Santa's Little Helper realistic dilemma faced by many families who own dogs. Other episode ideas come from popular culture. For example, Santa's Little Helper fathering 25 puppies in "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" is a parody of the Disney film "One Hundred and One Dalmatians", and Mr. Burns' technique of brainwashing him into an attack dog in "Dog of Death" parodies "A Clockwork Orange". Susan McHugh, who teaches theories of animals, literature, and culture at the University of New England, wrote in her 2004 book "Dog" that, "remaining loyal to his unlikely saviours, the boy Bart and his father Homer, this greyhound has
Media in The Simpsons Homer's success and comfort in spite of his inherent laziness and ignorance. "Homer's Enemy" explores the comic possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In an essay for the book "Leaving Springfield", Robert Sloane describes the episode as "an incisive consideration of "The Simpsons"'s world. Although "The Simpsons" is known for its self-reflectivity, the show had never looked at (or critiqued) itself as directly as it does in ["Homer's Enemy"]." In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes