TV’s Best Animals of All Time: Tank, Salem, Mister Ed, Betty, Arnold Ziffel, Spot, Annie’s Boobs and More!
Human actors are great and all, don’t get us wrong.
But a dog, cat, horse, pig or… fire-breathing dragon… really can liven up an episode of TV.
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NCIS: Origins‘ introduction of “Special Agent Gary Callahan” (Mike Franks’ trusty K-9 colleague, seen below), coming on the heels of Tank’s return to FBI: International, got us thinking about the non-human characters that have graced TV screens over the decades.
The 1950s series’ titular Lassie, of course, is the poster… doggo… for TV pets. But many others have followed in the path she blazed.
The TVLine staff got together to brainstorm nearly three dozen animals that made their mark, one way or another, on TV series over the years. Our list has lots of fetching dogs, for sure, but all told you’ll find a wide variety of critters — including a cow that’s an honorary G-man, a Real Housewife’s African-gray parrot, at least one car-driving cat and a chicken that got named after his series’ creator. (NOTE: We limited our picks to live-action shows, and no animated or pre-school fare. And to be clear, this is not a list of “every animal that ever appeared in one episode of a TV show.”)
Review our list (alphabetized by show name), then chime in with your own favorite four-legged or feathered or flippered TV friends!
Lucky, ALF
The Jerry to Alf’s Tom, Lucky was constantly trying to avoid getting eaten by the show’s titular alien being. Though the Tanner family sadly lost their meowing bestie in Season 4, his legacy would live on in their second kitty aptly named Lucky II.
Tiger, The Brady Bunch
Tiger was with the blended Brady/Tyler fam since Day 1, literally, where his chasing of the girls’ cat (we don’t talk about Fluffy) turned Mike and Carol wedding reception — cake included — upside down. Tiger even figured into the occasional storyline, such as when he created all kinds of distrust among the sibs by unwittingly abducting Kitty Carry-All.
Cheddar, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Raymond Holt, a dog person? We never woulda guessed it. We would have guessed, though, that any pet owned by Holt and his husband, Kevin, would be extremely intelligent, and their Corgi indeed played a role in many Nine-Nine storylines, including more than one Halloween heist. That’s a good, wedding cake-loving boy.
Colin, Colin From Accounts
We can thank this scruffy little canine for bringing together Gordon and Ashley on Paramount+’s Australian rom-com charmer. (The poor guy has to use wheels to get around; how could you not fall in love with him?!) And their shared affection for Colin has helped keep them together, even as life insists on throwing increasingly wild obstacles in their way.
Annie’s Boobs, Community
This capuchin monkey — played by Crystal of Night at the Museum, The Hangover Part II and Bad Monkey fame — recurred over the first four seasons of the NBC comedy, first as a pet of Troy’s (“It’s an animal that looks like a dude; why don’t I have 10 of them?”) and later as a thief who vexed the study group with its stealing of personal items.
Tank, FBI: International
This onetime cadaver dog for the FBI did not retire quietly, and instead found new purpose as Special Agent Scott Forrester’s “protection dog.” Now, in the wake of Scott’s departure, the Schutzhund has warmed up nicely to new Fly Team leader Wes.
Eddie, Frasier
Very few animals become full-fledged characters on their shows in the way that this mischievous terrier did on NBC’s Emmy-winning Cheers spinoff, stealing scenes left and right as Martin’s beloved pooch. Eddie was a reliable antagonist for Frasier in the early seasons, always messing up Dr. Crane’s posh pad, and even in the later years, he was still good for a hilarious reaction shot or two.
Marcel, Friends
The fictional Marcel’s star rose nearly high as the most popular Friends cast member. After all, he went from being Ross’ pet/New York Eve’s date to a San Diego Zoo attraction and then a “Cybill Shepherd”-level movie star/Jean-Claude Van Damme’s scene partner in Outbreak 2: The Virus Takes Manhattan!
Gene the cow, Fringe
When Walter agreed to restart his lab in the Fox drama’s pilot, he came with a small laundry list of requests — including an optical coherence tomograph; 2,000 pounds of silicon; “at least five anonymous blood samples from volunteer donors”; and a “purebred, two-year-old bos taurus.” Meaning, a cow. As Peter would explain, “humans and cows are separated by only a couple lines of DNA,” so having a cow handy makes for an ethical test subject.
Comet, Full House
At one point in time, this Tanner family member was the pooch every kid in America wanted, thanks to his adorable face and gentle disposition. He also knew how to bring some big laughs — what a good boy!
Ghost, Game of Thrones
Say what you will about the show’s polarizing finale, but it gave us this long-awaited reunion of the loyal direwolf and his beleaguered master — truly one of the most satisfying, longest-lasting pairings in all the realm.
Paul Anka, Gilmore Girls
To fill the void during her falling-out with Rory, Lorelai adopted a dog in Season 6, which she named after the famous singer (who later cameoed in an episode with his canine counterpart). Not only did the typically pet-challenged Lorelai successfully keep her dog alive, but she gamely indulged Paul Anka’s many idiosyncrasies, like his fear of peas and penchant for eating meals in the dark.
Lord Tubbington, Glee
If we’re honest, someone probably should have called the ASPCA for poor Lord Tubbington, Brittany S. Pierce’s obese cat. But we suppose his weight problem was inevitable, seeing as he frequently guest-starred on Brittany’s at-home talk show Fondue For Two… where he’d promptly gorge himself by sticking his head directly in the fondue pot.
