Dogs

Dogs
Classification:	Animal
Genres:	All genres
Franchises:	All Dogs Go to Heaven
Character examples:	Muffin
Related articles:	Cats

Dogs are members of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in human history.

In the Transformers film series, the central protagonist Sam Witwicky owns a pet Chihuahua named Mojo. In the first film in the series, Mojo suffered a broken leg through unrevealed circumstances and had to wear a cast. Sam carried Mojo's pain medication around with him, which caused him problems later when he was brought into a police station and the officer thought that Sam had been taking them himself.

A woman named Aunt Gladys owned a Pug named Bruiser in her home in Prosperity, Arizona in the 2002 film Eight Legged Freaks. The dog found a hole in the basement of her home, which led into an underground warren occupied by giant mutant spiders. Unfortunately, the dog was killed. Gladys went looking for it and was captured and cocooned by the spiders, but managed to survive.

Mutated dogs

Dogs are sometimes victims of scientific experimentation or exposure to unidentified strains of disease or vaccines or even extraterrestrial influences. A harsh example of how radiation can effect such animals was briefly referenced in the 1972 film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. In the year 1983, NASA astronauts returning from space, brought with them a virus that eradicated all dogs and cats, seemingly overnight. Humans as well as most species of apes were immune to the virus. Humanity, in their overwhelming need for pets, turned instead towards keeping apes as pets. This has been informally referred to as the dog and cat plague.

In the 1992 movie Alien³, a dog becomes a host for an alien symbiont and hatches a xenomorph alien that possessed some physical characteristics to a dog.

In the 1996 comedy/horror film Killer Tongue, radiation from a meteor mutates two poodles owned by a woman named Candy into drag queens. This is not the only instance in which poodles are biochemically altered in such a fashion. In the 2003 film The Hulk, scientist Doctor David Banner uses gamma radiation to increase the size and strength of his dogs.

In the 2002 film Resident Evil, the scientific research company known as the Hive kept Doberman Pincers as guard dogs in their underground facility. When the deadly T-Virus was released, all those infected died and were reanimated as flesh-eating zombies, including the dogs. A former security agent named Alice encountered the bloody, skinless zombie dogs in the kennels and had to dispatch several of them just to escape.

In film

• 30 Days of Night: Dogs do not always have the best of luck in horror films. John and Ally Riis owned a kennel of sled dogs that were brutally massacred by a mysterious stranger as part of his continued efforts to cut off all means of travel in and out of the town of Barrow, Alaska.

Cap fights off some guard dogs.

• Captain America II: Death Too Soon: Waterford Prison had several guard dogs posted in a corridor that ran between the prison gates and the entranceway to the cell blocks. When Captain America arrived to ferret out international terrorist General Miguel the dogs attacked him, but he was able to deflect their lunges with his trusty, if albeit flimsy transparent shield.

• Eight Legged Freaks: A woman named Aunt Gladys owned a Pug named Bruiser in her home in Prosperity, Arizona in the 2002 film Eight Legged Freaks. The dog found a hole in the basement of her home, which led into an underground warren occupied by giant mutant spiders. Unfortunately, the dog was killed. Gladys went looking for it and was captured and cocooned by the spiders, but managed to survive.

• Friday the 13th Part 2: There are three dogs seen in this film. The first is one that startles Alice Hardy by barking at her window. The second is an unidentifiable breed of small dog that Jeff and Sandra discovers in the woods completely mutilated. The character of Terry has a pet Shih Tzu named Muffin. Muffin goes missing earlier in the film and has a chance encounter with Jason Voorhees. Fortunately, Jason did not appear to take an interest in the animal and shows up alive and well at the end of the film.

• Halloween: A young girl named Lindsey Wallace owned a golden retriever named Lester. Lester was loud and annoyed Lindsey's babysitter Annie Brackett. Lester caught the scent of psychopath Michel Myers and began barking. Michael waited for the dog to come outside, and then killed it.

• Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers: The Carruthers family owned a dog named Sunday. Sunday usually slept in Jamie Lloyd's bedroom.

• Mummy, The: Helen Grosvenor owned a German Shepherd. The mummy Imhotep sent a white cat, empowered by the spirit of Bast, to kill the dog as this was Helen's protector.

• Nightmare on Elm Street, A (2010): The character of Kris Fowles owned a pet dog named Rufus. While having a nightmare, she ran from her house and found Rufus' slashed remains near some bushes. As she turned screaming, she saw the dream demon Freddy Krueger brandishing blood-stained metal claws intoning, "I was just petting him". As this was just an element of Kris' nightmare, it is likely that Rufus did not die in reality. Unless dogs actually do dream, in which case he's probably f--cked.

• Rear Window: Un-neighborly A-Hole Lars Thorwald killed the dog of a woman who lives in his apartment building because it was making too much noise. The heartbroken owner cried out in anguish upon discovering the animal.

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (2003): Old Monty Hewitt kept a mangy small-breed dog as a pet. The animal usually sat on his lap, which was often as Monty was confined to a wheelchair.

• Thief of Bagdad, The: In the 1940 version of the film, the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar used his magic to turn the young thief Abu into a dog. The spell could only be broken if the King, Ahmad was able to get the princess to hold him in his arms.

• Werewolf of London: Wealthy socialite (and nosy busybody) Miss Ettie Coombes brought a dog to the home of her nephew-in-law Doctor Wilfred Glendon, who was hosting a function for the Botanical Society. When a man named Doctor Yogami approached, the dog began growling and snarling, instinctively sensing that Yogami was a werewolf.

Notes & Trivia

• An individual who is in a position of authority and commands respect may be referred to as a "Top Dog".

• A person, usually a male, who has indiscriminate sex with another individual or has enough charisma and personality to seduce a person largely considered unobtainable may be called a "dog". The term can be used as both a complement and an insult.

• A female dog is called a bitch, which is also a derogatory term used to describe an unlikeable woman. One of the most famous "bitches" in sci-fi is the Xenomorph queen alien from the 1986 film Aliens. She earned this nickname after attempting to kill a young girl named Rebecca Jordan when Ellen Ripley shouted at her, "Get away from her, you bitch!"

Appearances

10 30 Days of Night Babadook, The Beast Within, The Brain from Planet Arous, The Brave One, The Cabaret Captain America II: Death Too Soon Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror Crawl Curse of Frankenstein, The Dawn of the Dead Don't Breathe Dracula's Daughter Edward Scissorhands Evil Dead Flashdance Friday the 13th Part 2 Garfield: The Movie Good Will Hunting Halloween (1978) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers Hills Have Eyes, The (1977) House Next Door, The Incredible Hulk, The Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III Nightbreed Nightmare on Elm Street, A (2010) Oculus Old Yeller Mummy, The Resident Evil Rocky Scream 3 Seven Psychopaths She-Wolf of London Super 8 Thief of Bagdad, The Thing from Another World, The Tower of London Tucker & Dale vs. Evil Vacation Watchers

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