Basic Trope: A post-apocalyptic wanderer with a loyal dog.
- Straight: After the apocalypse, Bob travels with his dog Rex.
- Exaggerated:
- All travelers travel with a Loyal Animal Companion of any species.
- Bob travels with multiple dogs.
- Downplayed: Bob briefly travels with a dog.
- Justified: The dog serves as companionship, and helps Bob hunt.
- Inverted:
- Rex the talking dog travels with his pet human, Bob.
- Dogs caused the apocalypse, and must be avoided by humans.
- The Omnicidal Maniac Bob travels with a Right-Hand Attack Dog.
- Bob travels with his cat Felicia.
- The apocalypse actually originally stemmed from the loss of all dogs on the planet.
- Subverted: Rex is actually a mutant monster preparing to kill Bob.
- Double Subverted: Rex comes to like Bob after an Androcles' Lion incident and travels with him like a dog.
- Parodied: Rex is a Funny Animal who refuses to take the situation seriously.
- Zig-Zagged: Rex leaves and rejoins Bob a couple of times.
- Averted: Bob travels totally alone, or only with other humans.
- Enforced: "This I Work Alone stuff is cool, but we need something for Bob to talk to." "A Companion Cube?" "No, something more animate...What about a dog?"
- Lampshaded: "Well, it's just you and me, Rex. It's like a bad post-apocalyptic thriller, eh? The man and his dog, and the end of the world."
- Invoked: A Good Samaritan gives Bob his dog to help him out on his journey.
- Exploited: Raiders hold Rex for ransom.
- Defied: Bob refuses to let Rex travel with him, as it's one more mouth to feed.
- Discussed: Bob wishes he had at least a dog with him for company in the apocalyptic world.
- Conversed: "In every post-apocalyptic movie, there's only one organism The Hero can trust unconditionally, and that's the dog."
- Deconstructed: Bob doesn't have the resources to keep Rex fed. He ends up having to Shoot the Dog to keep from starving to death.
- Reconstructed: Rex can hunt game down for Bob, and also guard Bob's food supplies, so he actually increases Bob's food supplies in the end. Plus, he provides Fuzz Therapy when Bob is especially down.
- Played for Drama:
- Played for Horror: Bob is the merciless Big Bad, Rex is his Right-Hand Attack Dog, and they're the Villain Protagonists who roam the landscape terrorizing everyone they encounter.
- Played for Laughs: Rex's Reaction Shots to Bob's dialogue are used for comic relief.
- Implied: Bob is still a strict vegetarian even after the apocalypse, but he's carrying meat and he has no human companions known to Alice.
Back to Post-Apocalyptic Dog
