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The Dog Is an Alien

164 statements
30 feature instances
15 referencing feature instances

The Dog Is an Alien	type	FeatureClass
The Dog Is an Alien	label	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien	page	TheDogIsAnAlien
The Dog Is an Alien	comment	Some sort of extraterrestrial lifeform comes to Earth, and, to avoid attention from The Men in Black or any other government agencies, disguises itself as a domestic animal, usually a dog. Sometimes the alien happens to already look like a dog, while others may transform themselves using Voluntary Shapeshifting or Applied Phlebotinum. The latter variant raises some questions as to why the alien wouldn't choose to disguise itself as a human, giving itself far more freedom within human society. However, given that their disguise may not be perfect, or that they may be unfamiliar with human social norms, this may be a sensible decision. A dog that acts or looks a little bit odd is less likely to attract attention than a human who acts strangely or looks creepy. The alien often finds itself adopted as a pet, usually at least somewhat willingly. After all, a family who is willing to provide food and shelter seems like a reasonable alternative to living on the streets avoiding The Men in Black and dog catchers, and the alien probably reasons that it is capable of escaping if it needs to. This trope comes in both benign and malevolent variants. The former tends to result in A Boy and His X. The most common variant of this trope involves a dog that's an alien, however, it can also apply to other types of animals, and "alien" can be substituted for virtually any sentient fictional species. If the alien is not intentionally disguising itself as a dog, but gets mistaken for one anyway, it's Mistaken for Dog. Compare Alien Animals, where an entire species of Earth animal are and have always secretly been aliens. Not to be confused with The Dog Was the Mastermind, though it can sometimes mix together.
The Dog Is an Alien	fetched	2024-01-30T11:01:08Z
The Dog Is an Alien	parsed	2024-01-30T11:01:08Z
The Dog Is an Alien	processingComment	Dropped link to IAmNumberFour: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
The Dog Is an Alien	processingComment	Dropped link to Inverted: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
The Dog Is an Alien	processingComment	Dropped link to OhCrap: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Dog Is an Alien	processingComment	Dropped link to PuppeteerParasite: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Dog Is an Alien	processingComment	Dropped link to TokenNonHuman: Not an Item - FEATURE
The Dog Is an Alien	processingUnknown	IAmNumberFour
The Dog Is an Alien	processingUnknown	Inverted
The Dog Is an Alien	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Dog Is an Alien / int_111caca7	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_111caca7	comment	The cat in Kid vs. Kat is an alien that looks like one of those hairless cats.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_111caca7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_111caca7	featureConfidence	1.0
Kid vs. Kat	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_111caca7
The Dog Is an Alien / int_1511255d	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_1511255d	comment	Krypto the Superdog is (usually) a dog from Krypton that is passable as an Earth native dog when he's not flying around or showing off his super strength.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_1511255d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_1511255d	featureConfidence	1.0
Krypto the Superdog (Comic Book)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_1511255d
The Dog Is an Alien / int_16dc413	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_16dc413	comment	In Phantoms, a gelatinous being can send out autonomous drones to do tasks. One of these is a white dog that fools soldiers and gets close enough to send out tentacles and kill them. Later, the dog is used to keep tabs on the surviving humans.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_16dc413	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_16dc413	featureConfidence	1.0
Phantoms	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_16dc413
The Dog Is an Alien / int_17a09715	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_17a09715	comment	Good Boy!: It turns out every dog on Earth is actually an alien from another planet, though many have gone native and forgotten they were originally sent to conquer Earth.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_17a09715	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_17a09715	featureConfidence	1.0
Good Boy!	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_17a09715
The Dog Is an Alien / int_1f9f4419	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_1f9f4419	comment	The alien in The Thing (1982) masquerades as a dog for a while.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_1f9f4419	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_1f9f4419	featureConfidence	1.0
The Thing (1982)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_1f9f4419
The Dog Is an Alien / int_227431b6	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_227431b6	comment	Runaways: "My dog's a [mystically cloaked] genetically engineered psychic dinosaur from the 87th century."
