# Why do they always have to kill the dog? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761 "2012-04-14T14:43:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/1 "2012-04-14T14:43:58Z")
I swear, and I am NOT fucking around this time, the next time I pick up a young adult book and the protagonist owns so much as a _gerbil_ I am putting that bad boy down and finding something else to read! I was minding my own business, reading _The Knife of Never Letting Go_ and I just couldn’t put the thing down, partly because it’s a good book but partly because I was living in mortal fear for the poor dog, okay? And YES, of course the dog gets it. Horribly. And I sobbed like a little girl. In fact, I’m crying _now_ just thinking about it. And don’t be all “yeah, what’s the matter with you, you don’t care about all the moms n’ people they kill in the same books” but that’s the _point_. The author knows how to get you where you live. They kill the dog because they _know_ it’s going to hurt you more! I mean, for one thing, everybody who has a pet (except maybe people who keep big parrots and Galapagos tortoises) lives with the knowledge all the time that they just don’t last long enough. Plus, it’s likely that you’ve experienced the death of a pet, even the _violent_ death of a pet, more frequently than the death of a human loved one. So that’s why they do it! They do it to _get_ you! And I don’t mean to say it was cheap - sometimes it is, but in this case it was totally appropriate and fit the story and everything. It was just _awful_ and I don’t want to read that sort of thing anymore. ☹ ETA - to my shock, by the way, _The Forest of Hands and Teeth_ did NOT kill the dog, even though I was waiting for it the whole book. Killed just about everybody else, though. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/2 "2012-04-14T15:17:34Z")
I feel your pain, **Zofia**. Here’s a slightly spoilery list of books from Goodreads called [The dog dies…a cautionary list.](http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/675.The_dog_dies_a_cautionary_list_). You might find it useful. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/3 "2012-04-14T16:01:09Z")
I am totally with you! But my complaint is about movies. In a movie today, if a dog appears in the first 10 minutes, that dog will be toast before the film is over. This pisses me off SOOOO badly!It’s such a cheap trick. It does NOT tug at my heartstrings because it makes me too mad. I feel like I’m being jerked around and manipulated. In older movies (I mean classic films from the 40’s and thereabouts), even in a crime movie, a family could just have a dog. Period. And the dog would just be in the background and it would survive the whole movie. Now, the dog is just doomed… kind of like the red-shirted crewmen in the original Star Trek. I wish there was a list of films where the dog (or horse, or cat, or other animal) dies, like that list of books. Does anyone know if there is one? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/4 "2012-04-14T16:13:51Z")
I thought girls LIKED IT when the animal dies. Otherwise the animal wouldn’t die in every blasted YA book aimed at young females. Me: Whatcha reading? Daughter: _Where the Red Fern Grows._ Me: Does the dog die? Daughter: Probably. Me: Then why are you reading it? Daughter: Teacher seems to think it will be good for us. A female teacher, of course. Guys figured it out what to avoid a long time ago, though we still can’t avoid _Ol’ Yeller_, one of TWO books or movies where guys are allowed to cry. (The other is _Brian’s Song._) ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/5 "2012-04-14T16:38:12Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I thought girls LIKED IT when the animal dies. Otherwise the animal wouldn’t die in every blasted YA book aimed at young females. More like “Adults like it to be serious and therefore give the book an award”. Also known as [Death by Newberry Medal](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathByNewberyMedal). > [@](#): > > There is a Slice of Life story about childhood and coming of age. The main character has a best friend (an animal, another child, or a family member) who is a source of joy, wisdom, and understanding in their life. This friend is often frailer, more unworldly, or otherwise more “special” than the main character. Bonus points if the character is cute or adorable. > > At the end of the story, this very special best friend is abruptly killed off, usually in a clear-cut case of Diabolus ex Machina. A favorite trick is to have the death happen entirely offscreen. The more horribly poignant the tragedy the better. > > All this is generally accompanied by lots of “end of the innocence” angsting from the main character, along the lines of “That was the day my childhood ended…” Really, it’s just the author’s way of having a child suddenly make the jump to adulthood via a single defining tragedy. > > The Newbery Medal is a prestigious award given to American novels written for children. To win one, it helps a lot to use a story like this. > > Bridge to Terabithia won a Newbery for its handling of the topics embodied by this trope. Thirteen years later, Shiloh may have actually won its medal because it didn’t go for the easy win by killing off the dog at the end. Still, most books for “young readers” (and similar movies) deal with these issues in a fairly Anvilicious fashion, and are obviously bucking for critical acclaim or recognition by killing off a beloved character in a children’s book. > > Here’s the rub: It works. > > This trope is so pervasive, some readers expect that the most lovable character won’t get to see the end of a critically acclaimed work of fiction. See also Oscar bait for movies for adults… ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/6 "2012-04-14T17:28:57Z")
Buttercup, the cat from The Hunger Games, survives. I found myself worrying about that stupid cat all through the books every time something bad happened so I was very pleased he made it to the end. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/7 "2012-04-14T17:36:56Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I am totally with you! But my complaint is about movies. In a movie today, if a dog appears in the first 10 minutes, that dog will be toast before the film is over. This pisses me off SOOOO badly! Really? About 15 years ago, I thought there was a bit of a trend in movies to put an indestructible dog in the middle of a dangerous action sequence. I think _Speed 2: Cruise Control_ and [_Independence Day_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz-67Rq1TgQ) had blatant examples of this, though I haven’t seen either recently. When _The Lost World: Jurassic Park_ showed a dog being eaten by a dinosaur, that was a rule-breaking scene. Maybe there were more violent dog deaths in film back then, but I wasn’t see them because I was 10. