greyhound was the kind of dog that was santa's little helper on the simpsons.
what kind of dog is santa's little helper on the simpsons?
greyhound
writer john swartzwelder has noted that the staff members of the show write the character homer in the same way that they write santa's little helper: "both are loyal. both have the same emotional range. and both will growl and possibly snap if you try to take their food." although animals in cartoons often behave with "semi-human awareness", groening said on the dvd audio commentary for the episode "two dozen and one greyhounds" that he prefers animals in cartoons to behave exactly the way they do in real life. as a result, santa's little helper is depicted in this way on the show. there have, however, been some exceptions for gags, but most of the time the staff of "the simpsons" tries to keep animals acting realistically. several journalists have commented on the greyhound's lack of intelligence. in an article that compared "the simpsons" to the animated series "family guy", todd camp of the "fort worth star-telegram" noted that "though santa's little helper may be the only simpson who's dumber than homer, the griffins' pooch [brian griffin] is the brainiest member of the household". in 1991, copley news service's alison ashton described santa's little helper as a "sweet and stupid dog". tom coombe of "the morning call" wrote in 2002 that "fans of "the simpsons" will tell you that the cartoon family's dog [...] is often dumb, disobedient and skittish. fans of the real-life breed will paint a different picture — of dogs that are peaceful, affectionate, [and] not given to drooling, panting".
santa's little helper
"dog of death" features a number of references to popular culture and famous dogs. santa's little helper's adventure resembles the plot of the 1963 film "the incredible journey". the scene in which mr. burns brainwashes santa's little helper with the ludovico technique is a parody of stanley kubrick's film "a clockwork orange", including the way santa's little helper's eyes are held open while he is forced to watch a film featuring dog abuse, such as dogs being physically assaulted and getting their heads slammed by falling toilet lids. ludwig van beethoven's ninth symphony is heard during the sequence. in another scene, the dog lassie is referenced when santa's little helper rescues a child from a burning building. homer claims that santa's little helper will be going to doggie heaven, while richard nixon's dog checkers and adolf hitler's dog blondi will be going to doggie hell. the doctor who performs the surgery on santa's little helper is based on the main character in the "ben casey" television series.
dog of death