The Dog Is an Alien / int_227431b6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_227431b6	featureConfidence	1.0
Runaways (Comic Book)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_227431b6
The Dog Is an Alien / int_2382df41	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_2382df41	comment	In The Hidden, a parasitic alien creature hides in other beings and uses them. It temporarily uses a dog, but (as in the original "Who Goes There?") it wants to be a man, not a dog.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_2382df41	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_2382df41	featureConfidence	1.0
The Hidden	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_2382df41
The Dog Is an Alien / int_43576f5	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_43576f5	comment	In Supernatural there are Skinwalkers who can take the form of a dog. One of them becomes attached to the family he lives with.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_43576f5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_43576f5	featureConfidence	1.0
Supernatural	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_43576f5
The Dog Is an Alien / int_4a1bfc09	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_4a1bfc09	comment	Rokoroko from Doraemon: Nobita's Little Space War is the pet of Papi, an alien from Planet Pirika, arriving on earth to find his missing master. It turns out Papi had already met Doraemon and friends several days ago and is already well-acquainted with the earthlings by the time Rokoroko catches up.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_4a1bfc09	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_4a1bfc09	featureConfidence	1.0
Doraemon: Nobita's Little Space War	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_4a1bfc09
The Dog Is an Alien / int_503d5009	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_503d5009	comment	Shirogane from Ayakashi Triangle is a cat ayakashi that sometimes alters his smaller form to look like a regular stray cat that isn't Invisible to Normals. Despite regular cats being drawn in a much more realistic style, only Lu notices the difference. At first this was to deter Soga from attacking him as he hangs around Hokusai High School, but he also enjoys the attention and treats the students give him (so long as he can avoid the enormous English teacher's Bear Hugs). A while after moving into Suzu's house but keeping himself invisible to the rest of her family, Shirogane uses his visible form to become their adopted stray "Shiro", purely so he'll get more food.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_503d5009	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_503d5009	featureConfidence	1.0
Ayakashi Triangle (Manga)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_503d5009
The Dog Is an Alien / int_5131cb43	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_5131cb43	comment	In Turning Point, the first book of Lisanne Norman's Sholan Alliance, the Cat Folk Kusac hides his sapience by pretending to be one of the local felines. Carrie then takes him into her home on account of his injuries.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_5131cb43	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_5131cb43	featureConfidence	1.0
Sholan Alliance	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_5131cb43
The Dog Is an Alien / int_558b4c84	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_558b4c84	comment	Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket claims that Captain Marvel's cat Chewie is a rare and dangerous alien species called a flerken. Turns out he's right.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_558b4c84	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_558b4c84	featureConfidence	1.0
Guardians of the Galaxy (Comic Book)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_558b4c84
The Dog Is an Alien / int_57965cef	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_57965cef	comment	Captain Marvel (2019): The Kree and the Skrulls alike insist on calling Goose the tabby cat a "Flerken", and are downright terrified of her, which the heroes find hilarious. And just like in the comics, turns out, the aliens are right.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_57965cef	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_57965cef	featureConfidence	1.0
Captain Marvel (2019)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_57965cef
The Dog Is an Alien / int_5a93f130	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_5a93f130	comment	Relative Heroes: Cameron treats his potted plant as a pet/Companion Cube and the thing is eventually revealed to be an Es (a type of shapeshifing alien) advance scout for the now occurring invasion, and so is Cameron.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_5a93f130	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_5a93f130	featureConfidence	1.0
Relative Heroes (Comic Book)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_5a93f130
The Dog Is an Alien / int_6d832403	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_6d832403	comment	In Parasyte, one of the first Parasytes Shinichi and Migi encounter is one that accidentally infested a dog rather than a human. Because of this, it had dog-level intelligence and only eats dogs (though it still tries to attack them).
The Dog Is an Alien / int_6d832403	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_6d832403	featureConfidence	1.0
Parasyte (Manga)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_6d832403
The Dog Is an Alien / int_7cfdc4b0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_7cfdc4b0	comment	Conan the Adventurer: While not an alien, Needle, a baby phoenix, would occasionally pretend to be a parrot to avoid drawing attention.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_7cfdc4b0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_7cfdc4b0	featureConfidence	1.0
Conan the Adventurer	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_7cfdc4b0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_87e00d8e	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_87e00d8e	comment	In Teen Titans (2003), Beast Boy can turn into a green version of any animal. In one episode, he gets captured in dog form by an alien looking for his missing pet. Meanwhile, the other Titans have found the alien dog and believe that Beast Boy has somehow become Shapeshifter Mode Locked. The alien dog is so amused that he takes his time before telling them the truth..
