Year of the Dog is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike White (in his directorial debut), and starring Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Regina King, Thomas McCarthy, Josh Pais, John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard.

The film tells the story of a woman who goes from having one pet dog at home to becoming a vegan and an animal rights activist.

Peggy gets a call from Newt from the SPCA who was present when Pencil died as he has a dog for her to adopt: Valentine, a King Shepherd with behavioral problems.

Her new belief system is looked at flippantly by Pier and Bret; when she announces she is a vegan, he says it won't last long.

She takes Lissie and Benji to a rescued animal farm to introduce them to their "adopted" chicken (a charity sponsorship) she got them for Christmas.

Peggy gets drunk and, showing Lissie the rack of furs in her mother's closet, when she asks her opinion of them she says it's "mean".

She impulsively adopts 15 dogs slated to die, saying she works with the SPCA and will find them all homes.

Erroneously blaming Al, Peggy sneaks into his house and finds molluscicide with a hole chewed into the corner, confirming her suspicions about Pencil's death.

She abandons her former life, heading off to the protest, content that fighting for animals is her greater reason for living (not child-rearing, career, or intimate human relationships).

The website's consensus reads: "Year of the Dog is a warm and quirky comedy that never condescends to its eccentric characters.

"[1] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

The film received a limited release on April 13, 2007, and on its opening weekend grossed $108,223 in seven theaters.