Eddie, star of TV series Frasier, dies aged 16

THE DOG that drove Frasier round the bend has died. Moose, who played Eddie in the long-running TV series, reached the ripe old age of 16.

The popular Jack Russell terrier was in the award-winning American sitcom for a decade, playing the companion of John Mahoney's character, Martin, alongside Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce.

Moose died last Thursday night at the home of his trainer, Mathilde Halberg, in Los Angeles.

His credits also included a role in My Dog Skip, which starred Kevin Bacon and Frankie Muniz.

"He just had an incredible charisma and was such a free spirit," Ms Halberg told People magazine.

"I saved him from the pound. His owners called me as a last resort," she said. "He was extremely mischievous, always escaping, chewing up things and running off."

"Moose had a great disposition for training," Ms Halberg said in a 1994 interview with Animal Press. "He loved it right away ... it calmed him down a little. It's as if all of a sudden he had a purpose in his life."

At the age of ten, Moose retired from show business, handing over the role of Eddie to another terrier, Enzo, and settling into old age.

Even so, Moose managed to outlive the Emmy-winning series, which came to an end in the US in May 2004.