“Does the dog die?”
For people sensitive to animal cruelty in fictional content, this question is an important forewarning. There’s more nuance when it comes to movies, where animals may actually be harmed in the making of the film and/or we may be unsure of the ethics for production. With books, it’s the descriptive, triggering quality of animal cruelty that may push readers away.
Narrowing the scope for the content warning, I’ve asked the Bookstr team how they feel about whether the dog dies or not in their media:
“Absolute No” Team
“As a rule, I tend to avoid media that center animal stories. It doesn’t necessarily have to be anything bad—like a dog dying— I just don’t like stories about animals. I love animals, but they make me feel so emotional! The other day my mom and I were watching Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and there’s a scene where they’re escaping from an island with a bunch of dinosaurs before an active volcano kills them all. As they’re leaving in the boat, a brachiosaurus is trapped on the dock and crying to be saved as she’s engulfed by the volcano’s flames. I had to leave the room so I didn’t start bawling my eyes out. If a CGI dinosaur can make me cry, image what would happen if I saw real animals in pain.”
— Abby Worthington, Editorial Intern
“I really hate when media involves animal cruelty or death – as soon as there is mention of an animal in a text or a visual of an animal in a film, my first instinct is to go to ‘Does the Dog Die?’ to know where the scene is to skip it. I absolutely hate when it is used in film, especially when it is graphic or out of nowhere. It depends on how much violence against animals is depicted to deter me reading it or watching it, if it is practically non-stop, I will not watch it, as I don’t believe any story worth telling would involve that much violence, but if it is brief and can be skipped past, I will.”
— Olivia Ackers, Outreach, Editorial and Graphics Intern
“Meh, It Depends” Team
“It’s never been something that bothers me in particular. Many stories already feature a lot of uncomfortable scenes; it’s just a part of storytelling. Sometimes it’s there to reflect important themes in the narrative.
— Ethan Cunanan, Social Media Intern
“A lot of time animal cruelty is just there to emphasize how evil a character is (see “Kick the Dog” on TV Tropes) which can make it feel a little tasteless or unsubtle. Part 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has a pretty egregious example of this when Dio’s first move after arriving at his new family’s home is to brutally knee their dog in the jaw. At best it’s comically over-the-top and at worst it’s gratuitous animal violence for cheap shock value.”
“I can’t say I utilize it for myself, but I have used it a bit since becoming a parent. When my kid was young, we weren’t afraid to address the concept of death — neither my spouse nor I are comfortable with lying — but we did want to do so at a developmentally-appropriate age and time, so I wanted to make sure there weren’t any surprises. These days, it’s less of a concern, but I’m glad that it’s something available for people who may be sensitive to it.”
— Cara Broel, Editorial & Outreach
“I’m not partial to whether the dog dies in a book or not. It’s not a content warning that I seek out, but I still squirm if it’s gratuitous or depressing. Animal cruelty is one of those topics that’s upsetting, but I can’t say I put it above human cruelty or other dark content when it comes to what steers me away from a book. Granted, that isn’t me saying I never cry when animals die in movies or books.
— Sammy Loree, Editorial Intern
“Stone Fox by John Reynold Gardiner had me covering my mouth with the collar of my shirt to stifle my sobs in fifth grade. So, I completely understand the sensitivity to it.”
“It really depends for me! There have been times I’ve used Does The Dog Die to search up other topics, but overall I don’t need a tool like that in my day-to-day reading. To me, how a topic is portrayed is everything and if it is portrayed in a way I find distasteful, it may bring the book immediately into my ‘DNF.'”
— K. “Pen” Bailey, Social Media Intern
Tastes will always vary when it comes to discomforts in content. It’s essential to explore helpful sites and consider trigger warnings, as they can help you better prepare for and enjoy the media you consume.
Looking for books for children with dogs? Check these out.
Want to know more about the kinds of trigger warnings in books? Read this.
