Dog Gone (Family Guy)
Encyclopedia
"Dog Gone" is the eighth episode of the eighth season
of the animated
comedy series
Family Guy
. It originally aired on Fox
in the United States on November 29, 2009. The episode features Brian
, the family pet, attempting to prove that a dog's life is just as important as that of a human's, after he accidentally kills another dog with no consequences. Meanwhile, the Griffin family
hires Consuela, a stereotypical Hispanic woman, as the household maid
, which they each end up regretting once she takes advantage of the family's home.
The episode was written by series showrunner Steve Callaghan
and directed by Julius Wu
. It received high praise from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving some criticism from PETA
. According to Nielsen ratings
, it was viewed in 8.48 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Chris Matthews
, Nathan Gunn
, Eddie Sotelo, Fred Tatasciore
and Kel MacFarlane, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. It was first announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International. "Dog Gone" was released on DVD
along with seven other episodes from the season on June 15, 2010.
receives an invitation to an award ceremony celebrating his novel, Faster Than the Speed of Love, by the Rhode Island Society for Special Literary Excellence. Convinced he is a great writer, Brian attempts to gain the family's interest but fails to do so. Once he arrives at the "award ceremony" however, he discovers that he has misunderstood the meaning of the word "special
," and all of the club's members are mentally challenged, prompting him to drown his sorrows at the local bar and realize that he's not a writer at all, but a big fat joke. He drives home drunk that night and accidentally runs over and kills a dog. He secretly buries the dead dog's body outside the Griffin's home and tries to keep quiet about it. Stewie
, having witnessed his deed, begins to toy with Brian's guilt, eventually driving him to a state where he decides to confess to "murder". However, when he confesses to Joe and the Griffin family, they all laugh, saying that no one cares if a dog or any other animal is killed, especially by another animal.
Outraged, Brian starts a support group, and decides to call it "The Quahog Animal Equal Rights League," to convince the town that the life of animals should be of equal value to humans. As the town citizens learn more about it, however, none of them are keen on changing their lifestyles if it means no processed meats and medical research on animals, and even become interested in how dogs taste after Brian mentions they are eaten in some cultures. Refusing to listen any further, they chase after Brian in an attempt to eat him.
Brian realizes that if no one cares about the lives of animals, then he is worthless to the Griffin family and everyone else. Stewie finds Brian crying in the bathroom and is unable to break him out of his depression. Realizing how upset Brian is and feeling sorry for him, Stewie successfully fakes his death by putting his collar on a stray and killing it in a liquor store
fire. The Griffins are devastated upon learning about Brian's supposed death, and realize how close a friend he was to them. Seeing this, Stewie rushes upstairs to show Brian how much the Griffins still care about him, regardless of his species. Brian then realizes his life does have a purpose and thanks Stewie for helping him, and decides to remain hidden to let the Griffins grieve a little longer.
Meanwhile, Quagmire
accidentally knocks over a carton of Kool-Aid
mix on the kitchen floor of the Griffin's house and leaves Peter
to take the blame. Frustrated with having to clean Peter's messes, Lois
hires a Hispanic maid named Consuela to clean their house. But Consuela quickly proves to be very stubborn, refusing to leave after her work hours and sleeping at the Griffins' house overnight, much to Peter and Lois's annoyance. They try to fire her and even bribe her to leave, but she still refuses (though she takes the money they offered her anyway). In a last-ditch attempt, Peter finally gets rid of her by tricking her into inhaling chloroform
on a handkerchief, and leaves her in a basket on Joe's front porch.
At the end, Peter lets us know that everyone at Family Guy respects all living beings and assures the viewers that no animals were harmed in the making of the episode, but they did hurt the feelings of an Italian opera singer by prematurely dropping the curtain on his performance.
on July 25, 2009, by future showrunner Steve Callaghan, the episode was directed by series regular, and former King of the Hill
and The Oblongs
director, Julius Wu
, and written by Callaghan before the conclusion of the eighth production season
. The episode saw the reintroduction of the recurring character Consuela, a Hispanic maid whose first appearance was in the sixth season episode "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air
". The character is voiced by main cast member Mike Henry.
