Relinquish the dog?: Movie messages about misbehavior

Content analysis of selected films (Beethoven, K-9, Turner & Hooch) and a T V show (The Simpsons) revealed frequent instances of undesirable acts by do g characters including damaging, disobedience. soiling. and stealing. One r eaction of human characters was frequent scolding. More seriously. all the dogs were explicitly put at risk for relinquishment (surrender). Even so. n o dog was permanently relinquished. In two cases. animals eventually redeem ed themselves. one going so far as to become a hero. In the two remaining c ases, resistant humans eventually became convinced of the inherent good in the animals. All the dogs gained status as valued companion animals. Treati ng these titles as a type of fable. their common moral (message) was interp reted to be that dogs should simply not be relinquished. Corollary recommen dations offered in these movies counseled human patience and sensitivity co ncerning dog behavior. (C) 2000 International & Society for Anthrozoology.