Comet from Full House is NOT the same dog as Air Bud

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https://www.metv.com/stories/comet-f...dog-as-air-bud

But Buddy the Wonder Dog did fill in once on the family sitcom.
May 12, 2022, 9:15AM By MeTV Staff

By the Full House episode "Three Men and Another Baby," the sitcom cast had gotten used to working with their new dog costar Comet.

In this episode, Danny kneels with the dog, saying it’s about time for Comet to go to obedience school.

"You know, some dogs your age are pulling sleds or herding sheep," Danny tells Comet while petting him. "All I want you to do is sit, heel, maybe do an occasional load of laundry."

Of course, we all know that the dog playing Comet was one of the best-trained dogs in the world. Making his debut on Full House playing his mom Minnie, he comes back to play Comet for most of the time we see Comet onscreen.

In the early Nineties, the successful Beethoven movie series made Hollywood eager to find another dog with star power to launch another movie franchise.

That time wouldn’t come until 1997 when Air Bud premiered, showing a golden retriever playing hoops.

For Full House fans who had seen Air Bud star, a dog named Buddy the Wonder Dog, fill in for Comet during one episode of the sitcom fittingly called "Air Jesse," it was natural to assume that these two golden retrievers were the same dog.

And, Buzzfeed once noted that many legitimate news sites reported that supposed fact, spreading the false rumor.

But let’s set one thing straight for MeTV fans, who we know are always more in the know about classic TV: Comet on Full House is NOT the same dog as the Air Bud star.

Let’s pick this apart, starting with Comet, who we met onscreen first.

Comet was born in 1988 and as a puppy, he went home with a family that ultimately surrendered him to Golden Retriever Rescue because he wouldn’t stop digging holes in their backyard.

Animal Actors of Hollywood saw Comet and immediately adopted him in 1988. He was less than a year old when his acting career began with trainer Cristie Miele.

"He turned out to be incredibly bright, and we channeled that energy," Miele told the Los Angeles Daily News in 1993.

Comet was ready for the spotlight by the next year when he snagged his first role on Full House in the third season episode "And They Call It Puppy Love." The dog fell in love with the cast, particularly the Olsen twins, who were blondes, just like his trainer.

"He’s my favorite," Miele said. "He’s an exceptional dog that is so focused. He just gets better all the time. I figure a dog like Comet comes along once in a lifetime."

Onset at Full House, Comet liked all the attention he got, supposedly feeling hurt if he was ever ignored. The best day for the young cast members with Comet may have been on his first birthday that the dog celebrated while on the show.

According to The Fond Du Lac Commonwealth Reporter in 1994, Comet "delighted the Full House cast by blowing out candles on his birthday cake."

After appearing on Full House, Comet did get a chance to star in a movie, but it wasn’t Air Bud.

It was Fluke, a 1995 movie where a man has a near-death experience and wakes up in a dog’s body. Comet’s body, to be exact.

Two years later, Air Bud premiered, starring Buddy the Wonder Dog.

Buddy was born in 1987, a year before Comet. He was just a stray dog, then he wandered into his future owner Kevin DiCicco’s yard at his cabin in North Carolina.

DiCicco saw something in Buddy right away.

He spent seven years working with Buddy, training him to knock a ball through a hoop with 40% shooting accuracy. The dog’s owner had one goal: "Get him on the big screen and create a canine star," he told The Wall Street Journal in 1997.

For years, DiCicco tried to get Buddy cast in TV and movies, and for years, Buddy was rejected.

Then, Buddy landed a six-figure movie deal with Disney to star in Air Bud, and DiCicco saw the potential for a franchise as big as Beethoven, if not bigger.

But that was not 10-year-old Buddy’s fate.

Unfortunately, during Air Bud filming, Buddy developed a limp that turned out to be from a cancerous lump.

By the time the movie was being promoted before its release, Buddy’s right rear leg had to be amputated.

After all that practice, Buddy didn’t even get to go to the movie premiere.

"It’s unfortunate what has happened with Buddy," DiCicco said.

Wanting to see Buddy’s line go further, DiCicco had the dog’s sperm frozen and implanted, producing his first litter of pups shortly after the film’s premiere.

As for Comet’s line, the biggest Full House fans might be able to tell you what happened next for the sitcom dog, at least for the character.

The Fuller House reboot featured not one, but three Golden Retrievers, one named Comet Jr. Jr., another named Comet Jr. Jr. Jr., and a third named Cosmo.