"Old Yeller-Belly" is the nineteenth episode of the fourteenth season of the American television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. It originally aired on the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

in the United States on May 4, 2003. Santa's Little Helper fails to help Homer when he is trapped in a fire. He is rebuffed by the family, but eventually accepted again.

Plot

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...

and his friends in his treehouse try to

eavesdrop Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information. Etymology The verb ''eavesdrop'' is a back-formation from the noun ''eaves ...

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

and her friends having a tea party, and the treehouse gets destroyed in the ensuing fight. The

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

build a grand new one but, ignorant of electricity, install the wiring wrongly. There is a fire at the party to mark the completion of the treehouse. Everyone gets out safely except Homer.

Santa's Little Helper Santa's Little Helper is a fictional dog in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. He was previously voiced by Frank Welker, and is currently voiced by Dan Castellaneta. The dog ...

is there, but does not even try to save him.

Snowball II A snowball is a sphere, spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights. A snowball may also be ...

climbs up to save him, scratching him hard to restore him to consciousness. Homer becomes very fond and appreciative of Snowball II and very cold towards Santa's Little Helper, whom he labels a coward for leaving him for dead. The dog follows him everywhere trying to regain his acceptance, but Homer rebuffs him. Snowball II is a local hero. The local

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

park is renamed the "Snowball II Municipal

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

Park". In an interview with

Kent Brockman Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted". He is a grumpy, self-centered local Springfield news anchor. Profi ...

, Homer declares, "I have no dog!" Santa's Little Helper is tethered in the backyard. There is an empty beer can there. Santa's Little Helper flips the can into the air, balancing it on his nose and drinking the last few drops. A ''Springfield Shopper'' reporter sees this and takes a photo, which appears on the front page of the newspaper. This gets the attention of

Duff Beer Duff Beer is a brand of beer that originated as a fictional beverage on the animated series ''The Simpsons''. Beers using the Duff branding have been brewed in a number of countries, resulting in legal battles with varying results. An official ...

, who announce that

Duffman Barry Huffman, more commonly known by his work name Duffman, is a character on the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is the mascot and chief spokesperson for Duff Beer. It has been referenced, however, that the corporate mascot "Duffman" has a ...

will be replaced with Santa's Little Helper, as their new mascot, Suds McDuff. Suds McDuff boosts sales of Duff Beer and the family's fortunes explode. However, this prompts Santa's Little Helper's original sleazy owner and racing trainer (from "

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (titled onscreen as "The Simpsons Christmas Special") is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Introd ...

") to visit the Simpsons and prove that he owns the dog by showing the interview footage of Homer disowning him. He becomes Suds' owner again and takes the earnings for himself. The family manage to find Duffman, figuring that if they can get him to replace Suds as the Duff mascot, they can get their dog back. He is eager to join their scheme: he will help them get Santa's Little Helper back at a Duff Beer-sponsored

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

event. At the event, Homer pretends to be drowning, while he is actually floating on a keg of beer. As Homer expected, Santa's Little Helper is not brave enough to save him. However, when Duffman is called to save Homer, a

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

is seen and Duffman refuses to go in. The shark tries to bite Homer, but bites the beer keg open instead and gets drunk. The crowd at the beach likes the shark, and Duff Beer announces that the shark — named Duff McShark — will be their new mascot. Santa's Little Helper returns to the

Simpson family The Simpson family are the fictional characters featured in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Th ...

Cultural references

Yellow belly is an abusive term for a coward. The episode title is a reference to the 1957 Disney live-action feature ''

Old Yeller ''Old Yeller'' is a 1956 children's novel written by Fred Gipson and illustrated by Carl Burger. It received a Newbery Honor in 1957. The title is taken from the name of the yellow dog who is the center of the book's story. In 1957, Walt Disney ...

''. Santa's Little Helper's alter ego as Suds McDuff is a reference to the old

Bud Light Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...

mascot Spuds McKenzie.

External links

* {{The Simpsons episodes, 14 The Simpsons (season 14) episodes 2003 American television episodes Television episodes about mammals