History Main / PostApocalypticDog

* ''Literature/PumpSixAndOtherStories'': In "The People of Sand and Slag", posthuman cyborgs who mutilate themselves for fun inhabit a ravaged wasteland of a world where no normal organic creatures can survive. One day they miraculously discover a sickly old-style dog and keep it as a pet for a short time -- [[spoiler:up until they get tired of its constant injuries and paying for its food. They decide to [[EatTheDog eat it]] just to find out what it tastes like]].

Whatever the situation, the Post-Apocalyptic Dog is often a major touchstone of morality after the apocalypse, for the dogs and for ourselves. For example, let's just hope that their straitened circumstances never force our heroes to contemplate [[EatTheDog eating their trusty hound...]]

** ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' features dogs more prominently: the dog from Jackson you meet in the first game is still alive and well, and Ellie can greet him in the prologue. The [=WLF=] also frequently uses attack dogs, with each one of them actually having its own name their handlers will scream out if [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential the player chooses to kill them]]. [[spoiler:Abby]] seems to have two favorites she often takes on assignments with her, those being Alice and Bear. [[spoiler:As you already killed Alice in the aquarium and possibly Bear outside the hospital while playing as Ellie earlier, this is an extra gut punch for the player.]]

** ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' features dogs more prominently: the dog from Jackson you meet in the first game is still alive and well, and Ellie can greet him in the prologue. The [=WLF=] also frequently uses attack dogs, with each one of them actually having its own name their handlers will scream out if [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential the player chooses to kill them]]. [[spoiler:Abby]] seems to have two favorites she often takes on assignments with her, those being Alice and Bear. [[spoiler:The latter can be an extra twist in the gut of the player, as Bear is the same dog you had the option of killing earlier when Ellie infiltrated the hospital.]]

** ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' features dogs more prominently: the dog from Jackson you meet in the first game is still alive and well, and Ellie can greet him in the prologue. The [=WLF=] also frequently uses attack dogs, with each one of them actually having its own name their handlers will scream out if [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential the player chooses to kill them]]. [[spoiler:Abby]] seems to have two favorites she often takes on assignments with her, those being Alice and Bear.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series features Dogmeat as a recurring companion, suggested to be a LegacyCharacter of sorts from a lineage of faithful canines who have assisted heroes across the post-apocalyptic United States, from [[VideoGame/Fallout1 the New California Republic]] to [[VideoGame/Fallout3 the Capital Wasteland]] and [[VideoGame/Fallout4 ruins of Boston]]. If you like more metal in your guard dogs, there are cybernetically-enhanced canine companions in the form of [[VideoGame/Fallout2 K-9, Robodog,]] [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas and Rex,]] the foremost of which is sentient and capable of conversation. The series gets on both sides of this trope, however, and also features feral dogs as enemies, as well as attack canines used by various factions.
** One canine companion you ''don't'' want is ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'''s [[TheJinx Pariah Dog]], which can force itself into your party and give you the "[[BadLuckCharm Jinxed]]" trait, which drops your LuckStat to 1, and contributes ''nothing'' in combat. The only way to get rid of it is to kill it, which is no easy feat.

* ''VideoGame/DeathRoadToCanada'' has recruitable dogs that you can find in abandoned cities. They can go scavenging with their human party members and can attack and kill zombies, but they can't be equipped with weapons. They come in a variety of breeds, but they are just cosmetic and don't influence gameplay. If the human members of your party die, the dog(s) will continue their travel to Canada by themself, and that includes driving a car.

* ''Series/See'': Humans lost the ability to see during the plague, so several characters have guide dogs. In the Kingdom of Payan, they appear to be a status symbol for the nobility as well as being used by the military.

* In Alfred Bester's 1941 short story "Adam and No Eve" a disaster has killed all life on the planet, and proto-astronaut Steven Krane descends back down to Earth from a rocket, carrying his mastiff Umber with him. Unfortunately, Krane is eventually forced to kill him, recognizing him as a threatening animal consumed by hunger: "Panic jerked within him. A voice persisted: This is no friend. He has no love or companionship for you. Love and companionship have vanished from the land along with life. Now there is nothing left but hunger."

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* Dogs are rarely seen on ''Series/TheWalkingDead'', but make two notable appearances.

** In "Rite of Passage", there is a Labrador in the commune which, contrary to Mother's theory, cannot receive telepathic commands.
** In "The Vaccine", James is attacked by two vicious dogs while he is outside the hospital getting diesel from a truck to power the hospital's generator. His hazmat suit is torn in the process and he is exposed to the Berlin C virus. [[spoiler: However, he survives as it turns out that he and the others are immune to the virus due to the bacteria which forced them into quarantine in the first place.]]

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* In Season 2 of ''Videogame/{{The Walking Dead}}'', Clementine encounters a dog that she attempts to befriend. [[spoiler:The dog attacks her over a can of beans, and gets fatally wounded in the ensuing struggle. The player has the decision to kill the dog, or leave it. If they kill it, a later character is disturbed to hear of the dog's death, saying that [[EveryoneHasStandards you just shouldn't hurt dogs.]]]]

* In the ''VideoGame/MadMax'' video game, Max comes across a dog named Dinky Di (named after the mascot on a can of dog food and later renamed just [[ADogNamedDog Dog]]) who is used by a warlord. After the warlord is disposed of, Max takes the dog under his wing.

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* ''Film/SeekingAFriendForTheEndOfTheWorld'': Technically JustBeforeTheEnd, Dodge ends up with a canine companion he nicknames “Sorry” after he awakens from an attempted suicide and finds an abandoned dog tied to him with a note that just says — Sorry.
* ''Film/{{Stalker}}'' tends to have a black dog walking around.

Now, some dogs will rise to the challenge and, say, [[HeroicDog singlehandedly defend their owners from a marauding gang]], but sometimes the family pet will remember that, deep down, it's always been a wolf, and then turn into a SuperPersistentPredator or a {{Hellhound}}. Oftentimes, [[RightHandAttackDog villains are a lot likelier to have dogs]], since [[PredatorsAreMean dogs are savage predators that are loyal to each other]], as well as [[ScavengersAreScum formidable scavengers against sane people]], and dogs and villains are just fit, making a Post-Apocalyptic Dog a perfect CanineCompanion for a CardCarryingVillain. We fear SavageWolves and {{Hellhound}}s, and, after the end of the world, our heroes will sometimes have to fight off a whole pack of Post-Apocalyptic Dogs that used to be friendly neighborhood mutts, a DiabolicalMastermind's {{Right Hand Attack Dog}}s, or [[{{Hellhound}} villainous dogs from hell]].

** It's notable that, in a world that runs on [[{{Zeerust}} '50s pop-science]] where many animals, from cockroaches to cattle to bears, have been [[ILoveNuclearPower mutated by nuclear radiation]], ''Fallout'' dogs were mostly the same as they've always been, if a bit (or a lot) scruffier in some cases. Then ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' introduced Mongrels with no hair and withered skin, suggesting they've succumbed to radiation like human [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Ghouls]], [[SicklyGreenGlow Glowing]] [[PowerGlows One]] variants of these Mongrels, and finally Mutant Hounds that are just as big, green and brutish as their Super Mutant masters. But with the Animal Friend perk you can [[TheBeastmaster tame and command them in battle]], and some vendors sell domesticated variants you can send to protect your settlements, so perhaps they're still dogs deep down in the same way that many of the aforementioned ghouls and super-mutants are still ultimately human.