Evil-Detecting Dog: Difference between revisions

[[File:Oglaf evil detecting dog.jpg|link=Oglaf|right|frame|Hey, it's ''[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]!'']]

 

[[Horrible Judge of Character|Unlike humans,]] animals seem to have an inherent ability to [[Detect Evil|detect a malicious character]] even if it's [[Invisible to Normals|not obvious to anyone else.]] May not apply to pets of a villain, although attack dogs and [[Right-Hand-Cat|Bond-style cats]] have a surprisingly low sense of loyalty in a pinch.

 

{{examples}}

* Not evil, but in ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', dogs can sense that Ichigo is a [[catgirl]] even when she's in the form of a human, and start barking at her for no reason. With her [[The Lancer|Lancer]] Minto and her boyfriend Masaya both owning dogs, this becomes a problem.

* A cat detects Sylvie as a boomer in episode 6 of ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]''.

* In episode 15 of ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'' Keith Goodman's dog, John, growls at and tries to keep Keith away from the pretty girl on the park bench. The reason being that while Cis looks like a nice lady, {{spoiler|she's a Deceptively Human Robot (in appearance if nothing else) and Keith doesn't realise this.}}

* Hotarubi from ''[[Basilisk]]'' has a pet viper that could see through [[Master of Disguise|Kisaragi Saemon's]] disguise. Unfortunately, Hotarubi didn't understand the meaning of her snake biting [[Dead Person Impersonation|her lover]] and just tossed the animal away and sucked the poison out of Saemon's finger by herself!

 

== Comic Books ==

* In the mid-90s ''[[Robocop vs. Terminator]]'' comic book, one of the humans remarks on the fact that a dog acts friendly, rather than hostile, to Robocop, proving to the human that said character couldn't be a Terminator.

 

* The cats are used for this in ''[[Aeon Entelechy Evangelion]]'', as they are sensitive to anything abnormal, a quality shared only by human infants, and thus are also used in CATEYES security systems. This also seems to be common knowledge since Shinji notes their absence in the dome where Rei lives.

* In ''[[The Dilgar War]]'' dogs are the only thing that can locate the [[Elite Mooks|Spectre]], Dilgar special forces equipped with cloaking suits.

* Invoked in ''[[Ghost Story (fanfic)|Nutss Ghost Story]]'' when Murphy tries to convince Molly that Shepard's alright by reminding her that Mouse hasn't had his usual reaction to Outsiders around Shep.

 

== Film ==

* Kelly's dog Ginger in ''[[Race with the Devil]]'' is the first to notice the cultists. It later gets hanged from the RV's door.

* Used a ''lot'' in the 1944 film ''[[The Mummy's Hand|The Mummy's Ghost]]'', in which dogs barking the alarm or biting at his ankles actually pose a greater obstacle to the mummy's comings and goings than anything the human characters do.

 

== Literature ==

* Gavin de Becker's book ''The Gift of Fear'' claims that dogs will growl at untrustworthy people because their owners will detect the malicious intent and broadcast their discomfort with subconscious cues.

* In [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s "[http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/doyle/arthur_conan/d75ca/chapter8.html The Adventure of the Creeping Man]" [[Sherlock Holmes]] asks "Why does Professor Presbury's wolfhound, Roy, endeavour to bite him?" Answer: {{spoiler|because Presbury was injecting himself with ape glands to boost his virility, which made him act, and smell like, an ape.}}

* Pretty much universally true in [[H.P. Lovecraft]]'s works. (Below are just a few examples.) On the other hand, humans have almost the same ability, as Lovecraft's narrators and characters constantly go on about how eldritch and wrong the things they encounter feel (or seem or look or smell or sound), even if they can't explain why or don't even clearly see anything.

** In ''[[The Dunwich Horror]]'', the weird (and unnatural) Wilbur Whateley carries a gun for self-defense against other villager's dogs. A dog still gets him in the end. In a ''library'', of all things. And just to show just how much dogs hated him, it actually crashed through a plate glass window in order to attack Wilbur.

* The Starks' direwolves in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' will growl at anyone their masters don't trust, and in at least one instance, someone they trusted but ''really'' shouldn't have.

* In [[Andre Norton]]'s ''Victory on Janus'', the garth guard dogs, like the Iftin, can distinguish the [[Deceptively-Human Robots]] from true humans and true Iftin by smell.

* In [[J. K. Rowling]]'s ''[[Harry Potter]]'' novels, the cat-like creatures called Kneazles explicitly have this ability. Crookshanks is part-Kneazle. When Ron realizes that this is the reason Crookshanks hated {{spoiler|Scabbers}} so much, he holds his new owl in front of Crookshanks to test his reaction; Crookshanks's lack of interest is good enough for Ron.

