Casey, the dog that played Freeway, was a 50-pound tan and black Collie Mix with white feet and white chest.
Co-screenwriter Meg Kasdan said: "We wanted a mixed breed to play Freeway". Co-writer with husband director Lawrence Kasdan, the 'Darling Companion' script was based on their own experience loving, losing, searching for and finding their beloved shelter mutt Mac in the High Rockies. "We're prejudiced, of course, but we think mutts are the best dogs", Meg Kasdan added.
The dog 'Freeway' was really played by two dogs. Casey, a multi-colored Collie mix, and Kuma, his Aussie mix understudy, were seasoned animal actors who came to the production through "Good Dog Animals", run by professional trainers Guin Dill and Steve Solomon. Casey and Kuma have life stories to rival Freeway's: they were both spotted in shelters by trainers who recognized the right personalities, smarts, and charisma for great onscreen canines. Casey had been abandoned in the desert, found with an old rope embedded into his neck (he still bears a scar). He was found in the Las Vegas shelter while his trainer was on a shoot there. Kuma was adopted from the South Los Angeles shelter when he was a just a young puppy. The Kasdans had also adopted their cattle-dog mix, Mac, from an L.A. shelter.