Arnold Ziffel, Green Acres
Arguably the wackiest part of the 1960s CBS sitcom, Arnold belonged to Oliver and Lisa Douglas’ (Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor) neighbors, the Ziffels, and everyone in town treated the pig as a boy — partly because Arnold understood English (and his grunts in turn were understood by everyone but Oliver), he attended the local grade school, and he was an avid TV watcher!
Nellie, Heartstopper
The way Nick’s sweet Border Collie is always there to lend him and boyfriend Charlie a supportive paw, she could well be considered an emotional support dog. Not only that, but Charlie’s infatuation with her — even before they’d met — gave Nick an excuse to invite his crush over for their first hang.
Lassie, Lassie
TV’s OG D-O-G was played by a half-dozen different collies over the original live-action series’ 17-season run of nearly 600 episodes. From 1954-1973, Lassie reportedly won its Sundays-at-7 pm time slot every ye— Hey! What’s that, girl? Timmy fell down a well?!
Six-Thirty, Lessons in Chemistry
Voiced by The Office’s B.J. Novak, Six-Thirty was an integral part of Elizabeth’s (Brie Larson) life in Lessons in Chemistry and served as her support system after the death of her soon-to-be husband. The dog even took center stage in Episode 3 to share — in his own words! — his backstory and life experiences that helped foster the profound relationship with his human. Plus, he was just so cute!
Vincent, Lost
Flight 815’s only known non-human passenger/survivor, Walt’s yellow lab was the second character (after Jack) that we met in the iconic ABC series’ pilot. Fittingly, Vincent also appeared in the series finale’s closing scene.
Murray, Mad About You
Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) might never had met Jamie Stemple (Helen Hunt), if the young filmmaker hadn’t been out walking Murray when they first met. That alone is reason enough for Murray to be featured in cast photos for the NBC sitcom, such as the one above!
Buck, Married… With Children
During shoe salesman/beleaguered husband Al Bundy’s (many) moments of defeat, he could be seen confiding his feelings in Buck, believing that the family pet would always be on his side. Buck, though — as often revealed by his thoughts, expressed in voiceover — marveled with the rest of us at Al’s fantastically lousy lot in life.
Colin, A Million Little Things
Gary’s four-legged buddy was around for all of the important milestones of Gary’s adult life… including (sniff!) the end of it. (His plaintive whine at Gary’s deathbed gets us every time.)
Mister Ed, Mister Ed
A horse is a horse, of course. And no one can talk to a horse, of course.
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed — the title character in CBS’ six-season 1960s sitcom co-starring Alan Young and featuring the voice of Allan Lane as the series’ impossibly loquacious equine.
Stella, Modern Family
This French Bulldog entered the Pritchetts’ lives at the close of Season 2, by way of a dog trainer friend of Gloria’s who had big dreams, but a bad doggie treat product. When the trainer left to attend school, Jay begrudgingly agreed to save the pooch from the pound. Ironically, Jay would become doggo’s best friend, whereas Gloria would get fed up with Stella feasting on her pricey shoes.
Spot, The Munsters
Ask any Gen Xer — one of the small joys of watching The Munsters came when Herman or someone would grab the staircase finial and tilt it forward, opening a trap door that revealed the family’s fire-breathing pet. Spot also could be seen slinking around the house or through town, though viewers usually only got glimpses of his scaled tail.
Li’l Sebastian, Parks and Recreation
We can’t help but giggle thinking about how much everyone in Pawnee adored this little show pony on the NBC comedy… even though Ben never understood it. And we can’t help but get a little misty, either, when we think of Li’l Sebastian’s untimely passing and the rousing tribute the town put together in his honor, including Andy’s immortal classic “5000 Candles in the Wind.” Miss you, buddy.
T’Challa, Real Housewives of Potomac
Monique’s pet bird T’Challa knew how to stir up drama, as proven by his attack on Wendy during her first season on the show. While we could’ve done without the on-the-lip kisses, the bird became a lovable staple and a captivating scene-stealer of this Housewives franchise.
Salem, Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Salem Saberhagen is so much more than just a wise-cracking house cat. He’s also a 500-year-old witch who was turned into a cat as punishment for attempting to take over the world. Really, his curse turned out to be our blessing.
Toonces, Saturday Night Live
Why this maniacal cat was ever allowed behind the wheel of a car, we will never know.
Cerberus, SEAL Team
From the military drama’s pilot through Season 4, Cerberus (played by Dita the Hair Missile Dog) was Bravo’s best friend — whether sniffing out bombs, leading the way through narrow passages or creating diversions as rooms got cleared. Cerberus’ eventual retirement (due to PTSD and other issues) was a sad day/episode, though the elite canine would find a new role, as Jason’s pet.
Mark the chicken, Survivor
Chickens don’t typically last long on this show due to all the starving people and whatnot, but thanks to Kaôh Rōng’s Tai, Mark (who was named after executive producer Mark Burnett) made it to the very end without being eaten. You could call him the tribe’s mascot, but really, he was Tai’s BFF.
Backup, Veronica Mars
In Veronica’s world of private investigating, taking Backup meant bringing her snarling pup along whenever she needed to question a shady suspect or put herself in harm’s way (which, yes, was basically every episode).
Dog, The Walking Dead
The same way that dogs are man’s best friend, Dog is one man in particular’s: gruff but tender Daryl. Since the days when fearless Dog could’ve gone by Puppy, he’s stared down countless dangers with his pal and become regarded as such a hero, Carol can’t even stay mad at him for long when he tears up her kitchen!
Betty, Will Trent
There is a very good reason why Will Trent cast members are almost always asked one question or another about Betty (played by Bluebell) — and that’s because Will’s adopted Chihuahua mix is forever a scene stealer, and often gets featured in the ABC drama’s posters.
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