Mister Muffykins: Difference between revisions

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[[File:mistamuggles.jpg|link=Heroes (TV)|frame|''So'' close to being the [[Trope Namer]]...]]

[[File:mistamuggles.jpg|link=Heroes (TV series)|frame|''So'' close to being the [[Trope Namer]]...]]

{{quote| "If God had intended for dogs to be fashion accessories, they would have been made with handles."|''from this Trope's [[YKTTW]]'' }}

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** She got some closure in a subversion, as when we next see Madame Muchmoney [[Took a Level In Badass|she's become muscular]] [[Character Development|and much less snobbish]] because she's ''been trekking through the wildness after her dear Snubbull the entire time.'' Snubbull evolves to Granbull and the two decide to be a "proper" pokemon/trainer team.

* There's also Madame Shijimi in ''[[Naruto]]''. Her cat, Tora, often gets loose and runs into the forest, so a common Genin mission is to retrieve it.

* Iggy from ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure ~~(Manga)~~|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' is a Boston Terrier who makes an ass of himself on several occasions, though he's more foul-smelling than loud. Still, he gets better, and finally {{spoiler|makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save Polnareff}}.

* Iggy from ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' is a Boston Terrier who makes an ass of himself on several occasions, though he's more foul-smelling than loud. Still, he gets better, and finally {{spoiler|makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save Polnareff}}.

== [[Comics]] ==

* In the [[Tintin ~~(Comic Book)~~]] album ''The Secret of the Unicorn'', Tintin waits for an extended period of time to use a phone box. After what is implied to be at least a half hour, an old woman with a small dog exits, saying "We can go now Fifi, it has stopped raining." She gets an ''extremely'' dirty look from him.

* In the [[Tintin]] album ''The Secret of the Unicorn'', Tintin waits for an extended period of time to use a phone box. After what is implied to be at least a half hour, an old woman with a small dog exits, saying "We can go now Fifi, it has stopped raining." She gets an ''extremely'' dirty look from him.

** Note that Tintin is the proud owner of Milou/ Snowy, a wire fox terrier.

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* Fifi, the poodle from ''[[Open Season|Open Season 2]]''; a good not-so-old example of one of these little yappers having an evil little heart.

* Natalie (Sarah Jessica Parker) in ''[[Mars Attacks (Film)]]'' has a yapping Chihuahua that she carries everywhere. {{spoiler|In [[Crosses the Line Twice|an horrible yet hilarious]] turn of events, when they're captured by the martians, both are beheaded and the dog's head is sewn on Natalie's body, and viceversa. }}

* ''[[Snakes On a Plane]]'' features blond socialite Mercedes and her teacup Chihuahua Mary Kate as two of the ill-fated passengers. Mercedes carries the little yipyap dog in her purse and even has antidepressants for it. {{spoiler|Mary Kate ultimately gets fed to a boa constrictor, who turns on and devours the asshole who threw it the dog.}}

* ''[[Snakes on a Plane]]'' features blond socialite Mercedes and her teacup Chihuahua Mary Kate as two of the ill-fated passengers. Mercedes carries the little yipyap dog in her purse and even has antidepressants for it. {{spoiler|Mary Kate ultimately gets fed to a boa constrictor, who turns on and devours the asshole who threw it the dog.}}

* Queenie in the [[Danny Kaye]] version of ''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'', who sits in a high chair to eat, wears a bib, and barks whenever the main character moves.

== [[Literature]] ==

* Mrs. Pumphrey and her dog Tricki Woo from the ''[[~~All Creatures Great and Small (TV)|~~All Creatures Great and Small]]'' novels and TV series by [[James Herriot]]. This is a relatively benign example, since Tricki is very good-natured and his owner is a very well-meaning person, but highly over-indulgent of Tricki's appetite.

* Mrs. Pumphrey and her dog Tricki Woo from the ''[[All Creatures Great and Small]]'' novels and TV series by [[James Herriot]]. This is a relatively benign example, since Tricki is very good-natured and his owner is a very well-meaning person, but highly over-indulgent of Tricki's appetite.

