Line #64 PetTheDog/WesternAnimation


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6	PetTheDog in WesternAnimation.
7	----
8	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' has Doctor Robotnik and "Fuzzy-Wuzzy", his old favorite toy and only real friend. Yes, Fuzzy-Wuzzy is a robot [[BearsAreBadNews bear]] that can turn from a creepy teddy-bear into a horrifically real [[MultipleHeadCase two-headed]] [[MultiArmedAndDangerous four-armed]] grizzly, but Robotnik still cares for him deeply. When Sonic disables Fuzzy-Wuzzy by tying him to an electric fence, Robotnik is horrified at the fact his friend is being hurt and falls on his hands and knees before Sonic, pleading with the hedgehog to save Fuzzy-Wuzzy and promising to be good if Sonic rescue him.
9	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'':
10	** Despite being a massive SleazyPolitician who serves more than once as a single-episode antagonist, Toadstool has a couple moments towards the end of the first season, and they grow more frequent as the series goes on from there. Notable highlights include saving the frogs at Toad Tower from collapsing rubble in the Season 1 finale, and, even more prominently, trying to own up to the angry townsfolk for his share of the blame instead of letting Marcy take all the heat after the two of them almost sunk Wartwood by accident.
11	** In the Season 1 flashback to Anne's life on Earth, her bully Maggie takes a moment out from bullying her to sincerely wish her a happy birthday, before she tries to steal Anne's lunch.
12	** Grime moves to save Sasha's life [[spoiler:from a deadly fall at Toad Tower after Sasha has lost to Anne]] -- this is one of the first solid signs that his VillainousFriendship with Sasha, despite its manipulative roots, is genuine.
13	** The Stan Pines CorruptedCharacterCopy in Season 2 may be a crazy, evil spook who plans to forcibly turn Anne into a wax exhibit in his museum, but he's still [[AffablyEvil genuinely affable enough]] to have a conversation with her in which he assures her that falling for his trap does ''not'' make her stupid, and that she's just having a really bad day.
14	** During [[AntiVillain Mr. X]]'s multi-episode feud with Anne and the Plantars, it's shown in his second appearance that he kept the terrestrial frogs and pollywog which they used to throw him off their trail and humiliate him.
15	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': Silco after some of his worst villainy than shows a surprising amount of [[CommonalityConnection empathy]] with [[spoiler: a distraught Powder. And while he's hardly the best mentor/father figure by helping to mold her into [[DaddysLittleVillain Jinx]], he does continuously reassure her, puts up with her [[MadBomber antics]] even when it costs him, and genuinely loves her more than his own dreams.]]
16	* Almost every character in ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' is an unsympathetic/borderline [[ComedicSociopathy sociopathic]] JerkAss, but they've each gotten at least one moment each.
17	** Archer insists on stopping and getting a stuffed animal for Babu the ocelot, to make up for the spartan conditions of Cheryl's care.
18	** Archer seems to have a soft spot for big cats in general. He is extremely upset when a South American drug dealer shoots the tiger he kept in an illegal private zoo.
19	** Malory cares for Archer when he is shot six times in the chest. [[spoiler: It was Malory who shot him]], but Malory being [[JerkAss Malory]], it still counts. Malory also bribed Mexican officials to save Woodhouse after he [[spoiler: shot a woman in Mexico in a heroine-fuled [[WilliamTelling bar bet]]]].
20	** Lana has a bizarre one when she agrees to have pity sex with Pam.
21	** All of them get extremely defensive of Pam when a douchebag movie director calls her "Baby Huey"[[note]]A cartoon character known for being fat, ugly, and stupid[[/note]], almost immediately starting a brawl over the slight and working together more efficiently than they ever had before that point.
22	** Archer agreeing to be Pam's date to her sister Edie's wedding, and him calling Edie out for [[CainAndAbel just how pointlessly mean she is to Pam]].
23	** Malory flips her shit when Abajeen goes missing at the office, and very forcefully threatens Krieger when she finds out he was using AJ as a size reference for his new teddy bear android (AJ was fine). Despite her insistence that Abajeen needs to lose weight (she's a ''baby'') Malory does seem to have a soft spot for her, or at least recognizes that Lana can and will kill her if anything bad happens to AJ.
24	* {{Deconstructed}} on ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. Prince Zuko is given several moments that establish him as [[EnigmaticMinion less of a villain]] than most of the Fire Nation: [[IGaveMyWord keeping his word to spare a village if Aang surrenders]], [[SwordOverHead sparing his arch rival]] Commander Zhao -- and later [[SaveTheVillain trying to save his life]], choosing to save his uncle over chasing the Avatar, deciding against mugging a refugee couple (Upon noticing the wife is pregnant) when he's starving as TheDrifter, freeing Appa from Lake Laogai, etc. [[spoiler:All this, however, does not lead directly to a HeelFaceTurn, but only [[WhamEpisode doubles the shock]] when it ''doesn't'' happen. Though it certainly doesn't make any surprise when it eventually [[HeelFaceTurn does come through]].]]
25	** Azula gets a couple during the BeachEpisode, such as when she makes a cutting remark towards Ty Lee about how she only attracts so many men because she is such a tease, and then apologises when Ty Lee cries (even admitting that she is [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon a bit jealous]]). This goes some way to showing that Azula's friendship with Mai and Ty Lee ''does'' mean something to her [[spoiler: which foreshadows the [[VillainousBreakdown effect]] that their HeelFaceTurn has on her]].
