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
Santa's Little Helper (film) Keenleyside) is looking to replace Santa’s Little Helper, the second-in-command. Eleanor (Paige), the daughter of the outgoing Ho-Ho-Ho believes the job should be hers, but Santa, believing the North Pole could use a human influence, tasks Billie (AnnaLynne McCord) with reviewing Dax as a possible candidate. Billie is a kindly elf who is shunned by many of her elfin brethren because of a genetic defect that gives her round ears. Billie gives Dax a series of difficult and embarrassing tasks to test his character, occasionally bailing him out with North Pole magic, while not revealing that it is Santa who