* In ''[[~~Animorphs (Literature)|~~Animorphs]]'', Marco's stepmother has a toy poodle named "Euclid" (she's a math teacher) who barks and acts annoying whenever it gets the least little bit excited. Unlike many other examples of the trope, it really ''is'' the poodle that is annoying, while the owner is someone Marco can learn to like. At the end of the book, Marco learns to accept his father's choice to get remarried, but he still hates the dog. Later on [[wikipedia:Image:Animorphs 35 The Proposal.jpg|he turns into the dog]] to [[Secret Test of Character|harass a]] (secretly psychotic) celebrity philanthropist [[The Virus|Controller]] into attempting to strangle him on live television. [[Kick the Dog|It worked]].

* In ''[[Animorphs]]'', Marco's stepmother has a toy poodle named "Euclid" (she's a math teacher) who barks and acts annoying whenever it gets the least little bit excited. Unlike many other examples of the trope, it really ''is'' the poodle that is annoying, while the owner is someone Marco can learn to like. At the end of the book, Marco learns to accept his father's choice to get remarried, but he still hates the dog. Later on [[wikipedia:Image:Animorphs 35 The Proposal.jpg|he turns into the dog]] to [[Secret Test of Character|harass a]] (secretly psychotic) celebrity philanthropist [[The Virus|Controller]] into attempting to strangle him on live television. [[Kick the Dog|It worked]].

* In the ''[[Molly Moon]]'' books, the first ally Molly makes is a pug belonging to the owner of her orphanage, who dotes on it. Petula, the dog, is fed tons of cookies, which give her horrible stomachaches, making her nasty. Molly cures her of her cookie addiction via hypnotherapy, and she becomes lovable and friendly without the horrible pain.

* It's implied that Big Fido, the mad poodle that led the anti-human "Dog's Guild" in ''[[Discworld ~~(Literature)~~/Men At Arms|Men at Arms]]'' was one of these before he went insane. ''[[Discworld ~~(Literature)~~/Making Money|Making Money]]'' features a slightly more likable example in Topsy Lavish's dog Mr. Fusspot.

* It's implied that Big Fido, the mad poodle that led the anti-human "Dog's Guild" in ''[[Discworld/Men At Arms|Men at Arms]]'' was one of these before he went insane. ''[[Discworld/Making Money|Making Money]]'' features a slightly more likable example in Topsy Lavish's dog Mr. Fusspot.

** And in ''[[Discworld ~~(Literature)~~/The Truth|The Truth]]'', Gaspode attempts to disguise himself as one of these, with mixed results:

** And in ''[[Discworld/The Truth|The Truth]]'', Gaspode attempts to disguise himself as one of these, with mixed results:

{{quote| "All in all, the effect was not of a poodle, but of malformed poodlosity. That is to say, everything about it suggested "poodle" except for the whole thing itself, which suggested walking away."}}

** [[Discworld|Lord Vetinari]] once had an elderly terrier named Wuffles, perhaps his own version of the [[Right-Hand-Cat]]. [[Cute but Cacophonic|It wasn't terribly obnoxious though]], having a thin wheezing bark.

** Also notable for being the only character to fight Mr. Pin and Mr. Tulip (in The Truth) head on and come away unscathed. No wonder Vetinari keeps him around, he's nearly as badass as his owner.

* In T. H. White's ''[[The Once and Future King]]'', Queen Morgause (who in this adaptation (and ''[[Le Morte ~~Darthur (Literature)~~|Le Morte Darthur]]'') is the mother of Mordred; Morgan La Fay is Morgause's sister and doesn't get involved in the story until later) has a succession of these little lapdogs. Mordred grows up hating them, but as an increasingly unstable adult starts keeping his own.

