History Main / LabPet

* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife 2'', Kleiner has Lamarr, a pet headcrab.

* Inverted in ''Franchise/{{Neopets}}'', which allows you to acquire a "lab ray" after completing a secret laboratory map. You may then zap your neopets (now dubbed "lab rats") with the ray, causing random changes in size, gender, color and species.

!!'''Examples:'''

[[AC: AnimeAndManga]]

[[AC: {{Film}}]]

* In ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderman'' Dr. Connors names his lab rats Fred and Wilma. At no point is a dissection considered.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* Literature/FromTheEarthToTheMoon has a 19th century inversion: in order to test whether the rocket's living compartment is secure, several animals are put inside including a cat and a pet squirrel belonging to one of the Gun Club. A week later, the compartment is opened, but the squirrel has evidently been eaten by the cat. The distraught owner wants to put its name on a monument as a martyr for science.

[[AC: {{Live-Action TV}}]]

* Inverted in ''Series/{{House}}'': House captures a wild rat in a co-worker's home, and decides to keep it as a pet, naming it "Steve [=McQueen=]." It is later indicated that he occasionally uses the rat for medical experiments.

[[AC: {{Radio}}]]

[[AC: {{Video Games}}]]

[[AC: {{Web Comic}}]]
* Lindisfarne, the daughter of WebComic/KevinAndKell has two mice as lab animals she wants to use in a school project on carpal tunnel. Of course, she [[http://www.kevinandkell.com/1996/kk1022.html plays this straight]]

[[AC: {{Web Original}}]]

[[AC: {{Western Animation}}]]

* In the short lived WarnerBrothers series, ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'', Elmyra from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' acquires WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain as pets when Acme Labs goes bankrupt.

[[AC:RealLife]]

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/php0vvC5VPM_303.jpg]]]]

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Mr. Boynton has a habit of naming many of his lab animals. However, that doesn't prevent him from doing fatal tests on them. In "New Girl in Town", it's revealed that he has been burying his mouse martyrs to science in the athletic field. Moreover, Miss Brooks has been (reluctantly) helping him.
** Averted in the case of Mr. Boynton's pet frog Mcdougall. Although Mac is usually kept in the lab, he's a personal pet and not used for testing. Usually Mac's kept in a separate cage. However in the [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Mr. Boynton seems to have temporarily placed Mcdougall with a number of other frogs.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Mr. Boynton has a habit of naming many of his lab animals. However, that doesn't prevent him from doing fatal tests on them. In "New Girl in Town", it's revealed that he has been burying his mouse martyrs to science in the athletic field. Moreover, Miss Brooks has been (reluctantly) helping him.
** Averted in the case of Mr. Boynton's pet frog Mcdougall. Although Mac is usually kept in the lab, he's a personal pet and not used for testing. Usually Mac's kept in a separate cage. However in the [[TheMovie theatrical]] [[GrandFinale series finale]], Mr. Boynton seems to have temporarily placed Mcdougall with a number of other frogs.

* The bunnies in ''TheSecretWorldOfAlexMack'' are named and are never killed or dissected, not surprising as it is a children's show.

* In ''WesternAnimation/PowerPuffGirls'' Mojo Jojo started out as the professor's lab pet.

* In the short lived WarnerBrothers series, ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'', Elmyra from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' acquires PinkyAndTheBrain as pets when Acme Labs goes bankrupt.

* The Medic's doves from "VideoGame/TeamFortress 2" are never used in any of his experiments, but they do hang around the lab. One of the birds, named Archimedes, has a habit of tunneling through the innards of the patient Medic is currently working on.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/php0vvC5VPM_303.jpg]]Any time you're involved in research that involves AnimalTesting it's generally a bad idea to get too attached to your test animals. Most of the time your experiment will end with these animals being killed and dissected (and not always InThatOrder).

* In the short lived WarnerBrothers series, ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'', Elmyra from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' acquires PinkyAndTheBrain as pets when Acme Labs goes bankrupt.

* Dr. Brundle is much too attached to his baboons in ''Film/TheFly''. This leaves him quite distraught when he turns one inside out.

* In ''Project X'', a researcher becomes a little too attached to a chimp that is about to be killed in an experiment. It turns out that the chimp knows sign language and bonds with the researcher.

* According to the opening cartoon in ''WesternAnimation/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', Roger was formerly a lab animal.

* Doctor Borous in the ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' add-on ''Old World Blues'' gave his dog Gabe, the closest thing in the world he had to a friend, as a subject for cyberdog enhancement research. If you complete a certain side-quest and present him with Gabe's dogbowl, he will have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment over this.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/php0vvC5VPM_303.jpg]]Any time you're involved in research that involves AnimalTesting it's generally a bad idea to get too attached to your test animals. Most of the time your experiment will end with these animals being killed and dissected (and not always in that order).

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/php0vvC5VPM_303.jpg]]Any time you're involved in research that involves AnimalTesting it's generally a bad idea to get too attached to your test animals. Most of the time your experiment will end with these animals being killed and dissected.

Since these animals have been experimented on, they may sometimes be an IntellectualAnimal, NearlyNormalAnimal or TalkingAnimal.

* In ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', Ein is a former lab animal called a "data dog", a Welsh Corgi which somehow had its intelligence enhanced. It is stolen from the laboratory, and eventually ends up as the Bebop pet and mascot, and friend to Ed.

* In ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', Ein is a former lab animal called a "data dog", which somehow had its intelligence enhanced. It is stolen, and eventually ends up as the Bebop pet and mascot, and friend to Ed.

* Literature/FromTheEarthToTheMoon has a 19th century version: in order to test whether the rocket's living compartment is secure, several animals are put inside including a cat and a pet squirrel belonging to one of the Gun Club. A week later, the compartment is opened, but the squirrel has evidently been eaten by the cat. The distraught owner wants to put its name on a monument as a martyr for science.

* ''Film/NightOfTheLepus'' has this as its set up, the Scientist's daughter has grown attached to one of the test rabbits, and she swaps him with one from the control group. When said rabbit escape, it leads to the invasion of giant rabbits.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/php0vvC5VPM_303.jpg]]Any time you're involved in research that involves AnimalTesting it's generally a bad idea to get too attached to your test animals. Most of the time your experiment will end with these animals being killed and dissected.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/php0vvC5VPM_303.jpg]]Any time you're involved in research that involves AnimalTesting it's generally a bad idea to get too attached to your test animals. Most of the time your experiment will end with these animals being killed and dissected.

Any time you're involved in research that involves AnimalTesting it's generally a bad idea to get too attached to your test animals. Most of the time your experiment will end with these animals being killed and dissected.