Santa's Little Helper for "The Tampa Tribune" listed Santa's Little Helper at number six, writing: "We admire his upbeat nature even after having his legs broken by Mr. Burns and being abandoned by Bart for another dog, Laddie." He also ranked 75th on Retrocrush author Robert Berry's list of "The 100 Greatest Dogs of Pop Culture History" in 2006. The character has attracted some criticism too, though. While reviewing the episode "Bart's Dog Gets an F" in 2010, Nathan Rabin of "The A.V. Club" wrote: "As cartoon dogs go, Santa’s Little Helper is spectacularly unspectacular. In a realm of aggressively anthropomorphic canines, some
Brother's Little Helper medication. The episode features former Major League Baseball player Mark McGwire as himself. Finishing in 51st place, ratings for "Brother's Little Helper" were considered disappointing by "Deseret News", although the episode became the most watched program on the network that night. Following its broadcast, the episode was positively received by critics. In response to the episode, five months after the episode originally aired, United States president Bill Clinton held the first ever White House conference on Mental Health. Principal Skinner holds a Fire Prevention site at the Springfield Elementary Schoolyard. Then a skit featuring Ned and Maude Flanders goes awry.