text: the canine mutiny " the canine mutiny " is the twentieth episode of the simpsons ' eighth season . it originally aired on the fox network in the united states on april 13 , 1997 . it was written by ron hauge and directed by dominic polcino . bart applies for a credit card and goes on a spending spree when it arrives , including an expensive trained dog called ' laddie ' . it guest stars voice actor frank welker as laddie , a parody of lassie . the episode 's title references the novel the caine mutiny . plot when bart complains he never gets any mail , marge gives him the family 's junk mail . one piece contains a credit card application , which bart fills out under the name of his dog santa 's little helper , whom he claims to have the occupation " butt doctor " . the company misreads the name as " santos l. halper " , and the credit card application is approved . before long , bart receives a credit card . bart goes on a shopping spree , buying the family some very expensive gifts from a mail order catalog : vancouver smoked salmon and a radio - frying pan for marge , a golf shirt with corporate logo for homer , " trucker 's choice stay - alert capsules " for lisa and many things for himself . the item that bart anticipates the most is a finely - bred , pre - trained collie . not letting its us $ 1 , 200 purchase price stand in the way , bart promptly orders one . upon its arrival bart learns the dog 's name is laddie , who has been trained to perform a wide variety of tasks . the rest of the family fall in love with the new dog , while santa 's little helper goes unnoticed . bart fails to pay off " santos l. halper 's " credit card bill , and it is not long before he gets a call from a debt collection agency demanding payment . when the calls and collection letters persist , bart enlists laddie to help him bury his ill - gotten credit card . later , repo men arrive to take back all of the things bart has purchased . lisa demands an explanation , and bart is forced to admit the truth . when a demands the $ 1 , 200 collie be returned , bart identifies santa 's little helper as the dog he purchased . the greyhound is herded into the truck and bart sadly watches as it drives away . noticing that santa 's little helper is gone , the family begins to bond with laddie , except for bart , who fears for santa 's little helper 's fate . when an exhausted bart gives laddie yet another walk , the collie saves the life of baby gerald . at the ceremony honoring laddie 's heroism , chief wiggum decides that laddie would make the perfect police dog . bart gives him to the springfield police force and is forced to explain why the family now has no dog at all , while sobbing . homer instructs bart to do whatever it takes to get santa 's little helper back and he goes hunting around the town , trying to find his old pal . bart eventually learns from reverend lovejoy that the dog was given to a parishioner named mr. mitchell . bart visits mr. mitchell , who is blind and lonely , and asks for his dog back , but when he sees how the man and santa 's little helper have bonded , he grows heartsick and leaves . still determined to get his dog back , bart makes a late - night visit to mr. mitchell 's home in hopes of retrieving santa 's little helper . the pair are reunited , but bart traps himself in a closet . mr. mitchell calls the police and demands that bart be charged with burglary , but bart explains that santa 's little helper was his dog and that he wants him back . to solve the problem , bart and mitchell let santa 's little helper decide where he wants to go , with him choosing bart. chief wiggum arrives with laddie , who immediately sniffs out a bag of marijuana in mr. mitchell 's pocket . bart and santa 's little helper head home , leaving the police to " finish up " with mitchell , as more officers arrive with women and beer . production the episode uses the full opening sequence because the story came out short . despite this , a large sequence was cut from the middle of the episode , with half of the episode having to be re - written after the animatic had been finished . the main plot of the episode came from an original idea that the family would be issued a credit card in the name " hobart simpson " and that bart would use that . an original side - story was that lisa would become addicted to the " trucker 's choice " pep pills . originally , instead of going to the dog park , the family took laddie to a waterfall and he performed a series of dives , but it was scrapped as it had already been proven that laddie was a form of " " . likewise , laddie rescuing baby gerald was originally a complicated rescue scene , but was cut into showing the aftermath . laddie was designed to resemble a real dog . the catalog bart uses is a combination of the lillian vernon catalog and the sharper image . the opening stemmed from the fact that the show had not had a sequence where the family received mail , and the writers wanted to create a joke about the different types of mail each of the family get . after bart 's " dog burning " fantasy , when he hears a ship 's horn in the distance , there was originally going to be a faint cry of " more dogs " , but it was deemed that it took the joke too far . hank azaria ad - libbed the entire sequence during the credits in which chief wiggum and lou sing along to " jammin ' " . cultural references the title is a reference to the novel and film the caine mutiny . the dog " laddie " is a play on lassie , in terms of name , appearance and uncanny intelligence . marge listens to the song " you really got me " by the kinks played on the frying pan radio . at the end of the episode , the song " jamming " by bob marley is played . the design of the " repo depot " is based very loosely on the repossession agency from repo man . the address of mr. mitchell 's house 57 mt . street is one of addresses of the harvard lampoon . mr. mitchell having a dead parrot that he believes to still be alive is a reference to the " dead parrot " monty python sketch . reception in its original broadcast , " the canine mutiny " finished 43rd in ratings for the week of april 7 – 13 , 1997 , with a nielsen rating of 8 . 1 , equivalent to approximately 7 . 9 million viewing households . it was the fourth highest - rated show on the fox network that week , following the x - files , king of the hill , and beverly hills , 90210 . the episode 's ending with chief wiggum and lou singing along to " jamming ' " by bob marley is often cited as one of the best endings in the history of the show . the authors of the book i can 't believe it 's a bigger and better updated unofficial simpsons guide , warren martyn and adrian wood , called it " a sweet episode " . homer 's line " there , there , shut up boy " is one of josh weinstein 's favorites .