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/8 "2012-04-14T17:41:59Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Buttercup, the cat from The Hunger Games, survives. I found myself worrying about that stupid cat all through the books every time something bad happened so I was very pleased he made it to the end. Ha, me too. My fiance keeps telling me I should buy [doesthedogdie.com](http://doesthedogdie.com) and run a website warning people if the dog dies or not. A few days ago I checked it - somebody has already done the same thing! ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/9 "2012-04-14T18:30:43Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I thought girls LIKED IT when the animal dies. Otherwise the animal wouldn’t die in every blasted YA book aimed at young females. > > Me: Whatcha reading? > > Daughter: _Where the Red Fern Grows._ > > Me: Does the dog die? > > Daughter: Probably. > > Me: Then why are you reading it? > > Daughter: Teacher seems to think it will be good for us. > > A female teacher, of course. Guys figured it out what to avoid a long time ago, though we still can’t avoid _Ol’ Yeller_, one of TWO books or movies where guys are allowed to cry. (The other is _Brian’s Song._) Where the Red Fern Grows is aimed at young females? It’s about hunting and chopping down trees and fighting mountain lions and other manly things. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/10 "2012-04-14T18:32:00Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > Really? About 15 years ago, I thought there was a bit of a trend in movies to put an indestructible dog in the middle of a dangerous action sequence. I think _Speed 2: Cruise Control_ and [_Independence Day_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz-67Rq1TgQ) had blatant examples of this, though I haven’t seen either recently. When _The Lost World: Jurassic Park_ showed a dog being eaten by a dinosaur, that was a rule-breaking scene. Maybe there were more violent dog deaths in film back then, but I wasn’t see them because I was 10. I think it’s more, Action Movie = Dog Lives Drama Movie = Dog Dies ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/11 "2012-04-14T18:59:25Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I thought girls LIKED IT when the animal dies. Otherwise the animal wouldn’t die in every blasted YA book aimed at young females. > > Me: Whatcha reading? > > Daughter: _Where the Red Fern Grows._ > > Me: Does the dog die? > > Daughter: Probably. > > Me: Then why are you reading it? > > Daughter: Teacher seems to think it will be good for us. > > A female teacher, of course. Guys figured it out what to avoid a long time ago, though we still can’t avoid _Ol’ Yeller_, one of TWO books or movies where guys are allowed to cry. (The other is _Brian’s Song._) I wish they would stop assigning this book at school. When my son was reading this book, I wrestled with telling him outright that the dogs were going to die. I was horribly shocked and somewhat scarred by this book as a young girl. I did finally tell him before he read it for myself. He thanked me. The kid loves dogs like I do (even works with me in rescue) and I didn’t want him to go through what I did. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/12 "2012-04-14T20:13:34Z")
I’ve just finished reading a book which at least telegraphed the situation well – the dog is _missing_ at the start. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/13 "2012-04-14T20:18:41Z")
_No More Dead Dogs_ is a book by Gordon Korman in which the protagonist is supposed to be in a school play based on a book in which…you know what. The protagonist rebels, and he and his friends write a new play. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/14 "2012-04-14T22:56:33Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I think it’s more, > Action Movie = Dog Lives > Drama Movie = Dog Dies I’m not sure about that. The dogs die in _Red Dawn, Dances with Wolves_ and _I Am Legend_ (and _Mars Attacks!_, which is closer to Action than Drama) ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/15 "2012-04-14T23:26:04Z")
Literature is not always about fun. Literature is often about truth: it’s a way of saying something about human nature or society that can’t be summed up or packed into an aphorism. Some of those truths are sad. Books can be more than just entertainment: they can be a source of insight, and that can start at a very young age. Did I enjoy the end of _Ol’ Yeller_? Not at all. But it gave me wisdom no abstract discussion about right and wrong could have. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/16 "2012-04-14T23:48:13Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > When my son was reading this book, I wrestled with telling him outright that the dogs were going to die. I was horribly shocked and somewhat scarred by this book as a young girl. I did finally tell him before he read it for myself. He thanked me. The kid loves dogs like I do (even works with me in rescue) and I didn’t want him to go through what I did. Isn’t the title pretty much a giveaway? What could it possibly describe besides something that shows up at a gravesite? I’m pretty sure that when I read it, I knew the ending even before cracking the book open… ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/17 "2012-04-14T23:50:15Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Literature is not always about fun. Literature is often about truth: it’s a way of saying something about human nature or society that can’t be summed up or packed into an aphorism. Some of those truths are sad. It can also be lazy. [Kick the Dog](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KickTheDog) is a trope for a reason. Young adult novels traffic in simplistic themes. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/18 "2012-04-15T00:42:40Z")
I admit I got a laugh out of reading that …someone had spray-painted billboard ads for Marley and Me with THE DOG DIES in big letters ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/19 "2012-04-15T01:35:08Z")
I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t expect the dog to die in Turner and Hooch. But he’d left that collie pregnant, so there _ **were** _ his puppies. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761/20 "2012-04-15T02:45:50Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Literature is not always about fun. Literature is often about truth: it’s a way of saying something about human nature or society that can’t be summed up or packed into an aphorism. Some of those truths are sad. > > Books can be more than just entertainment: they can be a source of insight, and that can start at a very young age. Did I enjoy the end of _Ol’ Yeller_? Not at all. But it gave me wisdom no abstract discussion about right and wrong could have. There is earned “dog dies” and then there is cheap “dog dies”. Frankly, Ol Yeller is cheap as shit. That is some manipulative, sadistic bullshit in that movie. The whole point of the movie is getting you invested in the dog so of course Travis has to kill it. It isn’t in service of a larger theme or anything - it’s “a movie where the dog dies” and that’s the point. The book I refuse to spoiler in my OP at least wasn’t like that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-always-have-to-kill-the-dog/618761.md?page=2)