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
Simpson Safari going on strike. Presumably and strangely having no ability to shop without bag boys to pack their bags, they are unable to buy more food. When the Simpsons run out of food in their home, the family follows Santa's Little Helper into the attic, where he finds a 30-year-old box of animal crackers. Homer bites into a solid-gold giraffe, which is the winning contest piece for a trip to Africa. The animal cracker company initially refuses to honor the prize because the contest ended a number of years ago. But when Homer is hit in the eye by a sharp