Santa's Little Helper and Tiger (50th). According to a writer for McClatchy News Service, the rankings were "determined by popularity, name recognition and how long the show lasted." Among fans and critics, Santa's Little Helper has been mostly well received. He ranked seventh in a 2008 poll by "Dog Whisperer"s Cesar Millan that determined the "best-loved television dog of all time." Lassie ranked first in the poll. In addition, he was voted the tenth favorite "Simpsons" character by readers of "Simpsons Comics" in the United Kingdom in 2010. In a list of their top twelve favorite dogs from cartoons, comics, and animation, writers
Brother's Little Helper Meyer and directed by director Mark Kirkland. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1999. After the season 5 episode "Bart's Inner Child", Meyer got "a little burned out on writing scripts", so he wrote "Brother's Little Helper" in order to "try [his] hand again". While writing the episode, Meyer was going through "some psychological problems" and found the episode very difficult to write. He was initially so dissatisfied with the first draft that he turned it in with a pseudonym; Vance Jericho. Co-producer Tim Long jokingly commented that the script was