The Dog Is an Alien / int_87e00d8e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_87e00d8e	featureConfidence	1.0
Teen Titans (2003)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_87e00d8e
The Dog Is an Alien / int_98156414	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_98156414	comment	Subverted in The Cat from Outer Space, in which the alien looks exactly like a cat in his natural state and doesn't do much to pretend to be one except refrain from speaking. If the humans assume he's a cat, it's not his fault.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_98156414	featureApplicability	-0.3
The Dog Is an Alien / int_98156414	featureConfidence	1.0
The Cat from Outer Space	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_98156414
The Dog Is an Alien / int_a183d57f	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_a183d57f	comment	Futurama's Nibbler is a bit of an odd example as everyone knows he's an alien. What they don't know is that he's a member of an incredibly advanced alien race. And he can talk.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_a183d57f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_a183d57f	featureConfidence	1.0
Futurama	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_a183d57f
The Dog Is an Alien / int_a6b951e9	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_a6b951e9	comment	In Legacy of the Wizard, Pochi looks like a dog when hanging around the family home, but when selected as a playable character he turns into something that is definitely not a dog.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_a6b951e9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_a6b951e9	featureConfidence	1.0
Legacy of the Wizard (Video Game)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_a6b951e9
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b4fe32c9	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b4fe32c9	comment	Invader Zim: GIR disguises himself as Zim's pet dog...by wearing a green costume with a visible zipper. He rarely even bothers going on all fours. It's arguably still better than Zim's human disguise.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b4fe32c9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b4fe32c9	featureConfidence	1.0
Invader Zim	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_b4fe32c9
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b56d3cbc	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b56d3cbc	comment	Counterfeit Cat is a show about the adventures of Gark, a blue tentacled alien who disguises himself as a cat and lives with an ordinary cat named Max.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b56d3cbc	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b56d3cbc	featureConfidence	1.0
Counterfeit Cat	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_b56d3cbc
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b618b457	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b618b457	comment	Trillian's mice from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy turn out to be aliens in disguise. So are all other mice, wild ones included, but Trillian's are specifically implied to be albino laboratory rodents, hence domesticated.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b618b457	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b618b457	featureConfidence	1.0
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_b618b457
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b8c8e162	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b8c8e162	comment	Ambis in Jix are frequently mistaken for dogs, despite the titular character having blue fur among other things. Eventually it is determined that they share a common ancestor with foxes.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b8c8e162	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b8c8e162	featureConfidence	1.0
Jix (Webcomic)	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_b8c8e162
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b99da0d	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b99da0d	comment	The Incredible Hercules: It's revealed that Kirby, the coyote pup that Amadeus Cho had adopted, had been long-replaced by a Skrull imposter. While the real coyote was safe and unharmed, the Skrull coyote had accompanied Cho for the better part of a year before The Reveal.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b99da0d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_b99da0d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Incredible Hercules / Comicbook	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_b99da0d
The Dog Is an Alien / int_c43df4d8	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_c43df4d8	comment	Doctor Who: In "The Day of the Doctor", the Tenth Doctor is hunting for a Zygon which, as it turns out, is disguised not as Queen Elizabeth the First, but as the horse that she and the Doctor were riding. Later the trope is subverted, when the Doctor briefly mistakes a mundane rabbit for the Zygon's new disguise.
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Doctor Who	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_c43df4d8
The Dog Is an Alien / int_c487221e	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_c487221e	comment	Frank the Pug from Men in Black. The Animated Series revealed that he's a Remoolian, a type of canine-like species that looks just like a pug with pale green scaly skin and a few little antennae popping from his head. Also he is apparently prone to dog-like behavior and it's not part of the disguise.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_c487221e	featureApplicability	1.0
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Men in Black	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_c487221e
The Dog Is an Alien / int_cac1f314	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_cac1f314	comment	ALF does this from time to time, with varying degrees of success. For instance, on one occasion, he is seen by a hobo who thought he was a kangaroo... and promptly leaps off the train they were riding.
The Dog Is an Alien / int_cac1f314	featureApplicability	1.0
The Dog Is an Alien / int_cac1f314	featureConfidence	1.0
ALF	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_cac1f314
The Dog Is an Alien / int_fb1f271c	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_fb1f271c	comment	Stitch from Lilo & Stitch pretends to be a dog despite looking more like a blue koala (even when he hides away the second set of arms, spines, and antenna). According to the (decanonized) tie-in comics, however, it explains that one donor of his genetic composition was from an Earth puppy, so he should have somewhat resembled one. It's not very effective. The universal reaction on seeing him is "You're sure it's a dog?" Basically, he only passes because no-one can come up with any alternatives (and Rule of Funny).
The Dog Is an Alien / int_fb1f271c	featureApplicability	1.0
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Lilo & Stitch	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_fb1f271c
The Dog Is an Alien / int_ff9ab17f	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Dog Is an Alien / int_ff9ab17f	comment	Star Trek: The Next Generation: In the episode "Aquiel", the crew of the Enterprise suspect a shapeshifting alien monster to have killed and impersonated a member of a remote science station. The two humanoid suspects (one of them Klingon) are eventually cleared by lab tests, but in a horrifying twist the dog from the station that nobody paid any mind to is revealed to be the alien, and it almost devours Geordi to take his form.
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Star Trek: The Next Generation	hasFeature	The Dog Is an Alien / int_ff9ab17f

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Dog Is an Alien	processingCategory2	Alien Tropes
The Dog Is an Alien	processingCategory2	Pet and Animal Companion Tropes
The Dog Is an Alien	processingCategory2	Speculative Fiction Tropes
Men in Black / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Hidden / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
The Thing (1982) / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
Lilo & Stitch (Franchise) / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
Agent to the Stars / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
I Am Number Four / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
ALF / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
Legacy of the Wizard (Video Game) / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
Conan the Adventurer / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
Counterfeit Cat / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
Duck Dodgers / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien
Lilo & Stitch / int_9ab0aec0	type	The Dog Is an Alien

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