Santa's Little Helper the dog was a "sympathetic" character. Welker has been praised by staff members for his performances on the show. David Mirkin has noted that "he can do anything, and it fits perfectly. You forget you're listening to a guy, and he's a pleasure to work with." Groening has commented that he was "unbelievably good" at doing animal noises. After 1995, Castellaneta voiced Santa's Little Helper on his own while Welker performed other animal noises until his full departure in 2002, when he was denied a pay raise. In the "questions and answers" section on his website, Welker revealed that the
The Search for Santa Paws that is and take them there. Eli tells Jimmy to keep the pin and dubs him an official Santa's helper for his perseverance, before Jimmy heads home. Haggis, Rasta and T-Money arrive and join in as well determined to keep their promise to Paws. When Kate and James tell them he's in the hospital, they work together to rescue him and give him back the crystal. But the crystal is too weak to revive Santa. Paws tells Eli to put his crystal next to Santa to help, sacrificing himself as he'll turn back into a stuffed animal. Santa wakes up