I saw the movie. That and Old Yeller were the only dog movies from my childhood.
Obviously you were big on “dogs of color”.
The only Big Red I’m familiar with is a soft drink, so I guess it just wasn’t my round. Good one!
I’m more familiar with the chewing gum.
I’ve never seen the movie, and I’m not familiar with either the drink or the gum. But I read all three books (Big Red, Irish Red and Outlaw Red) – and every other Kjelgaard book the library had – back when I was in high school.