Basic Trope: Someone is so unvalued in a family that their pets are treated better than they are.
- Straight: Logan's parents force him to sleep outside and won't let him come in until lunch. Meanwhile, his pet dog gets to roam freely around the house and eat gourmet meals.
- Exaggerated: Logan is treated like dirt, being abused when he's not being completely neglected. Meanwhile, the family's pet dog sleeps in a fancy bed, has access to fancy food 24/7, and has his own room.
- Downplayed:
- Logan's parents won't let him have dessert, but they let the dog have some treats.
- Logan is raised with love and care, but the dog is extremely spoiled and gets more love than the parents give Logan and themselves combined.
- Justified:
- Logan has very Abusive Parents.
- Logan is a feral-like child who always makes messes at home, while the family dog is anthropomorphic.
- Inverted: Logan is treated much better than the pet.
- Subverted: Logan's dog is sitting at the table, while Logan is given a dish of pet food on accident. The parents apologize and take the bowl away.
- Double Subverted: Because the dog gets two meals, and Logan gets nothing.
- Parodied: Logan sleeps in the doghouse and eats from a dog bowl while the dog gets to eat at the table and sleep in a human bed, effectively swapping roles.
- Zig-Zagged: Logan gets to eat salad while the dog has beef, which is bad because he hates salad. But he hates beef even more. And at least he doesn't have to take baths that often, even if he is made to sleep outside...
- Averted: Logan and the dog are both treated with proper care.
- Enforced: "Let's give Logan a Hilariously Abusive Childhood where even the family dog has it better than he does!"
- Lampshaded: "The dog gets to have dinner at the table and I don't?"
- Invoked: While Tempting Fate, Logan says, "Well, at least I've got it better than the dog!"
- Exploited: It turns out that Logan has a Bizarre Taste in Food and actually likes Eating Pet Food. He misbehaves so he can eat dog food instead.
- Defied:
- Logan insists on being treated like a human being.
- "What the heck makes you think we're gonna treat the dog like a son instead of you? There's plenty of love for both of you."
- Social Services sees what's going on and has Logan's parents arrested.
- Discussed: "Geez, Logan's parents treat him like he's a dog." "Actually, I think the dog's faring better than Logan is."
- Conversed: "Is this the episode where Logan switches brains with his dog?" "Nope, I think his parents just hate him."
- Played for Drama:
- Logan ends up struggling with his self-worth and becomes an animal hater in the process.
- The dog is visibly saddened at Logan's situation and ashamed it gets more love than he does, just wanting to be family with him.
- Played for Horror:
- The abuse drives Logan so mad that he kills the dog.
- Loganès parents already treat the dog quite poorly, so if it's treated better then him, the abuse is really bad.
- Logan's parents are sexually abusive towards him and enjoy forcing him into puppy play.
What are you doing here? Go back to Treated Worse than the Pet and clean Mister Muffykins' luxury pillows, and get all the stains out!
