With my human pet Matt having wandered off – led astray by the novelty of two kittens whose appealing ways will never last – I have more time to myself. Which is a blessing, writes Abbie Hunter.

Honestly. I’ve booked tickets to see a new film, Max, starring a Belgian Malinois called Carlos, who sniffs out explosives in Afghanistan, of all places. He’s the latest canine to shine, and that got me thinking about other paw-fect performances…

Scraps in A Dog’s Life: One of the first animal screen stars, he stole the show in the 1918 silent film A Dog’s Life after befriending Charlie Chaplin. I understand Chaplin abandoned his trademark cane for this film because he needed to hold Scraps’ leash and be led around. Some people say it was Chaplin leading the dog, but that’s plain ridiculous, as we all know.

Uggie in The Artist: The Jack Russell was the first pooch to leave his prints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.Anything Brad Pitt can do…

Clyde in Marley & Me: I’d dig up my best bone and trade it for the chance to work with Jennifer Aniston. No wonder 21 other Labradors also played Marley at various stages ? the thrill too much for one dog, I can see.

Terry in The Wizard of Oz: The grande dame of them all (Terry was female, as we all know) worked on 16 films in all. Can you imagine the disgust when her name was mistakenly left off the credits for Oz and she was listed as Toto, the scamp she played. The memory still makes me weep.

By the way, did I mention a screenplay I’m writing, and for which I have high hopes? It’s an all-canine version of Beauty and the Beast. I’ve already cast the part of Beauty (made sense; the words are already fixed in my memory) but you can audition for supporting roles, when Hollywood bites. As it will. Soon.

See more from Abbie Hunter here