26	** Azula is also remarkably non-lethal most of the time and usually puts her defeated enemies in jail while you expect a pure villain like her to kill them off.
27	** The Warden was a one off villain in the Boiling Rock episodes. He was shown as demeaning, and somewhat sadistic in the way he treated prisoners, and a man so devoted to his job, he'd consider suicide over letting prisoners go. When Zuko was captured, he chastised him, not only for [[spoiler: being a traitor]], but also for breaking his niece's [[spoiler: Mai's]] heart. After [[spoiler: Mai]] gets free in the end, she explains that one of the reasons that she was out was because the Warden pulled some strings for her despite the fact that she was instrumental in causing a prison escape.
28	** A twisted, unintentional version of this trope happens when [[spoiler: Fire Lord Azulon orders his son Ozai to kill Zuko. Azulon thinks Ozai will be devastated for doing such and act, when in reality, it’s the perfect excuse for him to get rid of a child he deems [[TheUnfavorite useless]]. It’s only thanks to Ursa’s intervention that Azulon is the one who gets [[AssholeVictim killed instead]].]]
29	* Played with by the Joker on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and his relationship with Harley Quinn. Almost any time he shows real affection towards her, you can tell that he is just using her as another part of his mind games. She would catch on that he doesn't really love her, and all it took was a token gesture of affection and she would melt in his arms again.
30	** Eventually expanded upon in the comics, where the Joker actually does have feelings for Harley, but his insane mind alternates rapidly between being attached to her (leading to Pet the Dog moments), not really caring about her (leading to KickTheDog moments), or having feelings for her but ''hating'' the fact that he does (leading to some really bad moments), which all in all adds up to [[MadLove one screwed up relationship.]]
31	*** Joker gets a good, if twisted, one in "Emperor Joker," as he's preparing to use Mxyzptlk's powers to destroy the universe, Harley tries to talk him out of it, so he explains his surprisingly sympathetic motives (he believes any universe where a person like him could exist is fundamentally screwed up and needs to die), and then turns her into a constellation so she go peacefully and light the sky at the end of the world. He then proceeds to brutally murder everyone else (by which we mean '''[[OmnicidalManiac everyone]]''' else) but the whole thing is surprisingly sentimental given that it's ''the '''freakin'''' Joker.''
32	-->"Say goodnight, Harley. I always wanted to see my dame in lights. Heh. Even in a moment of abject saccharine, I still got it."
33	** Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker''. The Joker and Harley look like they're setting up for one when they tell Batman and Batgirl that they've given up their lawless ways and just want to settle down and start a family. Then [[MindRape we]] [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable find]] who "Joker Junior" is to be played by...
34	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': The temporarily reformed Mr. Freeze saves a cat from falling in the track of a speeding subway and gives them back to a grateful little girl and her family. Mr. Freeze was about as anti as an AntiVillain could get already. He makes his first appearance in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' expressing a desire to help people out. He even starts a charity to right the wrongs he committed, naming it after his beloved, dead wife.
35	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold:'' ComicBook/TheSpectre is the spirit of divine vengeance, and in both of his appearances, [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork he kills a villain whom Batman spared]]. In the second, however, he also casually saves the villain's mind-controlled rats from falling debris.
36	-->"Only the guilty suffer tonight."
37	* Rampage from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' is generally depicted as nothing short of a monster, a sadist, and a walking nightmare...except in the episode "Transmutate", in which he finds a kindred spirit in the episode's freakish, disfigured, and pitiful title character. He even goes so far as to be moved to sorrow by its death.
38	* In two ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' episodes in a row, a featured villain (Charmcaster and Vilgax) save the life of a child (Charmcaster levitates a boy away from being hit by a truck, and Vilgax defends one of his species' children from Ghostfreak's minions.) The two still engage in evil-doing afterwards, though.
39	* ''WesternAnimation/BlazeAndTheMonsterMachines'': Crusher is normally a mean trickster who enjoys cheating and hates losing, but over the course of the show, he grows into a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and does something nice for the sake of Blaze. He tries at not cheating on two occasions, which in turn allows him to win with Blaze. Strongly exampled in "Monster Machine Christmas" when he decides to put his present off for the sake of helping Blaze save Santa's sack from falling off a cliff.
40	* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' specifically references the "save the cat" Hollywood screenwriting term when the hack production company rescuing [=BoJack=]'s troubled Secretariat biopic demonstrate their [[SerkisFolk CGI BoJack]]'s screen presence by having him climb into a tree to save a stuck kitten.
41	** In the flashback ColdOpen for "Free Churro", [=BoJack's=] father Butterscotch is forced to pick him up from soccer practice after [=BoJack's=] mother Beatrice had another depressive episode and locked herself in the bedroom. Butterscotch spends several minutes complaining about Beatrice, how she didn't make him lunch, how obnoxiously loud she was crying, how she interrupted his writing inspiration, and calling her an attention-seeker, a blackhole, and a "brittle wisp of a woman". But after calming down a bit he softens and tells [=BoJack=] that "she's doing the best she can". This is the ''only'' time in the entire show Butterscotch says a nice thing about Beatrice after their marriage.