"Dog Gone", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, were released on a three-disc DVD
set in the United States on June 15, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane and various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse
", and mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke.
In addition to the regular cast, anchor and political commentator Chris Matthews
, voice actor Fred Tatasciore
, opera singer Nathan Gunn
, radio personality Eddie Sotelo and Kel MacFarlane, webmaster of the Seth MacFarlane
fan site, guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Ralph Garman
, writer John Viener, writer Mark Hentemann
, actress Alex Breckenridge
, writer Alec Sulkin
and writer Danny Smith
also made minor appearances.
on the internet search engine Google
. Later, after going to the bar to drink, Brian talks to Bill, the father from The Family Circus
syndicated
comic strip. After Bill tells him he should have tried harder on writing his book, Brian responds by yelling that all Bill does is "judge" other people, and demands for him to go home and "fuck
his wife in the face", to which Bill agrees. This is also later recognized by Peter the next day, when he is seen reading the funnies
, and murmurs to himself, "this is a very shocking Family Circus."
News anchor and political commentator Chris Matthews' show entitled Hardball with Chris Matthews
is referenced by Stewie when he suggests Brian is getting a big head, with the guest, United States Senator
Harry Reid
then appearing on Matthews' forehead, suggesting Matthews is self-centered. After Reid continues to interrupt him, however, Matthews cuts to actor Kurtwood Smith
, in which Matthews appears on Smith's forehead instead.
Once Consuela is hired as the family maid, she first begins to annoy Peter by listening to a loud portable radio of stereotypical Latin music
, in which the singer repeats the Spanish phrase "¡Muchos horn-os!" which literally translates to "many ovens" but within the context of the show is actually meant to be Spanglish
for "many horns." In Consuela's final appearance in the episode, she is seen watching a commercial, which parodies local commercials urging viewers to hire a lawyer if they are in a car accident.
In an attempt to try to prove that an animal has the same rights as humans, Brian starts an advocacy group, and is suggested by Lois to join PETA
, but she is unable to enunciate the word differently from how she pronounces "Peter," leading her husband to become confused. Brian goes on to create a public service announcement regarding animal rights, one of which involves a dog being "tortured" by having to listen to the radio show All Things Considered
on National Public Radio, which the dog's owner leaves on for him before leaving the house.
, despite airing simultaneously with Sunday Night Football
, the television movie A Dog Named Christmas
on CBS
and Desperate Housewives
on ABC
. The episode also acquired a 4.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, beating The Simpsons
, The Cleveland Show
and American Dad!
, but was ultimately edged out slightly by The Simpsons in total viewership.
Reviews of the episode were highly positive, citing the Brian and Stewie storyline as a "solid attempt to tell a good story," and the Consuela scenes as "terrific." Ahsan Haque of IGN
also noted that "the writers deserved some credit" for the episode, saying that, in comparison to past episodes the episode did not "come across as a haphazardly assembled string of jokes." Jason Hughes of TV Squad also found the Consuela scenes to be "hilarious," but found the final scene to be "strangely uncomfortable," expecting Meg to be pushed out of the family hug. Todd VanDerWerff of the The A.V. Club
praised the handling of Brian's character in the episode, and called the Peter and PETA gag "pretty cheap, but quite funny," giving the episode a B rating overall.
In a post on PETA's official blog, Amanda Schinke, however, was highly critical of the episode for its "myriad of violent deaths of cartoon dogs." In addition, she called for the show to "hire who can generate material that doesn't make us roll our eyes." In February 2010, "Dog Gone" won a Genesis Award
for television comedy.
Family Guy (season 8)
Family Guy eighth season first aired on the Fox network in twenty episodes from September 27, 2009 to May 23, 2010 before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It ran on Sunday nights between May and July 2010 on BBC Three in the UK...
of the animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
comedy series
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. It originally aired on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States on November 29, 2009. The episode features Brian
Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself...
