Page "Santa's Little Helper" Paragraph 12

Some ideas for episodes featuring Santa's Little Helper come from reality.

The plot of " Dog of Death " was based on Swartzwelder's experiences with his own dog, which had also suffered from bloat.

However, unlike the events in the episode, Swartzwelder's dog did not receive treatment as the operation was too expensive and the dog was too old.

The Gold Coast Bulletins Ryan Ellem commented in 2005 that the Simpson family's dilemma with the cost of the veterinary procedure is a realistic dilemma faced by many families who own dogs.

Other episode ideas come from popular culture.

For example, Santa's Little Helper fathering 25 puppies in " Two Dozen and One Greyhounds " is a parody of the Disney film One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Mr. Burns ' technique of brainwashing him into an attack dog in " Dog of Death " parodies A Clockwork Orange.

Susan McHugh, who teaches theories of animals, literature, and culture at the University of New England, wrote in her 2004 book Dog that, " remaining loyal to his unlikely saviours, the boy Bart and his father Homer, this greyhound has prompted satires of contemporary dog culture, from Barbara Woodhouse's authoritarian training methods " Bart's Dog Gets an F " to Lassie's flawless service to the status quo " The Canine Mutiny ".