42	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', Uncle Ruckus, a black man coincidentally racist against other black men and a white supremacist, is shown petting the dog many times (excluding all of the times has talked to Granddad), namely in the episodes "The Trial Of R. Kelly" (the park scene), "Granddad's Fight" (Ruckus is willingly Granddad's co-sensei, and comments after the fight with Stinkmeaner: "I told you a nigga that black couldn't fight."), "Return Of The King" (where Ruckus comes to dinner with Granddad even after throwing random objects at Martin Luther King), "The Itis" (where Ruckus comments: "If there's one thing a colored man is good at, it's cooking up a pig."), "Stinkmeaner Strikes Back" (Ruckus helps Huey, Riley, and Granddad exorcise Tom), "Home Alone" (Ruckus agrees to babysit Riley and Huey), and "The Story of Catcher Freeman". (Ruckus comments: "Catcher Freeman was the greatest nigga that ever lived!")
43	** And none of those cover the most notable and most genuine act of dog petting Ruckus ever did, in the Christmas episode; after filling in as a mall Santa and leaving Jasmine completely disillusioned when it comes to Santa's existence, Ruckus later approached her and explained that of ''course'' he wasn't really Santa, but he was, in fact, a ''Secret Service'' agent assigned to fill in for Santa, as Santa needed to be protected from the threats against him (namely Riley Freeman and his paintball gun). Ruckus then assured Jasmine that the real Santa would be back next year, much to her delight. It's a surprisingly genuine and heartfelt moment which, since it's ''The Boondocks,'' is immediately subverted by Huey's narration where he impassively observes that Christmas miracles "only come from the lies adults tell children."
44	* In ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'', when Dracula learns that the woman he loved had been burned at the stake as a witch, he advises her neighbor, who came to her home to pay her respects, to take her family and flee the country before he kills everyone in it. He outright calls it his "last kindness" before beginning his genocide.
45	* ''WesternAnimation/CentralPark'':
46	** In Season 1 "[[Recap/CentralParkS1E5DogSprayAfternoon Dog Spray Afternoon]]", when Helen thought Bitsy put Shampagne in the will (which wasn't the case), she seriously contemplated offing the competition. But after seeing how much Cole cares for the dog, she couldn't go through with it, even saving both Cole and Shampagne when the two run into traffic.
47	** In Season 2 "[[Recap/CentralParkS2E07ADecentProposal A Decent Proposal]]", among Molly's worries about attending Bitsy's birthday party is meeting Bitsy herself since she's trying to buy Central Park and ruin their lives. When they do meet, Bitsy doesn't recognize her at first and is surprisingly civil to her and compliments her caricatures of her relatives and they bond over Molly drawing caricatures of them. When Bitsy sees that Molly drew a caricature of her and realizes who she is, she understands Molly's reason for drawing it and admits to liking it. She tells her Brendan is lucky to have her and she's talented and pretty put together and even likes her "poor person" dress. Before Bitsy leaves, Molly draws another caricature of Bitsy but in a positive light, which Bitsy likes.
48	* In ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', CardCarryingVillain Stickybeard rescues the heroes from a monster asparagus at one point. This seems like a case of both EvenEvilHasStandards and maybe WorthyAdversary (towards Numbuh Five) at first, and it probably is, but unlike most cases, he's genuinely polite about it:
49	-->'''Stickybeard:''' Say, lassie, would ya mind keepin' this business of savin' ye secret from the other villains? They wouldn't invite me to next year's barbecue if they found out...
50	** Also, in "Operation: B.U.T.T.", Numbuh One quits the team for no apparent reason, and Numbuh Four is so upset, he yells at Numbuh Three, inadvertently making her cry. In the next scene, however, he's trying to cheer her up with her stuffed animals - meaning this is ''really'' big, because he's usually finds her stuffed toys sickeningly sweet. He doesn't do a very good job cheering her up, but fortunately, ''everyone'' cheers up when they find out just ''why'' Numbuh One quit. (The Delightful Children had taken a photograph of his bare butt and were blackmailing him; they really couldn't help but laugh.)
51	** In episode "Operation: M.A.U.R.I.C.E.", during Maurice's decommissioning, Number 86 a known boy hater who is dedicated to her job of hunting down all KND operatives who have turned thirteen and decommissioning them, is polite and nice at Maurice's decommissioning, even crying when he is decommissioned.
52	* While Eustace from ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' is almost completely free of redeeming qualities and only sides with Courage or helps out purely for selfish reasons, he's shown to not ''completely'' be without a good side when he meets a young kid (actually a younger version of himself as part of a SecretTestOfCharacter) and gives the kid his hat because he takes pity on him:
53	--> '''Eustace:''' No hat...? A kid without a hat; that's just not right.
54	* In the BadFuture of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', after Danny's entire family is killed in an accident he's taken in by none other than his ArchEnemy Vlad Masters, who [[EvenEvilHasStandards takes pity on him after everything he's been through]] and becomes a decent surrogate father to him in the brief time they had together before things went FromBadToWorse.
55	* The titular character from ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'', despite being a borderline MisanthropeSupreme with some serious issues, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold actually gets quite a few]]. Usually concerning [[MoralityPet his cat Mr. Mumbles]] or some other kind of animal: all it took to get him to free the animals from the shelter before blowing it up ([[DisproportionateRetribution it was disturbing his sleep]]) was a quick flash of the PuppyDogEyes, and he pitied lobsters of all things enough to risk blowing his plan so he could set them free and save them from a boiling pot of water.
