History PetTheDog / LiveActionTV

** From the very first episode:

* ''Series/MonarchLegacyOfMonsters'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Monarch]]'s Deputy Director Verdugo is [[GoodIsNotNice aloof at the very best of times]], and she's hinted to be a bit over-ambitious, arrogant and resentful despite being aligned with an ultimately {{benevolent conspiracy}}, when Monarch and Kentaro believe that all of Kentaro's friends have died [[spoiler:in Kazakhstan]], she's genuinely sympathetic when breaking the bad news to him.

** On a more villain-based note, over the course of the series, recurring antagonist Gul Dukat tries to blackmail Kira into letting him station a garrison on the station in exchange for helping them out of a crisis only he can fix, [[spoiler:betrays the entire Alpha Quadrant to the Dominion, unleashes the Bajorans' demons to fight the Propets, and corrupts the leader of the Bajoran religion over to his side]], but he also believes in Sisko when the possibility is raised that Sisko may be involved in certain conspiracies, believes Sisko's version of events when the ''Defiant'' is stolen by the Maquis, and basically sacrifices his entire career to be a father to his illegitimate, half-Bajoran daughter. Producers have stated that their goal with Dukat was always to make his villainous moments worse by reinforcing the idea that Dukat ''can'' do the right thing but so often chooses to act solely in his own self-interest instead.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': Howard often gets picked on by the other main characters, mainly because he's the only one without a doctorate. In one episode, however, when he tracked down the guy who hacked Sheldon's World of Warcraft account, Sheldon tells him "I’ve never said these words before, but good job, Howard!".

* ''Series/AmericanIdol'': Simon Cowell had a completely literal Pet the Dog moment on Season 7...a contestant entered with a six-week-old Pomeranian puppy named Panda, who she handed over to the judges. Simon very quickly nabbed the little creature, and his next words were, "I'm going to steal your dog." He kept stroking that little puppy through the entire audition, and it took some coaxing to get Panda out of his arms again.

** In season 3, Fisk devotes a considerable amount of effort to reclaiming a painting that Vanessa was fond of that was taken from him when his assets were seized after his arrest. When the new owner refuses to sell the painting even for several times it's monetary value, Fisk decides to pay her a visit, with the implied intent of threatening or killing her. However, when he hears the reason she's so attached to it-she was a Holocaust survivor, and the painting had been in her family for years before it was taken from them by the Nazis-he decides to let her keep it. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, Agent Poindexter later finds out about this and, in a desperate attempt to impress Fisk, kills the woman and steals the painting]].

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'':
** Merle Dixon has a few moments of this in AMC's series. He's a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]], shockingly racist and sexist [[{{Jerkass}} dick]], but upon being informed of [[spoiler:Amy's]] death, he notably pauses before saying that she was a nice kid and that he's very sorry. Also, he's visibly horrified by the sight of [[spoiler:the Governor acting like he's going to rape Maggie]]. Oh, and don't mess with [[BigBrotherInstinct his brother Daryl]]. [[BerserkButton Ever]].

*** The best example of that affection is in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E8LoversWalk Lovers Walk]]" where Spike, drunk and upset because Dru left him, proceeds to kidnap and threaten his way through the entire population of Sunnydale, except Joyce. From Joyce, he wants hot chocolate with marshmallows and a friendly chat.

* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': In [[Recap/HouseOfTheDragonS1E1TheHeirsOfTheDragon "The Heirs of the Dragon"]] Daemon is ruthless, arrogant and quite the bastard for most of the episode but at Queen Aemma's funeral, he is quite tender with his mourning niece. He encourages her to be there for Viserys and to light her mother and brother's pyre. Earlier he also gave her a gift after gloating about the fact that he's the heir.

* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': In "[[Recap/HouseOfTheDragonS1E1HeirsOfTheDragon Heirs of the Dragon]]" Daemon is ruthless, arrogant and quite the bastard for most of the episode but at Queen Aemma's funeral, he is quite tender with his mourning niece. He encourages her to be there for Viserys and to light her mother and brother's pyre. Earlier he also gave her a gift after gloating about the fact that he's the heir.

** In the episode "Chuck vs. The Wookiee" of this comedic spy drama, Sara, a near-total cipher, is seen feeding a pet fish, a nice hint of humanity. Then she's attacked by a masked assailant. During the struggle, a gun and the goldfish fishbowl are knocked to the floor. The assailant seems to reach for the gun... and instead rescues the goldfish, making this an instance of two characters petting the same dog.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'': In the 2003 revival, the episode ''It's Still a Good Life'' shows us that Anthony has grown up and is still mentally a child, considering people who hide things from him to be "sneaky people", bullying the townsfolk, and wishing away people to the cornfield (this, we find out, includes his own wife). In spite of this, he seems to love his mother and his daughter as much as he is capable of. In fact, his daughter is the only one who does not fear him at all, because he never threatens or harms her.

*** He offers to take Arya to the Freys to meet up with her mother and brother despite the fact that he knows Arya would rather kill him. Then he saves her at the Red Wedding, despite having no reason to do so.

* In ''Series/TheFlash2014'', the season 2 pilot has [[spoiler:Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne leave a [[VideoWills video-will]] for Barry, in which he confesses to Nora Allen's murder, allowing Barry's father to be a free man once again]].

* ''[[Series/TheBigBangTheory]]'': Howard often gets picked on by the other main characters, mainly because he'd the only one without a doctorate. In one episode, however, when he tracked down the guy who hacked Sheldon's World of Warcraft account, Sheldon tells him "I’ve never said these words before, but good job, Howard!".