Who would have thought that a comic book about a literal dog man would be able to pull at your heartstrings?
As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- In A Tale of Two Kitties, after deciding that Li´l Petey is not fit to be his clone, Petey puts him in a box labeled "Free Kitty" and tries to give him away. When Li´l Petey sneaks off to go to the bathroom, Petey runs away. Li´l Petey then wanders the city in the dark, hoping that someone will take him in. Later, it's hard not to feel bad for Petey as he runs all over town looking for Li´l Petey after exclaiming "What have I done!?".
- Brawl Of the Wild is basically this. The book involves Dog Man gets framed by the F.L.E.A.S. and send away. Then Chief explains Li´l Petey that everyone were mean to him and called him a misfit.
- The Reveal in For Whom the Ball Rolls that Petey's father treated him horribly, behavior which he continues when he reappears in Petey's life, compounded by the fact that Harold's confirmed as co-writer for the story which many fans have interpreted as him drawing on his own experiences with his Disappeared Dad.
- One scene involves Petey's father throwing dishes everywhere in anger while Petey holds onto Li'l Petey as it happens. For many, it comes off as a scene of a parent trying to protect their child during an episode of Domestic Abuse.
- Petey's father ends up leaving his son's house while stealing everything of value. But what hurts Li'l Petey the most is that his grandfather didn't even bother to take his handmade comics with him.
- Petey in Fetch-22, after his father steals his identity and locks him in jail. He pleads to the guard to let him go because he thinks Li’l Petey is in danger, only for the former to lock him up and leave. He doesn’t see Li’l Petey until after the climax, and it was a miracle he didn’t get locked back up.
- Grime and Punishment took Petey’s issues with his dad up to eleven by revealing that his father not only abandoned him when he was young, but around the time that his mother had gotten sick.
- Petey: Look— your Grampa... He ABANDONED me and my mom! He left when I was just a kitten! He left when… He left when my mom was sick.
Lil’ Petey: Your mommy was sick?
Petey: Yeah.
Lil’ Petey: She got better though, right? (Petey doesn’t respond) Right, Papa?
- Mothering Heights shows that Petey has tried to reform in the past, but everyone kept rejecting him because of his actions. This caused him to lose his faith in humanity.
- Scarlett Shedder elaborates more on his past after his father abandoned him and his mother. Simply put, she and Petey have to take up residency in a domestic shelter after they're evicted from their house. Though Petey's mom tries to put a positive spin on the situation so her son could avoid learning the grim truth about their crisis. If that wasn't enough, Little Jim was also a resident of the shelter because his parents are in heaven.