, the family pet, attempting to prove that a dog's life is just as important as that of a human's, after he accidentally kills another dog with no consequences. Meanwhile, the Griffin family
Griffin family
The Griffin family is a family from the animated television series Family Guy. The Griffins are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Peter and Lois, their three children Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their dog Brian. They live at 31 Spooner Street in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode...
hires Consuela, a stereotypical Hispanic woman, as the household maid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
, which they each end up regretting once she takes advantage of the family's home.
The episode was written by series showrunner Steve Callaghan
Steve Callaghan
Steve Callaghan is an American screenwriter, producer and voice actor, best known for his work on Family Guy. He is a graduate of the Department of Public Policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs...
and directed by Julius Wu
Julius Wu
Julius Wu is an American animation director. Wu is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy.Wu has also served as a director, assistant director and storyboard artist on King of the Hill and The Oblongs, before their cancellation.-Family Guy:Wu joined...
. It received high praise from critics for its storyline and many cultural references, in addition to receiving some criticism from PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
. According to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, it was viewed in 8.48 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
, Nathan Gunn
Nathan Gunn
Nathan Gunn is an operatic baritone from the United States.He has appeared in many of world's well-known opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera,...
, Eddie Sotelo, Fred Tatasciore
Fred Tatasciore
Frederick "Fred" Tatasciore is an American voice actor who portrays secondary characters as well as monstrous-looking types...
and Kel MacFarlane, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. It was first announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International. "Dog Gone" was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
along with seven other episodes from the season on June 15, 2010.
Plot
After much anticipation, BrianBrian Griffin
Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself...
receives an invitation to an award ceremony celebrating his novel, Faster Than the Speed of Love, by the Rhode Island Society for Special Literary Excellence. Convinced he is a great writer, Brian attempts to gain the family's interest but fails to do so. Once he arrives at the "award ceremony" however, he discovers that he has misunderstood the meaning of the word "special
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
," and all of the club's members are mentally challenged, prompting him to drown his sorrows at the local bar and realize that he's not a writer at all, but a big fat joke. He drives home drunk that night and accidentally runs over and kills a dog. He secretly buries the dead dog's body outside the Griffin's home and tries to keep quiet about it. Stewie
Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
, having witnessed his deed, begins to toy with Brian's guilt, eventually driving him to a state where he decides to confess to "murder". However, when he confesses to Joe and the Griffin family, they all laugh, saying that no one cares if a dog or any other animal is killed, especially by another animal.
Outraged, Brian starts a support group, and decides to call it "The Quahog Animal Equal Rights League," to convince the town that the life of animals should be of equal value to humans. As the town citizens learn more about it, however, none of them are keen on changing their lifestyles if it means no processed meats and medical research on animals, and even become interested in how dogs taste after Brian mentions they are eaten in some cultures. Refusing to listen any further, they chase after Brian in an attempt to eat him.
Brian realizes that if no one cares about the lives of animals, then he is worthless to the Griffin family and everyone else. Stewie finds Brian crying in the bathroom and is unable to break him out of his depression. Realizing how upset Brian is and feeling sorry for him, Stewie successfully fakes his death by putting his collar on a stray and killing it in a liquor store
Liquor store
In the United States, Australia and Canada, a liquor store is a type of store that specializes in the sale of alcoholic beverages. In South Africa and Namibia these stores are generally called bottle stores....
fire. The Griffins are devastated upon learning about Brian's supposed death, and realize how close a friend he was to them. Seeing this, Stewie rushes upstairs to show Brian how much the Griffins still care about him, regardless of his species. Brian then realizes his life does have a purpose and thanks Stewie for helping him, and decides to remain hidden to let the Griffins grieve a little longer.
