History Main / CaligulasHorse

* In ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', [[PresidentEvil Chief Judge Cal]], who was based on UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}}, appointed his goldfish to the position of Deputy Chief Judge.
** An Orangutan was also elected mayor once.
*** The Judges put the orangutan as a candidate to show the people how ridiculous democracy was and how good their regime was. [[RuleOfFunny The orangutan won by a landslide is considered one of the best leaders Mega City One ever had.]]

* The ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' episode "Craig's Will", the VillainProtagonist's motivation is that an old man whose money she was [[GoldDigger hoping to get]] leaves his money to his dog.

** An Orangutang was also elected mayor once.

* On ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', it is discovered that the real town founder was Quentin Tremblay, a CloudCuckoolander who was once elected President. Among his acts during his short term, he appointed babies to the Supreme Court.

Doesn't apply if the animal is intelligent and [[TalkingAnimal capable of communication]], and could reasonably handle the demands of the office.

Also, it doesn't necessarily have to be an ''animal'' — making a statue a vice president would also qualify.

* One Andermani Emperor tried to do this for his potted plants in the backstory of the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novels. He was quietly deposed. By his own sister, who, by common agreement, was one of the most successful Andremani Emperors of all time.

* One Andermani Emperor tried to do this for his potted plants in the backstory of the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novels. He was quietly deposed.

* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', when the scandals at Hal's company finally come to light one of the many revelations is that the chief financial officer had his dog on the board of directors. Hal himself is disturbed that he had CCd the dog on several memos.

* Creator/DaveBarry's "1987: Look Back in Horror":
-->March 18--The [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball Southern Methodist University football team]] is suspended from intercollegiate athletics when National Collegiate Athletic Association investigators, after taking urine samples, determine that the school's leading rusher, majoring in communications, is a horse.\\
23--The Southern Methodist University horse is drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs.

* In ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', [[PresidentEvil Chief Judge Cal]], who was based on Caligula, appointed his goldfish to the position of Deputy Chief Judge.

* A rare case of such a character being the main protagonist, the film ''BaileysBillions'' had the titular character, a dog named Bailey, inheriting $1 billion from a deceased relative, causing the woman's nephew and his wife to try to kidnap the dog to gain the inheritance.
** Similarly, the movie ''TheAristocats'' had a Paris woman deciding to allow the Cats to inherit her estate, with her butler intending to off the cats before she dies so he could acquire the inheritance.

* The ''AlfredHitchcockPresents'' episode "Craig's Will", the VillainProtagonist's motivation is that an old man whose money she was [[GoldDigger hoping to get]] leaves his money to his dog.
* In ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'', when the scandals at Hal's company finally come to light one of the many revelations is that the chief financial officer had his dog on the board of directors. Hal himself is disturbed that he had CCd the dog on several memos.

* Referenced in ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', when Bailey explains her idea of a "big city:" "Any place where the mayor isn't a goose."
* In one episode of ''TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', there is a rather loopy corporate executive who took investment advice from his dog (There was mention of him investing in General Motors because the dog chased a Buick). By the time of the episode, Sparky the dog had been dead for months - but his owner had him stuffed and mounted in his office and ''still'' took investment advice from it.

* In ''TheSimpsons'', the nuclear plant is actually owned by a canary, so that if the government ever conducts a proper investigation, the canary is the one that will go to jail. Mr. Burns implies that this is standard practice, saying "Standard Oil was once owned by a half-eaten lunch." In another episode, he made a dog a vice president.

* One BugsBunny cartoon had Bugs and Yosemite Sam running against each other for mayor. They were defeated by a [[IncrediblyLamePun dark horse]] candidate. An actual dark horse is the town's new mayor. (Mare?) Bugs doesn't count, since he's a TalkingAnimal. The new mayor only neighs.

* TropeNamer: EmperorCaligula famously planned to appoint his favorite horse Incitatus to the consulship, the Prime Minister of Rome. However, it's a little more complicated than it sounds. He may have done this in order to mock the Senate. ("My horse could do as good a job as any of you clowns! I'll just teach him to stamp once for 'yes' and twice for 'no comment'.") It may have been a rumor started after his death. Or he genuinely might have been completely insane, which was the firm position of most ancient writers.

* Pulvapies, a brand of foot powder, has once ran for and got successfully elected as the mayor of a small town in Ecuador. This happened thanks to a series of election-themed ads that said "Vote for any candidate, but if you want well-being and hygiene, vote for Pulvapies." People took these ads at face value and actually voted for the product. No word exists of how the problem of having an inanimate object as mayor was resolved.

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', Cartagia was rumored to have a secret council made of people he had beheaded when they opposed his move to reach out to the Shadows, which was dubbed "The Shadow Council". The rumors turn out to be true; in fact, Cartagia [[MummiesAtTheDinnerTable continues to argue with the severed heads]].

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', Cartagia was rumored to have a secret council made of people he had beheaded when they opposed his move to reach out to the Shadows, which was dubbed "The Shadow Council". The rumors turn out to be true.

* In ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'', when the scandals at Hal's company finally come to light one of the many revelations is that the company president had his dog on the board of directors. Hal himself is disturbed that he had cc'd the dog on several memos.

One of the surest signs that the king, [[PresidentEvil president]], or [[PointyHairedBoss CEO]] has gone completely [[TheCaligula off the deep end]] is when he appoints one of his pets to a senior position within the government or company.

* TropeNamer: EmperorCaligula famously planned to appoint his favorite horse Incitatus to the consulship, the highest office in Rome. However, it's a little more complicated than it sounds. He may have done this in order to mock the Senate. ("My horse could do as good a job as any of you clowns! I'll just teach him to stamp once for 'yes' and twice for 'no comment'.") It may have been a rumor started after his death. Or he genuinely might have been completely insane, which was the firm position of most ancient writers.

* TropeNamer: EmperorCaligula famously planned to appoint his favorite horse Incitatus to the consulship, the highest office in Rome. However, it's a little more complicated than it sounds. He may have done this in order to mock the senate. It may have been a rumor started after his death. Or he genuinely might have been completely insane, which was the firm position of most ancient writers.

* Discussed in Lord Chesterfield's ''Literature/LettersToHisSon''. "He [=the Cardinal de Retz] is persuaded that when Caligula made his horse a Consul, the people of Rome, at that time, were not greatly surprised at it, having necessarily been in some degree prepared for it, by an insensible gradation of extravagances from the same quarter." (letter 50)

* In the film ''Film/{{Gordy}}'' the head of a major corporation hands over control to the title character, a small pig, upon his death. The film treats this as a good thing.

*** Its also implied that hiring animals to even work at the plant, never mind making them high officials, was one of Mr. Burns' quirks, as in the episode "The Last Temptation of Homer Simpson", it was shown that he had, aside from hiring an illegal Iranian immigrant worker, also had hired a duck named "Stewart" as a low level employee who tows nuclear waste. This may be less outright insanity and more Mr. Burns' cheapness combined with a callous disregard for human life that may as well be insanity.
*** In the episode with the flashback of Maggie's birth, Homer briefly quit his job. When he returned to the plant he found he had been replaced with a chicken. Which he later ate. In the episode with Mindie, Mr. Burns was trying to find a pair of employees ''not'' trying to kill each other. One of the security feeds caught a chicken fighting a co-worker -- and winning.

* As part of his TurnOfTheMillennium news/satire program "The Awful Truth," MichaelMoore had a potted ficus plant as a write-in candidate in over 20 U.S. Congressional primaries, because he objected to the incumbents running unopposed. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqa_bhwA-1E Watch the segment on Youtube.]] It beat the incumbent in at least one race.