* In T. H. White's ''[[The Once and Future King]]'', Queen Morgause (who in this adaptation (and ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur|Le Morte Darthur]]'') is the mother of Mordred; Morgan La Fay is Morgause's sister and doesn't get involved in the story until later) has a succession of these little lapdogs. Mordred grows up hating them, but as an increasingly unstable adult starts keeping his own.

* In the first ''[[Mary Poppins]]'' book, Miss Lark very much plays the stereotypical rich old lady who dotes on her spoiled and pampered lapdog. Said lapdog, Andrew, is revealed to absolutely hate this treatment and wishing for a simpler dog's life.

* Buffalo Bill, a kidnapper and [[Serial Killer]] in ''[[The Silence of the Lambs]]'' has one named Precious. Its strident needy yapping gives that extra inflection to the already horrific pit scenes.

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* In [[Eva Ibbotson]]'s ''Which Witch'', Sir Simon claims that he murdered one of his seven wives because she had a 'little dog that yapped.'

* The version of the Lady encountered by [[Repairman Jack]] in ''Gateways'' has a chihuahua named Irving (pronounced Oyving). He's a classic cute, handbag-riding [[Mister Muffykins]] {{spoiler|and secret [[Killer Rabbit]]}}.

* [[CS ~~Lewis~~ ~~(Creator)~~|CS Lewis]]'s ''[[Literature/The Four Loves|The Four Loves]]'' talks about having pets and the possibility of giving them this treatment, and how the animal could never tell the truth about its ruined life even if it could realize the extent of the damage.

* [[C. S. Lewis|CS Lewis]]'s ''[[Literature/The Four Loves|The Four Loves]]'' talks about having pets and the possibility of giving them this treatment, and how the animal could never tell the truth about its ruined life even if it could realize the extent of the damage.

* Many dogs of this type appear in [[PG ~~Wodehouse~~ ~~(Creator)~~|PG Wodehouse]]'s works as the companions to [[Evil Matriarch|evil aunts]] and [[Thinks Like a Romance Novel|soppy heroines]]. They're almost universally disliked by the heroes, although [[Jeeves and Wooster (~~Literature~~)|Jeeves and Wooster]] end up becoming quite fond of McIntosh, Aunt Agatha's [[Dogs Are Dumb|dim-witted]] aberdeen terrier.

* Many dogs of this type appear in [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]]'s works as the companions to [[Evil Matriarch|evil aunts]] and [[Thinks Like a Romance Novel|soppy heroines]]. They're almost universally disliked by the heroes, although [[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]] end up becoming quite fond of McIntosh, Aunt Agatha's [[Dogs Are Dumb|dim-witted]] aberdeen terrier.

* In ''[[~~Warrior Cats (Literature)|~~Warrior Cats]]'', these appear a couple times. It's a relief to the cats to be facing such a small dog, since they often can scare it away, as opposed to the much larger dogs that local humans usually own.

* In ''[[Warrior Cats]]'', these appear a couple times. It's a relief to the cats to be facing such a small dog, since they often can scare it away, as opposed to the much larger dogs that local humans usually own.

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* Mrs. Bennett and her dog, Mr. Muggles (pictured), in ''[[Heroes (TV)|Heroes]]''.

* Mrs. Bennett and her dog, Mr. Muggles (pictured), in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''.

** There are so many [[Epileptic Trees|fan theories]] about this otherwise unassuming little Pom. Who says only humans get to be genetically gifted?

** It also said something that when Sylar held the family hostage that fans were upset that he didn't kill it.

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* Evita, the dog [[Driven to Suicide]] (really) by Angel in ''[[Rent]]'', was described as yappy - but is an Akita, a relatively large breed.

** [[They Might Be Giants|Evita's suicide can be justified.]]

* Once again invoking the [[Zeroth Law of Trope Examples]], a dog of this type was mentioned in ''[[~~Two Gentlemen of Verona (Theatre)|~~Two Gentlemen of Verona]]''. Launce (who contemptuously referred to it as a "squirrel") was supposed to deliver it to Sylvia as a present from his master, but it got stolen by the local hooligans and he replaced it with his dog, Crab, who was ten times larger. It didn't go over well.

