Santa's Little Helper real-life breed will paint a different picture — of dogs that are peaceful, affectionate, [and] not given to drooling, panting". Some ideas for episodes featuring Santa's Little Helper come from reality. The plot of "Dog of Death" was based on Swartzwelder's experiences with his own dog, which had also suffered from bloat. However, unlike the events in the episode, Swartzwelder's dog did not receive treatment as the operation was too expensive and the dog was too old. "The Gold Coast Bulletin"s Ryan Ellem commented in 2005 that the Simpson family's dilemma with the cost of the veterinary procedure is a
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