Santa's Little Helper the show, but voice artist Frank Welker has also voiced him. Santa's Little Helper has become a popular character following his appearances on "The Simpsons". He ranked 27th in Animal Planet's 2003 television special "50 Greatest TV Animals" that was based on popularity, name recognition, and the longevity of the shows. He has also been featured in merchandise relating to "The Simpsons", such as video games, board games, and comics. Santa's Little Helper is a greyhound that appears on the animated television series "The Simpsons" and is the pet dog of the Simpson family. He can often be seen on
Politics in The Simpsons to "hundreds of radical right-wing messages inserted into every show by creator Matt Groening". More recently, however, conservative bloggers and commentators have enthusiastically promoted cultural memes from the series, such as Groundskeeper Willie's derisive term for the French, "cheese-eating surrender monkeys". Political topics addressed on "The Simpsons" include homophobia and gay marriage (in the episodes "Homer's Phobia" and "There's Something About Marrying"), immigration and border control (“Much Apu About Nothing,” “Midnight Rx”, “Coming to Homerica”), drug and alcohol abuse ("Brother's Little Helper", "Weekend at Burnsie's", "Smoke on the Daughter", "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment", "Duffless", "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)", and "Days of