* Once again invoking the [[Zeroth Law of Trope Examples]], a dog of this type was mentioned in ''[[Two Gentlemen of Verona]]''. Launce (who contemptuously referred to it as a "squirrel") was supposed to deliver it to Sylvia as a present from his master, but it got stolen by the local hooligans and he replaced it with his dog, Crab, who was ten times larger. It didn't go over well.

== [[Video Games]] ==

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** Wynne tries to dress up [[Big Friendly Dog|Dog]], a trained attack animal the size of a small horse with near-human intelligence, as if he were one of these and speaks to him as if he were a baby. She (jokingly?) suggests using magic to give him a bigger and fluffier tail, changing the color of his fur, and ''giving him antlers''. Dog plays along at first, then steals her staff to keep her from actually going through with it.

* In ''[[Nancy Drew]] Dossier: Resorting To Danger'', a yappy Pomeranian named Mr. Mingles absconds with evidence and must be chased down and/or rescued repeatedly. His owner's attitude is even worse than most examples {{spoiler|but if you choose the ending where she's the culprit, and bust her, the dog gets a new owner who treats him like a beloved pet rather than a fashion accessory.}}

* In ''[[Professor Layton and ~~The~~ Diabolical Box]]'', a heavyset rich woman named Babette flips out because her precious little boy Tom is missing on the train, and she demands that Layton, Luke, and Inspector Chelmey all search for him. Naturally, her [[Insistent Terminology]] in referring to Tom as her little boy has them hunting for a child, and of course, Layton eventually realizes that the missing Tom is actually a dog.

* In ''[[Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box]]'', a heavyset rich woman named Babette flips out because her precious little boy Tom is missing on the train, and she demands that Layton, Luke, and Inspector Chelmey all search for him. Naturally, her [[Insistent Terminology]] in referring to Tom as her little boy has them hunting for a child, and of course, Layton eventually realizes that the missing Tom is actually a dog.

* ''[[King's Quest VII]]'' comes with two varieties: The villain's pet... thing, who is every bit as obnoxious as her owner(though not quite as able to send you to the [[The Many Deaths of You|game over screen]]. Also, the town of [[Wackyland|Falderal]] is led by a talking variety, Archduke Fifi le Yip Yap, who is only tolerable due to the fact that every citizen of the town is certifiably insane, and he just happens to be par for the course.

* ''[[Ghost Trick]]'' has you save one named Missile. A small Pomeranian, who he himself admits, is only really good a yapping loudly and not much else. However with the help of the protagonist's supernatural ghost tricks, is able to save himself and his mistress from a hitman. {{spoiler|He later gains his own ghost tricks and becomes an important ally later on in the game}}.

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* Queen Elizabeth II's corgis are rumoured to attach themselves to the odd ankle, though given Her Majesty is meant to be a very good dog trainer, the extent to which this is true is dubious...

* One problem with small dogs is that their owners often fail to train them properly, figuring that they're too small to actually do any damage if they misbehave. It's a bad-owner problem rather than a bad-dog problem, resulting in a yapping, snapping, house-fouling little beast which has always been allowed to get away with behaviour that wouldn't be tolerated in a bigger breed.

** See roughly one ''[[~~Its Me or The Dog (TV)|~~It's Me or the Dog]]'' segment in three.

** See roughly one ''[[It's Me or the Dog]]'' segment in three.

** The other problem is that a lot of small dogs are terriers. Terriers are bred to be high energy, stubborn, independent, vermin killing machines; the cuteness is mearly a side effect of their needing to fit down small tunnels. If they are not excercised, socialised, disciplined, and stimulated properly (read at least one hour of walking every day, plus access to a secure garden, plus consistant enforcement of acceptable behaviours, plus very tough toys, plus intensive meet-and-greet with other dogs and people from the puppy onwards) they will turn into pint sized dictators. Not handbag dogs in the slightest.