Some of Hollywood's biggest canine stars -- including Toto from the movie "The Wizard of Oz;" Lassie, star of one of the longest-running series in television history; and Rin Tin Tin, from the eponymous 1950s television series -- lived and trained at the facility in North Hollywood.
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The school opened back in 1927; Rick Karl has owned it for the past 40 years.
Lassie "was living really well," said Karl. "She used to have a limo that would come here and pick her up and take her to the studios."
In fact, Lassie was so famous that she didn't sleep in a kennel -- she had her own bedroom.
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Most of the thousands of dogs that have been trained, boarded and groomed at the school over the last several decades were not famous.
"Whether you were a top-flight movie star or just a regular working person, everybody enjoyed being here," Karl said, "and it was all about their dog family."
Karl is retiring, so the Hollywood Dog Training School is closing.