Editing Santa's Little Helper (section)

==Reception==
Santa's Little Helper has become a well-known dog because of his appearances in the series. A writer for ''[[The Grand Rapids Press]]'' wrote in 2002 that "we all know who Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] are—heck, most Americans probably recognize their pets, Santa's Little Helper and [[Snowball II]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=... And with a huge cast of oddball characters |newspaper=[[The Grand Rapids Press]] |date=2002-11-03 |page=F1}}</ref> McHugh wrote in ''Dog'' that while [[Master McGrath]] was the most famous greyhound of the 19th century, "the most popular greyhound a hundred years later" is Santa's Little Helper.<ref name=McHugh/> In the television special ''50 Greatest TV Animals'' that was hosted by [[Mario Lopez]] and aired on [[Animal Planet]] in 2003, the dog ranked 27th.<ref name=50TVanimals>{{cite news |last=McClatchy News Service |author-link=McClatchy News Service |title=Doggy details |url=http://www.gilroydispatch.com/printer/article.asp?c=226177 |access-date=2011-08-14 |newspaper=Gilroy Dispatch |date=2007-09-28}}</ref> Other dogs featured on the list were Lassie (first), [[Minor characters on Frasier#Eddie|Eddie]] (fifth), [[Snoopy]] (sixth), [[Scooby-Doo (character)|Scooby-Doo]] (13th), [[Rin Tin Tin]] (14th), [[How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special)|Max]] (20th), [[Triumph the Insult Comic Dog]] (24th), [[List of Married... with Children characters#Buck|Buck]] (29th), [[Land of the Giants|Chipper]] (44th), and [[The Brady Bunch#Recurring characters|Tiger]] (50th).<ref name=50TVanimals/> According to a writer for [[McClatchy News Service]], the rankings were "determined by popularity, name recognition and how long the show lasted."<ref name=50TVanimals/>

Among fans and critics, Santa's Little Helper has been mostly well received. He ranked seventh in a 2008 poll by ''[[Dog Whisperer]]''{{'}}s [[Cesar Millan]] that determined the "best-loved television dog of all time." Lassie ranked first in the poll.<ref name=Rollo>{{cite web |last=Rollo |first=Sarah |title=Lassie crowned top TV dog in poll |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a136892/lassie-crowned-top-tv-dog-in-poll.html |access-date=2011-08-17 |website=[[Digital Spy]] |date=2008-11-27}}</ref> In addition, he was voted the tenth favorite ''Simpsons'' character by readers of ''[[Simpsons Comics]]'' in the United Kingdom in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mayer |first=Nissim |title=Bart named favourite 'Simpsons' character |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/news/a197578/bart-named-favourite-simpsons-character.html?locale |access-date=2011-08-18 |date=2010-01-19 |website=[[Digital Spy]]}}</ref> In a list of their top twelve favorite dogs from cartoons, comics, and animation, writers for ''[[The Tampa Tribune]]'' listed Santa's Little Helper at number six, writing: "We admire his upbeat nature even after having his legs broken by Mr. Burns and being abandoned by Bart for another dog, Laddie."<ref>{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Kevin |title=Top Dogs |newspaper=[[The Tampa Tribune]] |date=2004-03-26 |page=24}}</ref> He also ranked 75th on Retrocrush author Robert Berry's list of "The 100 Greatest Dogs of Pop Culture History" in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |last=Berry |first=Robert |title=Year of the dog – The 100 greatest dogs of pop culture history |url=http://www.retrocrush.com/archive2006/dogs/ |publisher=Retrocrush |access-date=2011-08-17 |year=2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927095040/http://www.retrocrush.com/archive2006/dogs/ |archive-date=2011-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The character has attracted some criticism too, though. While reviewing the episode "Bart's Dog Gets an 'F{{' "}} in 2010, [[Nathan Rabin]] of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' wrote:

<blockquote>"As cartoon dogs go, Santa’s Little Helper is spectacularly unspectacular. In a realm of aggressively anthropomorphic canines, some of whom, admittedly, have strong speech impediments, he doesn’t talk or wisecrack or engage in shenanigans. His abilities and powers begin and end with masticating, defecating, and regular napping. You know, just like a real dog. Consequently, episodes devoted to Santa’s Little Helper tend to be a little on the sleepy side, even the ''Simpsons'' Christmas special that launched the series."<ref name=Rabin>{{cite news |last=Rabin |first=Nathan |title='Bart's Dog Gets an F' |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-classic-barts-dog-gets-an-f-1798166865 |access-date=2011-08-14 |newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=2010-12-16}}</ref></blockquote>

In 2022, ''[[Yard Barker]]'' named Santa's Little Helper as 12th most memorable TV pets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/the_25_most_memorable_tv_pets/s1__33506903|title=The 25 most memorable TV pets|date=March 21, 2022|website=Yardbarker}}</ref>