiction.
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Sue Chipperton
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My name is Sue Chipperton, I am the co-author of A Famous Dogs Life - which is due to be released in North America May 3rd 2011.
The book is primarily about Gidget - the little Chihuahua that went on to become The Taco Bell Dog - a pop culture icon in the United States in the late 90's.
Following her time line from the day I got her from a local breeder until the sad day when she passed away, it also features stories about my life as animal trainer working in Hollywood on commercial, television and film sets.
In September 2014 Animal Stars is released which I contributed to along with many of Hollywoods animal trainers for film and television.
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4.5 out of 5

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LIMO

LOVE this book! Wonderful story

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2016

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I have a lot of Chihuahua books, but after 20 years of collecting them, this is by far my favorite. This story includes some of the ways the author trains her movie dogs, fascinating reading. The story is so heartwarming, from the day Gidget was purchased from a breeder to the day she dies. I just love, love, love this book!

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2011

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This was an AMAZING book for anyone who loves dogs or is interested in how they train animals for movies! The personal stories of Sue and her dogs are masterfully interwoven with interesting information about dog training. I couldn't put it down! I feel like I've suddenly become very aware of every animal I see in movies or on TV and how they do what they do. It was such a cool story and I absolutely loved it!

One person found this helpful

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kmac27

Bored

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2016

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I just don't understand the rating. I bought the book based on the rating of 5 stars. I couldn't finish the book I was so bored with it. The author repeated herself many times through out half the book that I read. I couldn't continue reading.

One person found this helpful

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STry

Absolutely adorable book for dog lovers

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2012

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Gidget was a beautiful spirit and dog. Sue does a great job of portraying the life of the little superstar. The book gave me so many training tips to try with my own animals and I loved the information on "work" dogs and how to handle them. Once you read the book, you will find out if you have a work dog and how to stimulate them.
A poignant story about a very special girl, Gidget, and the book is a great gift for any dog lover!!

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Leslie Vink

A must read for any animal lover!

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2011

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Absolutely LOVED this book! Definitely an enjoyable and fun -- yet intelligent -- read with so much insight/education into what it takes to train the furry stars we fall in love with on tv/movies. Have recommended the book to family/friends and am looking forward to reading it again and again!

Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2012

Verified Purchase

If you ever wondered about the cute Taco Bell Chihuahua then wonder no more. This is an insightful and thoughtful look into dogs in commercials, how they got there, and the ins and outs of that business. If you love dogs then this is a story worth the read. Ordered it for my Kindle, received it immediately without incident. Thanks Kindle.

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2014

Verified Purchase

Fun little read that is more about the life of the trainer in her training pursuits than Gidget, but it did cover Gidget's life. I enjoyed it and picked up some tips for training my pet.

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K. Dennison

"A Famous Dog's Life: The Story of Gidget."

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is a delightful book. In addition to telling about the ins and outs of training dogs for studios, there is good information about training your pet dog. I really enjoyed reading it.

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