* In the book ''[[The Zombie Survival Guide]]'', dogs can sense zombies, reacting with maddened rage unless having been born in fully zombie-infested times. Taken further, in ''[[World War Z]]'', dogs are specifically trained for zombie-fighting, helping escort special forces teams and scouts, and with smaller, tough breeds, going into areas humans cannot fight safely in.

** Although all other animals take the second variety; one way of telling if a zombie is near you is if the wildlife is [[It's Quiet... Too Quiet|unnaturally quiet]]. This comes in quite handy in bogs, rainforests, etc., but applies everywhere.

* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' animals react strongly to the presence of the Ringwraiths. In the books, the wraiths' horses (and later fell beasts) are an exception, due to being trained from birth to tolerate them. The first movie features spiders, wetas and other creepy-crawlies moving to ''get away'' from the wraiths, although the horses look quite evil.

** A dog specific example would be Farmer Maggot's dogs who really didn't like the Ringwraith who came visiting.

* In ''[[Perdido Street Station]]'', Lublamai's pet badger Sincerity is the first one to detect the threat of the runt slake-moth, growling downstairs as it emerges from its cocoon in Isaac's loft.

* Inverted in the [[Belgariad]], birds seem to instinctively know (and love) Polgara, even if they've never met her. The Emperor's bird even chews him out for not recognizing her.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

** They also used to have an Evil Detecting '''Cat''' which hisses at and has been known to run from evil beings and demons, especially those trying to fool their way into the Halliwell household by appearing mortal.

* Invoked once in ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' when Sam used this to explain why a dog kept barking at a house where a supernatural event had happened. It was never proved on screen, though.

* A light version of this appears in ''[[NCIS]]'' when Kate is reluctant to adopt a dog whose owner has died...until it growls at her [[Handsome Lech]] colleague who's always making unwelcome moves on her.

* In ''[[Tales of the Gold Monkey]]'', Jake's one-eyed dog Jack growls or barks at any impostor, including the (unknown-to-the-characters) resident Nazi spy.

* ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' had Argo, her trusty horse that could tell something was wrong when [[Grand Theft Me|Xena's body was hi-jacked by Callisto's spirit]].

* In ''[[The Nanny]],'' while C.C. wasn't evil (supposedly,) she was a full-blooded [[Rich Bitch]], and her Pomeranian Chester had no trouble letting her know it. He would snarl and growl every time she was anywhere near him, while being perfectly friendly to everybody else in the house. In real life, despite [[Mean Character, Nice Actor|Lauren Lane (C.C.) being a very sweet and pleasant person]], Chester was Fran Drescher's real life dog, and was so fiercely loyal to her any time Lane picked up the dog, he would just naturally growl, so they wrote it into the story that way.

 

== Music ==

* Suggested by [[Loreena McKennitt]]'s version of W. B. Yeats' "The Stolen Child", about mysterious faeries that seduce and steal away the titular child, which begins and ends with a chorus of barking hunting dogs who have detected the sinister faeries.

 

== New Media ==

* In ''[[Tales of MU]]'', dogs can detect the main character's ancestry and are utterly hostile to her. This naturally results in her being afraid of them.

* In the ''Ted the Caver'' webfiction, a Jack Russel terrier named Trip refuses to go into a sinister cave the protagonists are investigating.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** [[Vampire: The Requiem|Vampires]] also have trouble dealing with animals unless they know the Discipline of Animalism, being living corpses. Conversely, if they ''do'' know Animalism, they can seem like a [[Friend to All Living Things]].

* Reversed in ''[[GURPS]]''. The effect comes from entities with the Frightens Animals disadvantage rather than special powers that dogs have.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Not exactly evil-detecting, but at one point in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3'' you need to put on an enemy uniform and mask to infiltrate a base. Scientists, guards, and security cameras take you for the real deal and don't raise alarms. But you don't smell like the officer you're impersonating, and guard dogs will still raise alerts.

** Also, in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', Sniper Wolf's wolf-dogs are unfooled even by your [[New Game+|Optic Camouflage]]. The only way to get past them without hassle is to have one of the puppies piss on your cardboard box, or to have Wolf's handkerchief equipped.

* In ''[[Mega Man Legends]]'', a local dog knows that Tron Bonne (a [[Pirate Girl]]) is up to no good.

* Similiar to the MGS example, Attack Dogs in the ''[[Command & Conquer]]: Red Alert'' series detect spies that can fool any other unit and your base defenses.

** The third game one ups this by replacing the Soviet Huskies with '''[[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|ARMORED WAR]] [[Everything's Worse with Bears|BEARS]]!!!'''

* In ''[[Mother 3]]'', Lucas, Kumatora and Duster eat some [[Mushroom Samba|unusual mushrooms]] while desperate for food. The mushrooms cause them to hallucinate that the monsters in the area are characters from their pasts. The party dog, Boney, is the only one not fooled, and whines and barks when the hallucinations begin to talk to the characters, attempting to warn the rest of the party as to their true nature. He also refuses to get into a beautiful sauna the party can rest in - if you visit it again after the effects of the mushrooms have worn off, you'll find the humans were {{spoiler|deliriously bathing in toxic sludge}}.

