Dog Gone Blues

A character brings home a dog they can't keep, either because it belongs to someone else or they're not allowed to have pets in their apartment, so they have to give the dog away.

Perfect Strangers

Appearances

• The Odd Couple: Season 5, episode 5, "The Dog Story" (1974). Felix steals a famous dog from its abusive owner. When the owner finds out, he takes Felix and Oscar to court to get his dog back.
• Taxi: Season 1, episode 4, "Bobby's Acting Career" (1978). When Alex witnesses a man hitting a dog in his cab, he kicks the man out and drives off with the dog. The owner shows up at the garage with a police officer to retrieve his dog, and it attacks him.
• Newhart: Season 4, episode 5, "Candidate Larry" (1985). A friend of Michael's is moving to New York, and he can't have pets in his new apartment, so he gives Michael his puppy, Juliette. Michael is thrilled; Stephanie not so much, but just as Stephanie starts to warm up to Juliette, Michael's friend is able to find a pet-friendly apartment, and Michael has to give the puppy back.
• The Golden Girls: Season 2, episode 9, "Joust Between Friends" (1986). Rose finds a dog at the market, and decides to keep it until she can find its owner, but Dorothy claims she hates dogs and demands Rose get rid of it. When Rose finds the owner and gives the dog back, Dorothy gets upset and admits that she secretly loves dog and is sad the dog is gone.
• Perfect Strangers: Season 2, episode 12, "Dog Gone Blues" (1987). Balki rescues a dog from the "dog prison," but Mr. Twinkacetti doesn't allow pets in their building, so they devise an elaborate plan to keep him from finding out about it. Unfortunately, their plan doesn't work, so Larry finds a home for the dog with a nice family who live in the country.
• ALF: Season 2, episode 20, "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" (1988). Brian finds a stray dog, and Willie and Kate agree to let him keep the dog until they find her owner, but Alf gets jealous of all the attention the dog is getting and hands her over to a woman who is obviously trying to use the dog to extort money. When the dog's real owner shows up to collect her, Alf confesses what he did, and Willie has to get the dog back from the scammer.
• Cheers: Season 8, episode 23, "Pitch It Again, Sam" (1991). A dalmatian puppy follows Cliff home, so he brings it to Cheers, where Woody becomes very attached to "Spotty." When a group of firemen come into the bar complaining that they lost their dog, Woody reluctantly hands over his beloved Spotty, but the firemen see how upset Woody is and give him the dog back.
• 3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 1, episode 6, "Green-eyed Dick" (1996). A dog follows Harry home, and Harry falls head-over-heels in love with "Scruffy," but Mrs. Dubcek is allergic to dogs and tells Harry he has to get rid of him. Tommy meets a woman named Kate, who's looking for a dog for her daughter, and Harry reluctantly hands Scruffy over to her, but Harry isn't too broken up because he ends up going out with Kate.
• Just Shoot Me!: Season 5, episode 9, "Dog Day Afternoon" (2000). A dog follows Maya to work, and she and Elliot decide to keep him, but Finch convinces Elliot that the dog is a test to see if he's ready to have a baby, and Elliot gets spooked. He pretends he's not responsible enough to take care of the dog, but when Maya finds the dog's real family, Elliot doesn't want to let him go, and he even tries to steal the dog back.