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
Brother's Little Helper at the time, I didn't think I needed to be taught a lesson while I watched The Simpsons. I still don't." He did, however, "love" the "tag back" to the volunteer fire department seen in the beginning of the episode, and "the fact that they can't find how to fight a satellite fire in their handbook". In his review of "The Simpsons - The Complete Eleventh Season", Brian Tallerico of The Deadbolt considered "Brother's Little Helper" to be one of the season's best episodes. Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide was favorable as well, calling the episode "pretty good" and