Meanwhile, Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire, often referred to as just Quagmire, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. Quagmire is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family. He is best known for his hypersexuality...
accidentally knocks over a carton of Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid is a brand of flavored drink mix owned by the Kraft Foods Company.-History:Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska, United States. All of his experiments took place in his mother's kitchen. Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack...
mix on the kitchen floor of the Griffin's house and leaves Peter
Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
to take the blame. Frustrated with having to clean Peter's messes, Lois
Lois Griffin
Lois Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by writer Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane...
hires a Hispanic maid named Consuela to clean their house. But Consuela quickly proves to be very stubborn, refusing to leave after her work hours and sleeping at the Griffins' house overnight, much to Peter and Lois's annoyance. They try to fire her and even bribe her to leave, but she still refuses (though she takes the money they offered her anyway). In a last-ditch attempt, Peter finally gets rid of her by tricking her into inhaling chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
on a handkerchief, and leaves her in a basket on Joe's front porch.
At the end, Peter lets us know that everyone at Family Guy respects all living beings and assures the viewers that no animals were harmed in the making of the episode, but they did hurt the feelings of an Italian opera singer by prematurely dropping the curtain on his performance.
Production and development
First announced at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on July 25, 2009, by future showrunner Steve Callaghan, the episode was directed by series regular, and former King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
and The Oblongs
The Oblongs
The Oblongs is an American animated television program aimed at teenagers and adults. It is loosely based on a series of characters introduced in creator Angus Oblong's picture book entitled Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children...
director, Julius Wu
Julius Wu
Julius Wu is an American animation director. Wu is most notably known for directing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy.Wu has also served as a director, assistant director and storyboard artist on King of the Hill and The Oblongs, before their cancellation.-Family Guy:Wu joined...
, and written by Callaghan before the conclusion of the eighth production season
Family Guy (season 8)
Family Guy eighth season first aired on the Fox network in twenty episodes from September 27, 2009 to May 23, 2010 before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. It ran on Sunday nights between May and July 2010 on BBC Three in the UK...
. The episode saw the reintroduction of the recurring character Consuela, a Hispanic maid whose first appearance was in the sixth season episode "Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air
Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air
"Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air" is a season six episode 3 of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. Bonnie tells Joe that she is tired of being married to a handicapped person so he decides to get a leg transplant. Excited about his new ability to walk, Joe dives head first into...
". The character is voiced by main cast member Mike Henry.
"Dog Gone", along with the seven other episodes from Family Guys eighth season, were released on a three-disc DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set in the United States on June 15, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Seth MacFarlane and various crew and cast members for several episodes, a collection of deleted scenes, a special mini-feature which discussed the process behind animating "Road to the Multiverse
Road to the Multiverse
"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009...
", and mini-feature entitled Family Guy Karaoke.
In addition to the regular cast, anchor and political commentator Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
, voice actor Fred Tatasciore
Fred Tatasciore
Frederick "Fred" Tatasciore is an American voice actor who portrays secondary characters as well as monstrous-looking types...
, opera singer Nathan Gunn
Nathan Gunn
Nathan Gunn is an operatic baritone from the United States.He has appeared in many of world's well-known opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera,...
, radio personality Eddie Sotelo and Kel MacFarlane, webmaster of the Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
fan site, guest starred in the episode. Recurring guest voice actors Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
, writer John Viener, writer Mark Hentemann
Mark Hentemann
Mark Hentemann is an American animation writer. Hentemann is most notably known for writing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy...
, actress Alex Breckenridge
Alex Breckenridge
Alexandra "Alex" Breckenridge is an American film and television actress, photographer and voice artist. Noted for her role as Willa McPherson on the television series Dirt, she also had a supporting role on the short lived series The Ex List...
, writer Alec Sulkin
Alec Sulkin
Alec Sulkin is an American television writer. Most notable for writing and producing several episodes of the animated series Family Guy, he has also contributed to The Cleveland Show, another series by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane....
and writer Danny Smith
Danny Smith (writer)
Daniel "Danny" Smith is an executive producer, writer and voice actor on the American animated television series Family Guy. He has been with the show since its inception and throughout the years has contributed many episodes, such as "Holy Crap", "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz", "Chitty...
also made minor appearances.
