Dog of Death
Although the dog's life is saved, the family begins to feel the strain of their sacrifices and starts treating him badly, causing him to run away.
The writers enjoyed the previous episodes centered on Santa's Little Helper and decided to create another one, which resulted in "Dog of Death".
To save money for the operation, the Simpsons must make sacrifices: Homer stops buying beer and Bart gets his hair cut at a barber school.
Feeling unwanted, he runs away from home on an adventure, only to be captured, taken to the dog pound and adopted by Mr. Burns, who trains him to be one of his vicious attack hounds.
He protects Bart from Mr. Burns's pack of snarling hounds and returns to the Simpson family, who shower him with love as apologies for their foolishness.
"[12] In addition to "The Lottery", the books that end up in the Simpsons' fireplace are Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Fatherhood by Bill Cosby and Canine Surgery.
[2] It references several controversies about Jackson; Brockman's butler tells him that his pet llama bit Ted Kennedy and Mr. Burns is sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber as part of his longevity treatment.
[19][20][21] "Dog of Death" acquired a Nielsen rating of 14.2, equivalent to about 13.1 million viewing households, which made The Simpsons the highest-rated show on Fox the week the episode aired.
Tom Adair of The Scotsman considers it to be a classic episode of the show,[23] and Mark Zlotnick of UGO's DVDFanatic named it one of his personal favorites from season three.
He added that the episode is unlikely to satisfy devoted fans, and the relationship between the family and Santa's Little Helper will not "register" to casual viewers; "Still, there are enough laughs (especially in the animal hospital) to keep the audience entertained.
[...] From the cracks about the lottery and public hysteria that open the program to the calamities that befall the family when Santa's Little Helper gets sick to the bizarre escapades that greet the pooch when he splits, 'Dog of Death' provides a hilarious piece.
"[9] Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict commented that Santa's Little Helper's "twisted stomach means the family must budget themselves to pay for the surgery, and the results are some of the best lines in the history of the show.
Club writes "The lottery subplot turns out to be something of a dead end, for as the title suggests, the real subject of 'The Dog of Death' is the furry, adorable little sentient plot point that is Santa’s Little Helper."
There’s no real rhyme or reason to Homer’s desires; there are no practical benefits to having gold skin as there would be to possessing say, laser-beam eyes, it’s just the crassest conceivable form of consumerism, greed rendered surreal.
On the commentary, the writers and producer herald it as the ultimate John Swartzwelder gag, an insane non sequitur that takes an ugly human impulse and exaggerates it to grotesque extremes.
