Santa's Little Helper and is the center of the plots of several episodes. During the course of the show, he has fathered litters of puppies, passed obedience school, had surgery for bloat, replaced Duffman as the mascot for Duff Beer, and been trained as a police dog at Springfield's Animal Police Academy. Some of the episodes that focus on Santa's Little Helper have been inspired by popular culture or real experiences that staff members of the show have gone through. Although cartoon animals are often anthropomorphized, Santa's Little Helper generally exhibits canine behavior. Cast member Dan Castellaneta currently provides the dog's sounds on
Springfield (The Simpsons) legs, presumably some sort of insect or spider (or perhaps a mutated animal from the vicinity of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant), that was driven into extinction by its production. Places based on places shown in "The Simpsons" exist at Universal Studios Florida, including one based on Krusty Burger. Lard Lad Donuts is a donut store in Springfield. Its mascot is an (estimated) tall statue of a rather chubby boy proudly holding a donut over his head. The name and the statue of the eponymous boy are likely references to Big Boy Restaurants. In "The Simpsons Game", the Lard Lad