Santa's Little Helper of whom, admittedly, have strong speech impediments, he doesn’t talk or wisecrack or engage in shenanigans. His abilities and powers begin and end with masticating, defecating, and regular napping. You know, just like a real dog. Consequently, episodes devoted to Santa’s Little Helper tend to be a little on the sleepy side, even the "Simpsons" Christmas special that launched the series." Since his first appearance on "The Simpsons", Santa's Little Helper has appeared in merchandise relating to the show. On the board art of "The Simpsons Clue", a 2000 board game by USAopoly based on "Clue", he is shown drinking
Brother's Little Helper by director Mark Kirkland and was the first episode staff writer George Meyer received a sole writing credit for since the season 5 episode "Bart's Inner Child". Meyer, who was facing some psychological difficulties while writing the episode, felt so dissatisfied with the episode's first draft that he turned it in with a pseudonym. The episode satirizes the perceived misdiagnosis of behavioral disorders in children, which was a controversial topic at the time the episode was written. The episode's title is a parody of The Rolling Stones song "Mother's Little Helper", which was also written on the topic of psychological