History Main / PetPositiveIdentification

* In ''The Tale of Lost Time'', Petya gets turned from a schoolboy into an old man in one moment, and nobody recognizes him except for his dog.

* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', Ryoga's dog Checkers is able to recognize Ryoga even when [[ItMakesSenseInContext he's been turned into a pig]], despite never having seen his pig form before.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': In "The Sign of the Joker" (Detective Comics #476, later adapted into the WesternAnimation example below), Batman attempts to protect one of the Joker's targets by [[BodyDouble disguising himself and the target as each other]]. The ploy fails when the target's cat, infected with Joker venom, recognizes and fatally attacks its human.

* OlderThanFeudalism. In ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' Odysseus's dog Argos is initially the only one to recognize him when he returns from his adventures.

* An episode of ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' has robot dog R.I.C. solve a SpotTheImpostor situation when he approaches the MonsterOfTheWeek (actually Sky trapped in his body from a GrandTheftMe) to play with him instead of "Sky". (This may have been based on a minor detail from the ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'' episode it was adapted from, where R.I.C.'s counterpart Murphy [[EvilDetectingDog started growling]] when "Houji" entered the room, but the ''Dekaranger'' version had the team identify Houji through multiple counts of OutOfCharacterAlert.)

** In "Pokemon Scent-sation!", Ash, after being banned from the Celadon Gym, is forced to disguise himself as a girl to get in. Ash's disguise is able to fool even his traveling companions, but Pikachu recognises him all too quickly.
** Prompted by Team Rocket in "Recap/PokemonS1E54TheCaseOfTheK9Caper". They flood the training school with helium gas so all the humans inside have HeliumSpeech then use a voice changing device to sound like the Pokemon trainers so their Pokemon will follow Team Rocket's orders. It starts working until they try it on Pikachu, who's able to recognize the voice does not belong to the [[TrueCompanions real Ash]] and refuses to join them. This inspires Officer Jenny to provoke her Growlithe to attack her in order to get close to them and get them to remember the bond they grew with her over training. It works, which leads the Growlithe to go after Team Rocket.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': In the Season 1 Kanto region:

* In ''Elephants Can Remember'' by Creator/AgathaChristie, the family dog bites its longtime mistress Margaret. It is one of the clues that Margaret has really been replaced by her twin sister Dorothea.

* An episode of ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' has robot dog R.I.C. solve a SpotTheImpostor situation when he approaches the MonsterOfTheWeek (actually Sky trapped in his body from a FreakyFridayFlip) to play with him instead of "Sky". (This may have been based on a minor detail from the ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'' episode it was adapted from, where R.I.C.'s counterpart Murphy [[EvilDetectingDog started growling]] when "Houji" entered the room, but the ''Dekaranger'' version had the team identify Houji through multiple counts of OutOfCharacterAlert.)

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "Undercover Mom", Mrs. Loud disguises herself as a teenager named Brita and befriends her high school daughters, who promptly invite her to have dinner with them at home. Unfortunately for "Brita", their dog Charles instantly recognizes her, and eventually exposes her by snatching her wig.

--> '''Batman:''' Even drugged, the cat knew to go for its owner.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "Undercover Mom", the Loud matriarch Rita disguises herself as a teenager named Brita and befriends her high school daughters, who promptly invite her to their home. Rita is eventually exposed when their dog Charles recognizes her and removes her wig.

* Referenced in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''. Sho Minimoto says "Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owner Approach". Apparently just another [[MadMathematician mathematics pun]], but also foreshadowing that he knows Joshua is his master, the Composer, in disguise.

---> '''Batman:''' Even drugged, the cat knew to go for its owner.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': In "Pokemon Scent-sation!", Ash, after being banned from the Celadon Gym, is forced to disguise himself as a girl to get in. Ash's disguise is able to fool even his travelling companions, but Pikachu recognises him all too quickly.

* Inverted in ''Film/TheParentTrap1998,'' where Hallie's dog Sammy barks at Annie when she's disguised as Hallie, much to Hallie's father's confusion.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:ComicStrips]]

* In ''Film/{{Monkeybone}}'', the protagonist Stu resurrected as the corpse of an athlete organ donor and return to his home. His dog comes to him while waggling his tail as if he recognizes his master.

* In ''Film/TheThirdMan'', black marketeer Harry Lime had been declared dead in the beginning of the film, and while looking around Harry's apartment Holly learns that Harry's cat would only get close to Harry. At a crucial moment in the film, Harry's cat is shown approaching a figure in the shadows, until a light is shined on a not-so-dead Harry.
* Inverted in ''Film/{{Kagemusha}}''; a thief who bears an uncanny resemblance to a Samurai warlord serves as the warlord's double. When the warlord dies, the double is able to convince the warlord's retinue and even his children and grandchildren, but the warlord's horse recognizes that it's an impostor riding it, and the horse throws its rider. When the impostor's thrown, people see that he is missing the warlord's battle scars, revealing he nature of the deception.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* A well-known case in ''Series/JudgeJudy'' is when a woman stole a man's dog and kept him as her pet, while claiming that the dog has always been hers. As soon as the dog was brought into the court, Judge Judy ordered the woman's sister to put the dog down, and the dog instantly ran to the man full of happiness. Judge Judy said "that's his dog" and dismissed the case.

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* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': In "The Sign of the Joker" (Detective Comics #476), Batman attempts to protect one of the Joker's targets by [[BodyDouble disguising himself and the target as each other]]. The ploy fails when the target's cat, infected with Joker venom, recognizes and fatally attacks its human.

[[/folder]]
! PetAndAnimalCompanionTropes, RecognitionTropes