56	* Sandi is probably the closest ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' has to an antagonist, aside from Ms. Li. There are a few episodes where Sandi appears to hold genuine disdain for Quinn (and in one case, even ''just sits back and smiles'' after sabotaging Quinn's play.) However, at the same time, you can view her CharacterDevelopment as she starts to mature. It's probably most prevalent in the episode where she gains weight, and even though she manipulates Quinn into taking a sabbatical from the Fashion Club, is moved to tears when Quinn instead respects her wishes and uses the time to help Sandi get back into shape and out of her depression. Another episode, where a stalker is giving Quinn free goods in the hotel, Sandi is the only one who smells a rat. It's easy to interpret this as her trying to deny Quinn from having a cute boyfriend, but it's also just as easy to interpret this as genuine concern for Quinn.
57	** Even earlier than that, in the paintball episode, Sandi chews the Fashion Club out for not wearing the safety goggles.
58	* ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'': Swiper may be a FoulFox who loves swiping and hiding things, but he does show a soft side on occasion. He honestly admits he didn't swipe Dora's teddy bear, and at very rare times when he swipes something, he solemnly hands it back upon learning how important it is. Especially when he realizes the present he swiped one time was for Dora's new puppy, and Swiper realizes he loves puppies and doesn't want to hurt his feelings.
59	* Subverted by ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}''. The grouchy and sarcastic main character frequently shows signs of tenderness when he has his late wife on his mind -- but [[AllMenArePerverts he's usually thinking back on their sex life]].
60	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': Scrooge [=McDuck=] is a hardbeaked skinflint, but he does have a soft spot for his family and staff, which gets shown much more regularly here than in the comics.
61	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''
62	** Denzel Crocker, EvilTeacher and BigBad before the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil set in, has willingly given up a baby he was raising as his heir when he believes someone else can raise it better.
63	** Vicky's pets, particularly her dog Doidle, are the only beings she treats with any respect.
64	** A more amazing example about Vicky comes in the storybook ''In a Tizzy over Turkey!'': Her parents and Tootie (who she treats no different than the kids she babysits) go out to get some cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, but their car breaks down, and Vicky is actually sad that they're gonna miss their Thanksgiving dinner! Yep, even Timmy feels sorry for her when he hears that...
65	** Another for Vicky comes in "Snow Bound," when Timmy and Vicky are stuck in a frozen cave together. They reluctantly hug for warmth, and later, when a pizza delivery guy who appears to be an abominable snowman appears, Vicky immediately throws herself in front of Timmy to protect him.
66	** One more for Vicky: In the movie "Wishology," when Timmy sacrifices himself to The Darkness, Vicky cries and says, "I'll never call him a twerp again." But since Jorgen erased everyone's memories, she'll never recall feeling sorrow for Timmy's sacrifice.
67	* Stewie Griffin, in the early seasons of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', was a diabolical and downright sociopathic baby who, after petting the dog a few times, had his character changed completely by the fourth and fifth season. But who are we kidding? It's [[RuleOfFunny all]] [[NegativeContinuity just]] [[BlackComedy for]] [[GagSeries laughs.]]
68	** Another ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode offers a subversion when greedy tobacco company executives discuss making a line of toys to get kids interested in smoking cigarettes, complete with an EvilLaugh. Until the head pulls up a puppy and starts to pet him and talk to him in baby voice. He then hands the dog to another executive, pulls out a [[ShootTheDog rifle]] and says [[KickTheDog "Pull..."]]
69	** In a more sentimental version, Mayor Adam West is a total lunatic [[spoiler: but his romance with Meg is genuine, and when Meg tells him that Brian plans to expose it, Mayor West decides to break up the relationship to protect her. Brian who saw this, is deeply moved and tears up the photo.]]
70	** Even Peter's stepfather, Francis, had somewhat of a Pet the Dog moment with him when they reconciled after Peter questioned Francis' view of him.
71	* Bender on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' petted the dog a few times, but the show spoofed this on at least one occasion:
72	-->'''Bender:''' But inside, you've got the heart of a robot.\
73	'''Fry:''' Aww... thanks, Bender.\
74	'''Bender:''' Just like inside me, I've got the heart of a human! ''(takes a human heart from his chest compartment)'' ...What?
75	** Bender's biggest Pet the Dog moment was most likely in "Jurassic Bark", [[spoiler:where he spends the whole episode acting like a insensitive, possessive, abusive, jealous jackass because Fry, his best friend, is spending so much time trying to figure out how to clone his old dog Seymour, his best friend before Bender. Eventually, Bender gets so fed up he takes Seymour's fossil and throws it into a lava vent. However, when this causes Fry to collapse in grief, he realizes (and ''[[PlatonicDeclarationOfLove admits]]'') that Fry loved his dog much the same way Bender loves Fry. He then dives into the boiling lava to retrieve Seymour despite Fry's protests, melting his eyes in the process.]]
76	*** Virtually any time Bender realizes he seriously hurt [[MoralityPet Fry]]'s feelings leads to him showing unusual kindness.
77	** "Godfellas" is an episode-long Pet The Dog moment for Bender, as he spends the whole episode honestly trying to be a benevolent ruler to the Shrimpkin. [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds However, he accidentally makes them all kill themselves instead.]]
78	** In "Crimes of the Hot," Bender reveals he's fond of turtles (which remind him of his hard-shelled self) to the pitch of HeroicSacrifice. In "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz," he thinks he's a penguin for a while and becomes a devoted parent to penguin chicks, continuing to regurgitate food for them even after he's reset to his normal mode.
79	--->'''Bender:''' I don't know why, but when I look down at their little faces, it makes me wanna puke! In a ''good'' way!
80	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvYm68dOQ4k Subverted for Nixon]] in "A Head in the Polls".
