“ | Release the Hounds! | „ |
~ Mr. Burns' catchphrase |
History[]
The hounds are Mr. Burns's dogs. They’re purebred Doberman dogs. He continuously releases them on trespassers and people who irritate him. Mr. Burns has a button in his office for releasing them. Mr. Burns mostly releases them on his low level employees from the Power Plant, including Homer Simpson. Mr. Burns has released them on almost every member of the Simpson family, including Homer and Bart. There are 5-20 dogs in the group of both genders. One of the longest serving dogs is named Crippler. They have become a trademark and symbol of Mr. Burns' hate and power. In the episode "Dog of Death", Santa's Little Helper was for a short time, one of the hounds. Although he generally releases them on people he hated, at times, especially if he was in a very pleasant mood, he only releases one hound to chase his guest out. One example of Mr. Burns only releasing one hound is in Thursdays With Abie.
They also appear in The Simpsons: Tapped Out when Mr. Burns walks them.
Notable Cases[]
- In "Simprovised", Mr. Burns instructs Smithers to release the Therapy Hounds instead of the regular hounds. This is due to Homer Simpson being traumatized. The therapy hounds consist of gentle Old English Sheepdogs. This is shortly followed by the regular hounds being released.
- In "The Princess Guide", Mr. Burns replaces his hounds with small and gentle poodles due to bankruptcy from a previous episode.
- In "Frink Gets Testy", Mr. Burns instructs Smithers to release the Comforting Hounds on himself, which are shown to be three giant English Sheepdogs who whimper and lick him. Mr. Burns then orders Smithers to turn them into rugs.
- In "Undercover Burns", Lenny was somehow able to release the hounds.
Appearances[]
- Episode – "There's No Disgrace Like Home" (mentioned)
- Episode – "Bart Vs. Thanksgiving"
- Episode – "Bart Gets Hit by a Car"
- Episode – "Dog of Death"
- Episode – "Homer Goes to College" (one hound)
- Episode – "Team Homer"
- Episode – "Grift of the Magi" (mentioned)
- Episode – "Dude, Where's My Ranch?"
- Episode – "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas"
- Episode – "Springfield Up"
- Episode – "The Fool Monty"
- Episode – "Them, Robot"
- Episode – "To Cur, with Love"
- Episode – "Brick Like Me"
- Episode – "The Musk Who Fell to Earth"
- Episode – "Holidays of Future Passed" (deceased)
- Episode – "Dogtown"
- Episode – "Left Behind"
- Episode – "Simprovised"
- Episode – "Undercover Burns"
- Episode – "The Yellow Lotus"
- Episode – "Shoddy Heat" (flashback; as puppies)
- [[List of couch gags|]] Couch gag – "A Christmas Carol couch gag"[src]
- Video game – The Simpsons: Tapped Out