The movie “I Am Legend” may have the famous actor Will Smith getting all the credit, but there was another co-star who deserves just as much praise for a job well done!

The character’s dog in the movie, who was named Sam, played a huge role and the whole movie plot was basically structured around her.

Sam and Smith’s character, Dr. Robert Neville, go through all kinds of things in a post-apocalyptic world, although we won’t reveal any more of the movie details in case you haven’t seen it.

All these years later, “Sam” is now enjoying her life out of the sight of cameras.

Her real name is Abbey, and the adorable German Shepherd dog recently celebrated her 13th birthday.

It’s actually been over ten years since the original movie was released, and in honor of the anniversary, Abbey’s owner Steve Berens gave the whole world an update on his pooch who has made history on the silver screen.

Even though the canine is a lot older now, she definitely hasn’t lost a bit of her energetic or joyful personality.

Steve refers to his dog as the absolute best friend that anyone could hope for, and we’re pretty sure that Will Smith would agree.

After all, he had spent a lot of time with this pooch during the filming of the movie, and it’s safe to say they share quite a special bond, too.

“She’s older now and she doesn’t hear hardly anything. But she’s still kicking, she still likes a ball and likes a bone,” Abbey’s owner said to LADBible.

You could definitely tell that Abbey and Smith had chemistry – the entire movie is a perfect example of that!

In fact, Abbey was so loved by Smith and the entire film crew that the actor reportedly begged to take her in after the movie was fully shot.

It was actually quite emotional for Smith, as the man has been through the loss of a pet to a car crash when he was a child.

He swore never to own another dog again, but then Abbey entered his life.

Abbey’s owner Steve thought about letting his beloved dog live with the actor, but he was wary, of course.

He declined eventually, although he does say that he doesn’t know what he would’ve decided if Smith had asked him face to face.

Steve was just so attached to Abbey as well, and no one could ever blame him for that. He couldn’t let go of her and that’s completely understandable.

The four-footer didn’t need a whole lot of time to practice for her role, she’s simply a natural!

Steve actually runs an animal training company and was approached by one of his bosses when the production of “I Am Legend”‘ started.

He was asked to train a female German Shepherd who would star in the movie, and Abbey was the perfect candidate. The rest is history!

“We got her in the middle of July and then went to camera towards the end of September, so that was a pretty quick transition. She wasn’t coming from a training foundation – she really knew nothing. She was trained in a lot of the basics that you need for film work, and then directly for those scenes.”

“It was stressful at first, but she really came on good. She’s a good dog and she really learned fast.”

Ten years later, she’s still just as adorable and affectionate!

To celebrate Abbey’s 13th birthday, you can join us in a flashback to her film debut in the official ‘I Am Legend’ movie trailer in the video below.

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Source: LADBible