81	---> '''Nixon:''' Now look here you drugged-up communist, I paid for this body and I'd no sooner return it than I would my little cocker-spaniel dog Checkers.\
82	'''Checkers:''' Arf!\
83	'''Nixon:''' SHUT UP DAMN IT!
84	** Mom is a '''[[CorruptCorporateExecutive ruthless]]''' businesswoman and a [[EvilMatriarch cruel mother]]. Oddly enough, she is one of the few people who is kind to, let alone respectful to, ''Dr. Zoidberg'' and is willing to give him an expensive yeti head to help the Professor in exchange for a coupon. [[spoiler: On the other hand, she didn't agree until Zoidberg told her it was everything he had.]]
85	*** This later turns out to be a BatmanGambit revenge on her part as the coupon would have allowed him to take part in a fun afternoon out with the Planet Express crew and he's crushed not to have it. He still gets this as Farnsworth offers to pay for him.
86	* Pete on ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' does this on a few occasions:
87	** As bad of a parent as he is to his son PJ, in the episode "Puppy Love," he did many ''nice'' things for him without an ulterior motive such as giving him dating advice, renting a limousine and offering to be the chauffeur, taking some (of Peg's) earrings for him to give to his date, and preventing Max from stealing his date... too bad all of those things made PJ's life ''harder'', but in contrast to how their relationship usually plays out, it was completely by accident.
88	** A straighter example happened in "Tee for Two" when Pete gave up the trophy he finally won after resenting the mini-golf course for years because he never won it to a random little boy at the end. Peg has to give him a big kiss for this one.
89	* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' Grouchy con man Stan Pines would do ''anything'' for his 12-year-old niece and nephew, and Mabel in particular has him wrapped around her little finger. Before they showed up, there was his handyman, Soos, [[spoiler:hired when he was only a child himself. Stan plays a ParentalSubstitute role in Soos's life and even [[NoodleIncident got himself banned from airplanes in a misguided attempt to help him]].]]
90	* ''WesternAnimation/HorridHenry''. Henry is an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist who is frequently an asshole to his little brother Perfect Peter as well as his classmate Moody Margaret and cousin Stuck-Up Steve. (...then again, Margaret and Steve ''deserve'' it.) However, he does show BigBrotherInstinct towards Peter a few times, and during the sleepover episode, decides to have fun ''with'' Peter and his friends, instead of at their expense.
91	* Used with little subtlety in ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'', when Cindy Lou Who wakes up and sees him looting the family's presents. He ''could'' have just tied her up and gagged her, but instead he tells her a comforting fib, gets her a glass of water, and sends her back to bed, foreshadowing his HeelFaceTurn.
92	** This is PlayedForLaughs in [[Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas the live action movie]], when the Grinch saves her from a mail machine. She sees it as proof that he's a good person, and he gets pissed and wraps her up in wrapping paper (though she is still unharmed, and her parents assume that she had trouble wrapping some gifts).
93	* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' has a few moments between Zim and Gir.
94	-->'''Gir:''' ''(tearing up after Zim yells at him)''\
95	'''Zim:''' ''(expression softens)'' Guh... I can see you understand your mistake, Gir, and me being angry will get us nowhere closer to home.
96	** In "Tak, The Hideous New Girl," Zim reveals that he told Gir that he could have the moon after Earth is conquered.
97	-->'''Zim:''' It's over, Tak! The Earth is mine to devastate! ''(hurriedly)'' And I already promised the moon to Gir.
98	** In the Halloween Episode, while being trapped in Dib's mental nightmare world, Zim verbally expresses genuine worry about Gir being able to survive against all the zombies (which are actually just kids hyped up on candy.)
99	** In a FreezeFrameBonus, you can see that in Zim's house he has a framed picture of him and Gir with a giant pink heart as the background.
100	** Zim offering Gir a giant lollipop to help him stop crying in "Battle of the Planets."
101	** A minor one, unrelated to Gir: In "The Frycook What Came From All That Space," Zim is desperately trying to hail a cab to escape Foodcourtia before The Great Foodening, where the gravitational pull from the sheer population on the planet makes it impossible to escape for twenty years. He tries to use the cables in his PAK to grab one, but it veers the vessel off-course, causing it to crash into another cab. Zim promptly yells, "Sorry!"
102	* Heloise on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' is usually an EnfantTerrible who loves to KickTheDog for fun, but she has had few, and they usually have a lot to do with her MoralityPet Jimmy. For example, in "Carnival Lucius", she tricks [[{{Satan}} Lucius]] into constructing a funfair for Miseryville after Jimmy tells her about them, and in "A Cold Day in Miseryville", she uses a WeatherControlMachine to give the town its {{first snow}} day when Jimmy speaks of the joys of a winter wonderland.
103	* The trope can apply to pure villains as well. In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', Galatea, the murderously psycho clone of Supergirl, shares a moment of genuine warmth with her "father", Professor Emil Hamilton, just before she cheerfully goes on a mission of mass murder. However it is because of this you can clearly see a MyGodWhatHaveIDone look on Hamilton's face.
104	* In the film ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'', Superman's EvilCounterpart Ultraman seems genuinely upset at Superman and Lex Luthor beating up his Made Man ComicBook/JimmyOlsen.
