Santa's Little Helper event; however, their plan fails and a drunk shark that's discovered at the event becomes the new mascot instead. Santa's Little Helper gladly returns to the Simpson family. Santa's Little Helper's initial appearance on "The Simpsons" was in the first episode of the series, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", which aired on Dec. 17, 1989. Since then, he has become a recurring character. "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening told "TV Guide" in 2000 that "we [the staff] painted ourselves into a corner with our Christmas episode. Once we wrote the dog into the show, we were stuck with him."
Santa's Little Helper (film) Santa’s Little Helper, but Eleanor, using an obscure North Pole law, challenges him to the position with the winner being decided through a rigorous obstacle course. Dax loses and Eleanor is named Santa’s Little Helper. Dax returns home, having stolen a magic bell that can make wishes come true and plans to use it to save the Youth Center. Santa intercedes and halts his attempts at using magic, so Dax gives a rousing speech to rally the community and save the Youth Center from a wrecking ball and capture the director who really stole the money from it. Santa places