As a dog lover, I typically prefer movies in which the dog does not die, and I especially love it when dogs save the day in movies and TV shows. However, for every lovable pop culture pet, some have forced me to question the inherent innocence of domesticated animals. The following is a look back on some bad pets from movies and TV shows, which range from simply unruly to just downright evil.
Lucifer (Cinderella)
Even the kindhearted and optimistic title hero of Disney’s classic animated movie, 1950’s Cinderella, struggled to name a single positive quality about the aptly named Lucifer. This cat was as nasty as his owner, Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, Lady Tremaine.
Ben (Willard)
The lonely title character of 1971’s Willard (played by Bruce Davison) is one of cinema’s more sympathetic horror movie villains, but I would not say the same about the leader of his pack of killer rats, Ben. The rodent, who led his own self-titled 1972 sequel, is at first loyal to Willard, killing anyone he asks, until he begins to feel that his fellow rats have grown confused over who their true king is.
Mr. Tinkles (Cats & Dogs)
Cats & Dogs is a send-up of spy movies set in a world in which the rivalry between canines and felines is a more serious matter. The main antagonist is a fluffy, white Persian cat named Mr. Tinkles (voiced by Sean Hayes), whose master plan for world domination involves releasing a chemical that will make the human race allergic to all dogs. Good kitties don’t try to take over the world.
Fluffy (Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone)
In the first Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the titular young wizard (played by Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) fearfully come face-to-face with a giant, three-headed, dog-like creature named Fluffy. Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) claims that his Cerberus means well, but it also takes its job of guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone very seriously.
Mrs. Whiskerson (Friends)
In a classic episode of Friends from Season 5, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) spends $1000 on Mrs. Whiskerson, a hairless feline that Joey (Matt LeBlanc) repeatedly insists is “NOT A CAT!” When her new pet proves not to be as sweet as she hoped, leaving her covered in scratches, and creeps her out with hisses that sound like her name, Rachel tries to give her up, and the only one who agrees to take her is Gunther (James Michael Tyler), who assumes the animal is a snake.
The Lions (Roar)
One of cinema’s most infamously disastrous movie productions is that of Roar, which is set on an African wildlife preserve where big cats run amok… on and offscreen. As the trailer for the 1981 thriller starring Melanie Griffith reveals, the live animal attacks did not just stop at the script, as a whopping 70 cast and crew members were injured on set.
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Rivalry is a recurring theme in Warner Bros’ iconic Looney Tunes cartoons, and one of the most iconic quarrels is between Sylvester and Tweety. The ruthless Tuxedo cat is constantly trying to come up with ways to eat that meek bird.
The Sled Dog (The Thing)
There are all kinds of reasons why John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi thriller, The Thing, is considered one of the best horror movies of all time, including the astonishing performance by a canine actor named Jed. The film’s heroes, a research crew stationed in the Arctic, take in a stray sled dog, inexplicably under attack by two Norwegians, unaware that it is really a shapeshifting alien in disguise.
Mike Tyson’s Tiger (The Hangover)
In the hilarious instant comedy classic, 2009’s The Hangover, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis), wake up with no memory of their friend Doug’s (Justin Bartha) disastrous Vegas bachelor party and find a few interesting items in their hotel room, including a tiger that they learn belongs to Mike Tyson. The big cat would have to be sedated in order for the Wolf Pack to safely transport him to the boxing legend’s home.
Cujo (Cujo)
Despite the deadly circumstances that he is responsible for, I almost feel bad about including the titular dog from Lewis Teague’s 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s Cujo. Mechanic Joe Camber’s St. Bernard is a perfectly friendly pet until he suffers a bat bite and becomes stricken with rabies, leading him to murder his owner and force Donna (Dee Wallace) and Tad Trenton (Danny Pintauro) to barricade themselves in their car on Camber’s property for days.
Ella (Monkey Shines)
In director George A. Romero’s Monkey Shines, quadriplegic Allan (Jason Beghe) is given a furry assistant named Ella. The capuchin grows so fond of her human that she is willing to kill anyone he does not like or anyone who seems closer to him than she. Her grave tendencies even seem to awaken something sinister in Allan as well.
Bolton Ramsay’s Dogs (Game Of Thrones)
Not all of the most fearsome foes in Westeros are human. For example, the vicious hounds belonging to Bolton Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) are responsible for many of the most gruesome deaths on Game of Thrones, including that of their despicable owner himself.
The Bumpus Hounds (A Christmas Story)
One thing standing in the way of Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) and his family enjoying an ideal holiday celebration is the pack of innumerable, unruly dogs owned by their neighbors, the Bumpuses. Considering how the 1983 holiday movie favorite, A Christmas Story, is told largely from a juvenile point of view, I imagine there would not be nearly as many hounds as what appear on screen in real, but I have no doubt that at least two or three of them would be capable of ruining the family’s delicious turkey dinner.
Farfel (Seinfeld)
In the Season 3 Seinfeld episode, “The Dog,” Gavin Polone (Joseph Maher), a man seated next to Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) on an airplane, falls ill and asks the comedian to look after his pet, Farfel. The pooch remains unseen throughout, but the episode makes it abundantly clear how horribly misbehaved he is, turning self-described animal lover Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) into the same person who agrees to kidnap and abandon her neighbor’s irritating dog years later.
Mrs. Bickerman’s Crocodiles (Lake Placid)
The fun 1999 creature featureLake Placid stars Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, and Oliver Platt as a trio tasked with keeping their community safe from an abnormally large crocodile. It is eventually revealed that Betty White’s character, Mrs. Bickerman, has been obliging in the creature’s appetites, as well as those of its offspring, in the years since it ate her husband.
The White Dog (White Dog)
In White Dog, which originally premiered in 1982 before receiving a home video release in the United States in 2008, a woman (Kristy McNichol) finds and decides to adopt a white German Shepherd. Soon after, she makes the horrifying discovery that the canine has been trained by its former owner, a white supremacist, to violently attack people of color without provocation.
Church (Pet Sematary)
In the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, the Creeds’ family cat, Winston “Church” Churchill, was a friendly pet until the day he was fatally run over by a car. By his neighbor’s advice, Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) buries the cat in a Native American burial ground, and the next day, he returns, but without his soul, making him into a putrid, murderous menace.
The Hellhounds (The Omen)
In 1976’s The Omen, most animals that come in contact with Damien Thorne act out in fear of the child, except for a few black dogs who are the literal pets of Satan himself, who sends them to Earth to protect his spawn.
New Brian (Family Guy)
In the Season 7 Family Guy episode “The Man with Two Brians,” the Griffins fear that Brian (Seth MacFarlane) may be getting too old and decide to adopt a second talking dog whom they name New Brian. Despite making the family’s original pet feel outcast, the new dog seems to be a wonderful addition, until Stewie (MacFarlane) learns of his unspeakably dark true nature.
The Hunter Dogs (Bambi)
“Man” may be the main antagonist of Disney’s 1942 adaptation of Bambi, but they also come with furry accomplices. One of the animated classic’s most terrifying sequences sees the titular deer chased through the forest by hounds belonging to nearby forest hunters.
Ramon (Alligator)
We first meet the eponymous scaly beast from 1980’s Alligator as a baby, who is named Ramon by the little girl who adopts him soon before her cruel father secretly flushes him down the toilet. He spends the next 12 years in the sewers, where, thanks to experimental growth hormones, the reptile emerges at a monstrous size and wreaks havoc on Chicago.
Zoltan (Dracula’s Dog)
The world has been introduced to Dracula’s bride, Dracula’s daughter, and even Blacula, but what about his pet? That would be Zoltan, a vampiric Doberman Pinscher as seen in 1978’s Dracula’s Dog.
The Pitbull (Green Room)
In Jeremy Saulnier’s terrifying 2016 thriller, Green Room, the members of The Ain’t Rights find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and must barricade themselves in the back of a bar against skinheads and their pitbull, who is trained to kill on command.
Baroness Von Hellman’s Dalmatians (Cruella)
After seeing 2021’s Cruella, I suppose I can understand why the title character (played by Emma Stone) goes on to have no value for the life of a Dalmatian after seeing three of them, belonging to Baroness Von Hellman (Emma Thompson), push her mother off a cliff. I mean, it does not excuse her wretched plan to make a coat out of their spotted fur in 101 Dalmatians, but it clarifies her perspective a bit.
The Black Cat (Tales From The Darkside: The Movie)
In a wild segment from the horror anthology film, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, not even skilled contract killer Halston (David Johansen) is a match for a fearsome black feline, whose owner, Drogan (William Hickey), is convinced is responsible for several deaths that have occurred in his home.
Scud (Toy Story)
In Pixar’s 1995 favoriteToy Story, the lost Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen) not only have to survive Sid, but also his bull terrier, Scud, who destroys children’s playthings on a regular basis. You could argue he is just acting in his nature to chew on whatever toy is thrown at him, but in the sequel, we meet Buster, who treats Andy’s toys with love and respect.
Blanche (Hausu)
In the classic Japanese horror movie, 1977’s House (or Hausu), a group of teenage girls must contend with many terrifying obstacles in a haunted house, including a seemingly innocent kitty named Blanche. She eventually shows her true colors when she begins shooting lasers out of her eyes and transforms herself into a blood-puking wall painting.
The Black Mamba (Venom)
Not to be confused with a Tom Hardy-led Marvel movie or a 2005 slasher of the same name, director Piers Haggard’s 1981 creature feature based on Alan Scholefield’s novel Venom stars Klaus Kinski as a criminal whose plans to kidnap the grandson of wealthy hotel chain owner go awry when he and his girlfriend (played by Susan George) encoounter the child’s pet, a vicious Black Mamba snake.
Roger (When Evil Lurks)
Responsible for the most brutal scene in 2023’s Spanish-language thriller, When Evil Lurks, and one of the most brutal horror movie deaths in recent memory, is Roger, who fatally mauls his owners’ young daughter, Vicky. However, it should be noted that the family pooch is also a victim of a viral epidemic of demonic possession, so it was never really him committing the traumatic act.
Tiberius (Drake & Josh)
In a funny bottle episode of Drake & Josh, the stepbrothers are asked to look after Mrs. Hayfer’s Rottweiler, Tiberius, while she is away, but end up spending an entire night barricading themselves in her bathroom out of fear of his vicious attack.
Prince (The People Under The Stairs)
In Wes Craven’s underrated 1991 flick, The People Under the Stairs, Brandon Quinton Adams’ Fool finds himself trapped inside his landlords’ house of horrors, which is guarded by their menacing Rottweiler, Prince.
Lucky (Devil Dog: The Hound Of Hell)
In the 1978 made-for-TV movie, Devil Dog: The Hound Of Hell, a family adopts a German Shepherd they name Lucky, unaware his previous owners were Satanists who unwillingly involved him in a ritual that did a real number on his behavior.