Cultural references
In the opening scene of the episode, Stewie is seen going through Brian's internet history, which includes searches about himselfEgosurfing
Egosurfing is the practice of searching for one's own given name, surname, full name, pseudonym, or screen name on a popular search engine, to see what results appear...
on the internet search engine Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. Later, after going to the bar to drink, Brian talks to Bill, the father from The Family Circus
The Family Circus
The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from...
syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
comic strip. After Bill tells him he should have tried harder on writing his book, Brian responds by yelling that all Bill does is "judge" other people, and demands for him to go home and "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
his wife in the face", to which Bill agrees. This is also later recognized by Peter the next day, when he is seen reading the funnies
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, and murmurs to himself, "this is a very shocking Family Circus."
Hardball with Chris Matthews
Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...
is referenced by Stewie when he suggests Brian is getting a big head, with the guest, United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
then appearing on Matthews' forehead, suggesting Matthews is self-centered. After Reid continues to interrupt him, however, Matthews cuts to actor Kurtwood Smith
Kurtwood Smith
Kurtwood Larson Smith is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing Clarence Boddicker in RoboCop and stern parental characters , and for his appearances in the genre of science fiction...
, in which Matthews appears on Smith's forehead instead.
Once Consuela is hired as the family maid, she first begins to annoy Peter by listening to a loud portable radio of stereotypical Latin music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
, in which the singer repeats the Spanish phrase "¡Muchos horn-os!" which literally translates to "many ovens" but within the context of the show is actually meant to be Spanglish
Spanglish
.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
for "many horns." In Consuela's final appearance in the episode, she is seen watching a commercial, which parodies local commercials urging viewers to hire a lawyer if they are in a car accident.
In an attempt to try to prove that an animal has the same rights as humans, Brian starts an advocacy group, and is suggested by Lois to join PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
, but she is unable to enunciate the word differently from how she pronounces "Peter," leading her husband to become confused. Brian goes on to create a public service announcement regarding animal rights, one of which involves a dog being "tortured" by having to listen to the radio show All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
on National Public Radio, which the dog's owner leaves on for him before leaving the house.
Reception
In an improvement over the previous four episodes, the episode was viewed in 8.48 million homes in its original airing, according to Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, despite airing simultaneously with Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football is a weekly American football game held throughout most of the season by the National Football League. Sunday night games have been played regularly since 1987 and have thus far aired on three different television outlets:...
, the television movie A Dog Named Christmas
A Dog Named Christmas
A Dog Named Christmas is a 2009 American television film that debuted on CBS as a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on November 29, 2009. The film was produced by Brent Shields, directed by Peter Werner and written by Jenny Wingfield, who based the script from a novel of the same name by Greg...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The episode also acquired a 4.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, beating The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
and American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, but was ultimately edged out slightly by The Simpsons in total viewership.
Reviews of the episode were highly positive, citing the Brian and Stewie storyline as a "solid attempt to tell a good story," and the Consuela scenes as "terrific." Ahsan Haque of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
also noted that "the writers deserved some credit" for the episode, saying that, in comparison to past episodes the episode did not "come across as a haphazardly assembled string of jokes." Jason Hughes of TV Squad also found the Consuela scenes to be "hilarious," but found the final scene to be "strangely uncomfortable," expecting Meg to be pushed out of the family hug. Todd VanDerWerff of the The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
praised the handling of Brian's character in the episode, and called the Peter and PETA gag "pretty cheap, but quite funny," giving the episode a B rating overall.
In a post on PETA's official blog, Amanda Schinke, however, was highly critical of the episode for its "myriad of violent deaths of cartoon dogs." In addition, she called for the show to "hire who can generate material that doesn't make us roll our eyes." In February 2010, "Dog Gone" won a Genesis Award
Genesis Awards
The Genesis Awards are awarded annually to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, the awards show takes place every March in California...
for television comedy.