105	* The lead and namesake ''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'' is a sociopath who has very little care for his family, much less the well-being of others. At best he's a force of chaos, but is often the VillainProtagonist. On top of that, both of his parents fare little better in terms of humanity. That said, there have been moments where they've shown some humanity:
106	** Kevin bonds with [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior the Widow Coulson]] after working for her. Originally only interested in stealing her medication, he ends up appreciating her insanity and rudeness. He takes initiative and starts tending to her house without being asked. Their friendship ends when the woman becomes more and more unhinged without her meds, so he stops seeing her and doesn't steal any more of her drugs.
107	** His mother, Anastasia is a terrible wife, mother and human being. However, there are brief moments where she realizes how bad her son's life is, and wants to try and raise him in a more healthy manner. She usually gives up when helping him when it requires any modicum of effort or sacrifice, but she's the only one of the trio who even attempts to be normal.
108	** Played with for Percy, Kevin's dad. He gives Anastasia a sandwich he found on the subway. It's a gross and disgusting sandwich and Anastasia hates it, but this is one of the few times in the series where Percy goes out of his way to be nice to someone, without expecting anything in return.
109	* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''. Shego's been known to do this... in her scene with Senor Senior Junior she's shown to be genuinely caring.
110	* Cotton from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' hates most things and most people for [[IrrationalHatred little to no reason.]] But most scenes featuring him and Bobby have him showing his own brand of love.
111	---> '''Cotton:''' Hell, Hank, if you think this is a contest about who's the better daddy, you win! You made Bobby. [[MomentKiller All I ever made was you.]]
112	** His greatest Pet the Dog moment occurs when he took the blame for Bobby for the church fire after Bobby got stomach problems from eating the entire batch of lutefisk. Even though Cotton chastised him and called him "Stinky", he nonetheless took the blame.
113	** Heck, he even gets a few moments with of all people, ''Peggy'', his SitcomArchNemesis. In the episode where she learns to walk again. Cotton ''immediately'' begins rallying Peggy in his own twisted way. It seems a bit like an OutOfCharacterMoment for him, but then Hank points out that Cotton also had a traumatizing injury like Peggy and, like him, had to learn to walk again, when the doctors said that he never would.
114	---> '''Cotton:''' "You walk up this hill, woman, and I'll let you [[ItMakesSenseInContext dance on my grave!"]]
115	** Kahn also has occasionally worked together with Hank despite almost always chastising him for being "a redneck hillbilly".
116	* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': In [[Recap/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeastsS1E09MuteEatMuteWorld Mute-Eat-Mute World]]", when Kipo is despairing over the thought that her best friend might hate her for being part-mutant, Jamack comforts her despite currently being her captor and suggests that perhaps Wolf is just afraid of change, which cheers Kipo up.
117	* The Boss from "WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfTim" does this with his Dog Keith.
118	* Several characters in ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' do this later on, particularly Coach Stopframe in the finale. Reverend Putty also has moments like this throughout the show.
119	* Ratty from ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'', of all people, actually shows shades of this in the first act of the episode "[[Recap/MrBogusS2E2BabysittingBogus Babysitting Bogus]]", as while acting as MC for the wrestling match between Bogus and the baby, he acts concerned when he sees Bogus getting creamed by the baby, and he elatedly congratulates Bogus for hypnotizing the baby into taking a nap.
120	* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'':
121	** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'': "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyAndFriendsE20PonyPuppy Pony Puppy]]" has an almost literal example. Cupcakes is very vocal about her dislike of Dinah the CanisMajor, and grouses abundantly about the trouble she causes, but feeds her treats when nobody is looking and cries when Dinah has to be released to be with her kind.
122	** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
123	*** While Silver Spoon is typically every bit as much of a bitch as [[AlphaBitch Diamond]] [[RichBitch Tiara]], she gets ''one'' such moment: She's the first to applaud Granny Smith's story in ''Family Appreciation Day''.
124	*** Following the trend Diamond Tiara ''finally'' gets one herself in ''Crusaders Of The Lost Mark'', after even Silver Spoon has had enough of her crap and ditched her, her borderline abusive mother has been revealed, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders manage to talk her down and [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre make her realize she can be better than that.]]
125	** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'': Sunset Shimmer literally pets the dog -- Spike, a baby dragon turned into a dog in the human world -- in both the titular first movie (where she's the BigBad) and ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' (where she's one of the good guys). In ''Equestria Girls'', she specifically says that she never intended to hurt Spike, and in general [[EvenEvilHasStandards she has her limits]] [[spoiler:at least until a magical artifact [[OneWingedAngel doesn't do what she thought it was going to do]]]]; in ''Rainbow Rocks'' she's one of the good guys, but on the fringes of Twilight Sparkle's TrueCompanions for a lot of the movie, and so spends a lot of time holding Spike.
126	* ''WesternAnimation/PollyPocket'' Griselle Grande to her granddaughter Gwen.
127	** In the Season 1 episode "Gwen the Great", when Gwen was in the same dance troupe as Polly, Lila and Shani, Gwen tried to steal the locket for herself, chasing the shrunken trio across the stage, ultimately ending with her getting praise from the audience and Griselle, who all thought she was doing an abstract dance. Considering how obsessed Griselle is with getting the locket and how annoyed she can be with Gwen, it nice to see her be proud of Gwen.
128	** In the Season 1 episode "Unlocketing the Past: Part 1" Griselle allowed Gwen to get a pet rat at the Rescue Farm Adopt-A-Thon, despite just failing to steal the locket.
