Santa's Little Helper and Snowball: the Simpsons' pets

CharacterSimpsons petsSimpson family

The family dog is a failed racing greyhound, the cat is called Snowball and she is black. A look back at the very first episode, aired on 17 December 1989, in which Homer and Bart take in the animal that came last in its race and was abandoned by its owner; then at the 2004 gag in which several cats die in a single day before the survivor is renamed Snowball II. Frank Welker and Dan Castellaneta provide the barking. The gap between that name and that coat will hold no more mysteries.

A clumsy greyhound and a cat with a misleading name: Santa's Little Helper and Snowball complete the Simpson household.

Adopted at the very start of the show, the yellow family's two pets each have their own story — and their own share of gags. Here is the profile.

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Santa's Little Helper, the Christmas greyhound

The family dog is a greyhound named Santa's Little Helper ("Petit Papa Noël" in the French version). His adoption is one of the show's founding moments: in the very first episode (aired on 17 December 1989, with the story set on Christmas Eve), Homer and Bart take him in after he finishes last in a greyhound race and is abandoned by his owner. A "failed" racing dog who would remain, throughout the show, as clumsy as he is endearing.

🐕 He finished last in his greyhound race before Homer and Bart took him in, and Santa's Little Helper quickly made himself at home in the living room; at your place, our Simpsons blankets save a corner of the couch for your own dog, or for you when he leaves you some room.

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Snowball, the cat with a misleading name

The family cat is called Snowball. The name comes from the white fur of the household's first cat — except that she died before the show began, run over by a car. The current cat, Snowball II, is in fact… black, a cheerful mismatch between name and appearance that the show fully owns.

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The gag of the cats in succession

The show pushed the logic into the absurd in a famous episode (2004), in which several cats die one after another in a single day: Snowball II is run over by Dr. Hibbert's car, III drowns, IV jumps out the window on hearing Lisa play the saxophone… before the family renames the surviving cat "Snowball II", to save on a food bowl. A high point of Simpsons black humor. The household has taken in other, more fleeting animals — starting with a lobster named Pinchy.

📱 Snowball IV jumps out the window at the sound of Lisa's saxophone, and the family gets by renaming the surviving cat; your phone has no stand-in on hand when it falls, so our Simpsons iPhone cases take the hit in its place.

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The animals' voice actors

Santa's Little Helper's barking was provided in the original version first by Frank Welker (a specialist in animal sound effects) and then by Dan Castellaneta. On the French side, since both animals express themselves only through uncredited sounds, no specific voice actor is officially attributed to them.

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Summary table

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FAQ

• What are the Simpsons' pets called?
  The dog, a greyhound, is called Santa's Little Helper, and the cat Snowball ("Petit Papa Noël" and "Boule de Neige" in the French version).
• How did the family adopt their dog?
  In the very first episode, on Christmas Eve: Homer and Bart take in the greyhound after he finishes last in a race and is abandoned.
• Why is the cat called Snowball when she is black?
  The name comes from the first cat, who was white; the later cats kept it despite their different coats.
• How many cats has the family had?
  Several: a famous episode shows several Snowballs dying one after another before the survivor is renamed "Snowball II".

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Conclusion

Clumsy, indestructible (or nearly) and full of affection, Santa's Little Helper and Snowball round out the most famous family on television beautifully. Proof that in Springfield, even the animals get their share of glory — and of gags, from Krusty's chimpanzee to the pig Homer adopts in the movie.

🧸 Indestructible, or nearly: the long line of Snowballs knows a thing or two about that. On your bed, our Simpsons plush toys keep the tenderness and drop the "nearly", without ever needing to be renamed.

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