Is Horror Going To The Dogs?
Uncomfortably Dark Celebrates Service Dogs in September
written by Kerry E.B. Black
September is National Service Dog Month. My daughter’s best friend is her service dog who we obtained through Canine Companions for Independence this past May. Her canine companion is trained to retrieve for her, carry things, push or pull items, open doors, and so much more. This beautiful black lab recognizes when my little Bear is in distress and instinctively calms her. They are the best of friends.
In honor of National Service Dog month, we’ll look at some canine characters in horror. Let’s begin with those written by Dean Koontz, because Mr. Koontz has been a supporter of and friend to C.C.I., the organization from whence came my daughter’s service doggy. It’s a rare Koontz novel that doesn’t have at least a passing mention of a furry friend. Odd Thomas has his ghostly Boo. Watchers (and its many film adaptations) has a government experimented-upon pup who uses his hyperintellect for the betterment of mankind. Kipp is a golden retriever in Devoted. (We won’t talk about Servants of Twilight written under his pen name, though.) Dean Koontz even wrote a memoir about his beloved pet, Trixie (who I believe was a C.C.I. release dog), saying, “Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished.”
Wayne Smith wrote Thor, with the titular character as a loyal German Shepherd who smells out a werewolf threat and hates being called a bad dog. Ken Greenhall also puts readers into the canine perspective in his novella, Hellhound. However, Greenhall’s Pit Bull is a sociopath, and thus a departure from the “good bois.” Kirsten Bakis’s Lives of the Monster Dogs has genetically modified hounds. James Herbert’s Fluke showcases the perspective of a dog who claims to have once been a person. Meanwhile, in Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones and Night Bitch by Rachel Yoder, the humans find themselves through a different transformation. Putting the reader into the canine perspective shifts things and can create a compelling narrative device, as evidenced in the film, “Good Dog,” which puts viewers into Indy’s perspective as he fights darkness.
If only the characters in Jenny Kiefer’s This Wretched Valley would have trusted their canine’s instincts! Often, dogs recognize threats before their humans. T. Kingfisher’s Twisted Ones brings a faithful Basset Hound along for the adventure, and in her Nettle and Bone, there’s the adorable Bone Dog. Speaking of bone-dogs, how lonely a life (afterlife?) Jack Skellington from “Nightmare Before Christmas” would have experienced without his “Zero!” Tim Burton clearly has an affinity for the pups, with his “Frankenweinie” film and the addition of another spectral dog in “The Corpse Bride.”
Nobody wants the dog to die. Their unquestioning loyalty, unqualified love, doubtless bravery, and endearing innocence warm the heart. When one becomes afflicted in any way, our hearts go out to them. That’s why Cujo by Stephen King remains a difficult experience, with rabies and a seriously sweet but ill St. Bernard. Mr. King also includes many doggos in his narratives. Kojak is a golden retriever clearly on the side of goodness in The Stand, Frisky’s in The Eyes of the Dragon (ok, this one’s more fantasy than horror, but I’m adding it. Just as I’m adding the novel Fairy Tale which is all about the love between a German Shepherd and his boy.) Oy from The Dark Tower series is a sort of dog who seems to occupy the liminal space between good and evil. Then there’s the Polaroid-revealed pup in Sun Dog who is of the darker variety.
The bond between dogs and their people can humanize characters. Angus and Bon join the action of Joe Hill’s novel, Heart Shaped Box. Nobody can forget the dog in Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. Grady Hendrix includes a dear dog in The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
Dogs in horror can lead society’s young along the path to horror. Look at Scooby Doo and his adventures in crime solving! Who can’t but pity poor “Courage the Cowardly Dog?” The children’s series, Bunnicula, has a loyal pooch, too. In truth, many so fear the loss of a dog, even as adults, they won’t even consume horror that includes them. Sensitive to this, a website “Does the dog die?” posts trigger warnings for readers and viewers.
Who are some of your favorite canines in horror? Do you have pups of your own?
*Title image above of the dog skeleton is available from lucioroner at Pixabay
*Image of C.C.I. service dog team from the author's personal photographs
About the Author:
Kerry E.B. Black is a Western Pennsylvanian writer intimately familiar with chronic pain and physical disability - through personal experience and vicariously through her family. Besides writing for journals, ‘zines, and anthologies, she’s published two paranormal thrillers (Awakening at Equinox and Spring of Spirits), four collections of short stories (Herd of Nightmares, Carousel of NIghtmares, Nightmares on Holidays, and Fairy Herds and Mythscapes), a novella (Wolves at Bay), and two poetry collections (Poetic Nightmares and Witches in the Air). Please follow her social media accounts, including
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