129	* The ''WesternAnimation/PopeyeAndSon'' episode "Junior Gets a Job" shows Bluto at his kindest - he willingly hires Junior when the latter needs money, doesn't hold him responsible for the trouble Tank caused, and when he learns that Junior needed money to buy the same pendant Bluto ordered for his wife, he pretends to have changed his mind about it so that Junior can buy it. In fact, the worst thing he does is get angry at Junior for splashing him with water, and even then that's only because he doesn't know Tank was responsible.
130	* ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'': In the episode "Wedding Bell Blues", when Suga Mama marries her boyfriend Clarence, it appears that Lacienega Boulavardez is genuinely happy for Penny and her family. When Suga Mama and Clarence announce their engagement, she happy cheers for them, agrees to be a bridesmaid in the wedding, and when Suga Mama ask her to, invites Papo Boulavardez to the wedding, she agrees (also keeping Suga Mama in the dark that Papo is dating other woman).
131	* In the ChristmasEpisode "I Heard the Barks on Christmas Eve" of ''WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010'', reluctant dog catcher Lenard [=McLeish=], who allegedly didn't like dogs, finds an equally hard luck dog named Ralph to take in to his home and heart.
132	* Mitchell from ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' is usually a JerkAss snarker, but sometimes he helps the main characters and is nice to them, especially to [[CheerfulChild Mindy]]. He also loves his dog, Cody.
133	** Jet's cousin Zerk was an obnoxious jerk to him and his friends in "Whole Lotta Shakin'". In his next appearance, "Back to Bortron 7", he is nicer to them, although he still somewhat seemed to belittle Earth.
134	* While [[WesternAnimation/ReBoot ReBoot's]] Megabyte may be an EvilOverlord, he has one moment of this early in the series. After crashing Enzo's birthday party and [[ThePowerOfRock rocking out]] [[GoKartingWithBowser with Bob onstage]], he declares "[[AlwaysWantedToSayThat I've always wanted to do that]]" and gives Enzo his guitar as a birthday present. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse Sadly the guitar never appeared again.]] He gets ''another'' one with Enzo later when, despite being such a cruel bastard as to kill Frisket and [[KickTheDog proudly refuse to let Enzo say good-bye]], he ''still'' instructs his henchmen to take Enzo away first:
135	--> '''Megabyte:''' [[EvenEvilHasStandards The boy... doesn't need to see this.]]
136	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'': Miss Finster is prone to this, usually with Spinelli. She also pulls this trope at the end of ''WesternAnimation/RecessSchoolsOut'', after finding out that Miss Grotke's a martial arts expert and finds a newfound respect for her. This is especially heartwarming when in previous seasons, Miss Finster's shown not to like her too much.
137	** In the episode "Don't Ask Me," when Spinelli takes over Guru Kid's job of giving kids advice, Spinelli gives Randall advice on how to defend himself. It may not seem like much, since she took over Guru Kid's job, but Spinelli has a huge dislike for Randall and you expect her to refuse to help him, sabotage the advice she gives him or at most grudging help him. Instead, she gives him advice to help him with his problem, which he successfully uses.
138	** Randall may be a jerk and a snitch, but he is not that bad deep down and he has moments of kindness.
139	*** [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]] in the Season 2 episode "The Breakup". Randall is only nice to TJ in this episode because he wants to write about him for the essay, since TJ is the most likable person in the school. He does show where the gang is, however, and does make a point by telling TJ that he has to do something.
140	*** In the Season 4 episode "Rumor Mill", there was a rumor of Mikey throwing a boy into the girls' bathroom. The Recess gang investigates the rumor and the clues start to lead to Randall. Randall claims he did not start the rumor but that a mysterious voice on a pay phone told him the rumor. The Recess gang does not believe him and angrily decides to throw him in the girls' bathroom. Mikey steps in (he was the one who started the rumor to get respect for himself), stops his friends and lets Randall go. Randall is so grateful that he tells everyone that Mikey is nice and repairs his reputation.
141	*** Randall's whole friendship with Miss Finster is this. He considers her his best friend and is willing to stand by her when no one else will. This was the basis of the best show in Season 4, "The Fuss Over Finster". When Miss Finster breaks her leg and is taken away in an ambulance, he begs to stay by her, saying he is all she has. The people in the ambulance let him come along.
142	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Mr. Burns has one when he decides to take care of The Simpsons' puppies. Admittedly, he was first planning to make them into a coat, but he did decide to spare them later on.
143	** Any time that Bart and/or Homer get together.
144	** In the flashback episode "I Married Marge", Homer leaves Marge (without saying where he's going) to get a real job so he can care for her and their unborn baby Bart. Seeing how despondent Marge is without Homer, Selma tells her where he is, despite the fact that she '''really''' doesn't like Homer.
145	** In the Season 16 episode "There's Something bout Marrying," Marge's sister Patty comes out as a lesbian, and Homer is surprisingly supportive of her, even agreeing to marry Patty and her girlfriend.
146	* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'', Grouchy Smurf claims to hate everything. However, he does have a softer side that he shows now and then; usually these situations involve Baby Smurf, who he acts as a PapaWolf towards.
147	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
148	** In an episode where cats are banned from the town (because kids are getting high off their urine) Cartman has to hide his cat in the attic. Then he ends up hiding one cat he finds in his backyard. Though each time he says no more, he finds himself harboring every cat in the town, in a blatant holocaust reference. When it's all over and Kyle asks Cartman if he sees in similarities between this and some other part of history, Cartman is clueless.
149	** Cartman has shown genuine love for his mother and gets very upset when Stan's grandfather disrespects her.