* In ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', there is a large guard dog-esque monster in Merlee's mansion who is chained up. When released, he runs past Mario and chases off the mansion's maid, who is actually one of the [[Big Bad|Big Bad's]] minions, the shapeshifting Mimi.

* When you first enter the main city in ''[[Shining the Holy Ark]]'' you see one of the villains walking around. A cute little puppy starts barking like crazy at her, a flash of light blinds you, she's gone and so is the puppy leaving a crying child.

 

* Similar to ''[[The Parent Trap (1961 film)|The Parent Trap]]'' example: see a particular webcomic modernization of [http://extd-grb-injoke.livejournal.com/17376.html The Prince and the Pauper].

* ''[[Blip]]'': The comic begins with K taking her dog Poo for a walk, and Poo begins barking at a man on the sidewalk. Said man turns out to be an angel in disguise.

* ''[[Freefall]]'''s inveterate kleptomaniac, coward and alien spaceship captain Sam Starfall notes that perceptive canines [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff500/fv00486.htm always give him trouble]. Florence, a Bowman's wolf, inverts this: while she is quite aware of, and works to thwart, her captain's moral failings (by human standards), she still seems fond of him.

* In ''[[Pandect]]'' - Ice (a Canine Ace: a dog with a human body and soul) can read a person's character by looking into his or her eyes.

* Mittens the cat in ''[[Parallel Dementia]]'' hisses to snap Fall out of a Nightmare-induced trance.

 

== Web Original ==

* In ''[[Marble Hornets]]'' and ''[[Seeking Truth]]'', dogs do not react well to the presence of the [[The Slender Man Mythos|resident]] [[Humanoid Abomination]]

* In [[Everyman HYBRID]], Alex's dog Sparky detects The Rake long before its first attack on Alex, and may well have been keeping The Rake from attacking while Sparky was in the room. Interesting given The Rake itself is a freakish dog-man.

* [[Reddit]] has [http://www.reddit.com/user/rapist_sniffing_dog rapist_sniffing_dog] and [http://www.reddit.com/user/racism_sniffing_dog racism_sniffing_dog].

 

** Also, Brian the dog is the only one who realizes Stewie is evil. Of course, that is more that he is the [[Only Sane Man]] on the show.

* In ''[[Samurai Jack]]'', a mouselike creature accepts food from him, but hisses and runs from his traveling companion Ikra {{spoiler|who turns out to be Aku in disguise.}}

* Radarr, [[Team Pet]] of the ''[[Storm Hawks]]'', detects evil in two episodes that were broadcast consecutively.

** In "Best Friends Forever", [[Big Bad]] Cyclonia disguises herself as an ally of the team. At first, only Radarr is able to sense that something's wrong.

* Played fairly straight on ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' "[[The Simpsons (animation)/Recap/S07/E04 Bart Sells His Soul|Bart Sells His Soul]]": after Bart sells his soul to Milhouse, the dog and cat both growl at him.

* In an episode of the ''[[Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends]]'' 80's series, Aunt May's puppy became a living lie detector, since thanks to her sense of smell she could point out who had his or her place stolen by shapeshifting villain The Chameleon.

* In the [[Gargoyles]] episode "City of Stone: Part 3", Bronx starts clawing at one of the tapestries just as Goliath and the clan are about to implement Xanatos's plan to end Demona's curse. When the gargoyles are gone, {{spoiler|Demona comes out from a secret passage behind said tapestry with a mace, ready to smash Elisa to bits and dispose of the others.}}

** In another episode, he takes a liking to an Irish teenage boy, but growls and barks at his female friend. Turns out that {{spoiler|his friend is actually the Banshee in disguise, and that she was only his friend to keep him from discovering that he is the reincarnation of her warrior nemesis.}}

* In the [[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]] episode 'Run for your Ed', the Kankers lost their 'Ship Inna Bottle' due to Ed's sleepwalking. They decide to search the Cul-de-sac in their usual chaotic mischief, which results in mass destruction. Prior to that, Rolf's animals catch on to their impending visit and all flip out (from his goat standing stiff, his chickens and pig screaming and flailing around, [[Rule of Funny|and even a piece of fried chicken seem to give some reaction to Rolf when put against his ear]]). He quickly carries all his farm animals into the basement and closes it, waiting there for the rest of the episode.

{{quote|''Rolf'': The stench of immortal doom still thickens the air, yes? [[Casual Danger Dialogue|Or perhaps it is Wilfred's cabbage evacuation. Hard to tell.]]}}

 

== Real Life ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Animal Tropes]]

[[Category:Canine Tropes]]

[[Category:Pet and Animal Companion Tropes]]