150	** In "Chef Aid", Johnnie Cochran initially defends the crooked record company executive with a ChewbaccaDefense. But he's not a bad man, just doing it for the money. And when he sees Chef being aided by so many friends and family, he is moved enough to defend Chef for free.
151	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' episode "First Steps", two kids poke fun at a little girl's sand castle. Sandman uses his power to turn the area around them into a huge Disney-esque castle, chasing the boys away. The little girl thanks "Mr. Sandman". He smiles and tells her to go home as its getting cold. The episode is Pet the Dog from beginning to end.
152	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':
153	** The occasions when Squidward is nice to [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick. The first example of this can be found in the episode "Pizza Delivery", when Squidward responds to a customer making Spongebob cry by throwing the pizza in the customer's face. An aggressive way to pet the dog, but it looks like [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther he really does care about Spongebob]].
154	** Plankton gets one in the episode "Plankton's Pet". He's genuinely nice to his new pet amoeba Spot -- when Spot eats the Krabby Patty he helped steal, Plankton's only response is to calmly tie him up for a few minutes as punishment -- and when Spot runs away, he willingly works with Spongebob to find his pet and doesn't even TRY to steal another Patty.
155	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has this in the form of [[spoiler:Blue and Yellow Diamond]]. Prior to the "Zoo" arc in Season 4, the Homeworld Diamonds seemly like purely malicious entities. It isn't until the former [[spoiler:kidnaps Greg]] that we learn that their feelings and actions towards Earth are mainly driven by them [[spoiler:mourning the death of Pink Diamond]].
156	** [[spoiler:Kidnapping Greg]] was itself a weird form of this, since she, [[DramaticIrony believing that]] the Earth was still set to be destroyed imminently, decided to spare him for [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe comforting her]].
157	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats}}'': Mumm-Ra is an evil BigBad who'd like nothing more than to eliminate the Thundercats and rule Third Earth unhindered... but he loves his pet Ma-Mutt, to the point where he actually ''apologizes'' to him in the episode "Ma-Mutt's Confusion".
158	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' episode "Triage," Soundwave, so far known to just about everybody to be silent, mysterious, and downright ''terrifying,'' leaves his battle against Wheeljack in order to go rescue Laserbeak, after receiving an S.O.S. from the drone. May count as a double example because there was no reason whatsoever that he couldn't go ahead and eliminate Wheeljack, who had been disabled through painful audio waves, before leaving.
159	** Not to mention in [[Recap/TransformersPrimeS1E5DarknessRisingPart5 season 1]] he spares the kids, even when [[LeeroyJenkins Miko]] unintentionally gives him a fire axe.
160	* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' there are a few moments where Sentinel Prime acts less of a {{Jerkass}}, notably in "Return of the Headmaster" where he shakes Optimus' hand after helping him [[GrandTheftMe regain his stolen body,]] and "Predacons Rising" where he took some responsibility for what happened to Elita-1 (It was his idea to go to the planet where that event happened in the first place). But his biggest Pet the Dog moment to date was at the end of "Decepticon Air" where he offered Optimus a spot in the Elite Guard, showing that the two Primes have buried the hatchet.
161	* At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'' special, the hard-as-nails [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage Mirage Turtles]] acknowledge their parallel universe counterparts (both the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 '87]] and [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 '03]] Turtles) as BashBrothers, and have developed some sort of respect for them. The Mirage Turtles even admit to liking the [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS initialized belt-buckles]] of the old-toon Turtles. As it turns out, all three Turtle Teams aren't so different.
162	* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'':
163	** The Monarch tears up moments before he was to be declared man and wife with Dr. Girlfriend. The Phantom Limb interrupts the wedding with copters which prompts the Monarch to scream "OHHHH, DICK MOVE!"
164	** [[BigBad The Monarch]] pets the dog so hard in season two that fans were actually upset to be reminded in the following season that he is, in fact, a professional villain, and therefore not very nice.
165	** Dr. Venture Sr. is often depicted as an emotionally abusive and negligent father. However, in the episode ''Spanakopita'', after tracking down the Greek islanders who stole from his boat and inadvertently kidnapped Rusty, he sent his son away and he and his friends promptly beat the crap out of the people who robbed him and planned to ransom his son.
166	* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'':
167	** Black Manta may be a member of The Light and clearly evil, but [[spoiler: he cares deeply for his son, Aqualad, to the point of going PapaWolf on anyone who might hurt him.]]
168	** {{Zigzagged}} with Sportsmaster. Sure, he'll blackmail and emotionally abuse his daughters, but he swears revenge against Black Manta when Manta's son kills his daughter, Artemis... but only because he did it without his permission. He wants to kill Manta to preserve his reputation, because he'll look like a cheap punk if he lets it go or takes a payoff. ''However'', when he finds out Artemis ''faked'' her death in order to screw over Manta and the Light -- the employers Sporty broke with in order to pursue killing Manta -- he's perfectly fine with allowing the Light to believe he lost the fight against Manta and even covers Artemis' tracks as a favor.
169	** Arsenal is a bit of a jackass, but upon discovering [[spoiler:he has spent the last eight years frozen while a clone took his place, he never once blames said clone. He states that his clone never asked to be born and dedicated himself to his rescue after discovering the truth of his origins, and politely asks him to leave so he can process everything. This is in contrast to his treatment of Green Arrow, who he justifiably reams for not realizing he had been replaced and them leaving him to rot - he screams at him to GetOut.]]
170

Context PetTheDog / WesternAnimation