A dog can quickly become the best part of a movie depending on its impact on the plot. Some films give them starring roles to accentuate their lovability, but doing so will also increase the level of heartbreak felt when they meet their eventual demise. A dog’s death in a movie is guaranteed to bring a tear to audiences’ eyes, but some are far more crushing than others.
8 I Am Legend
I Am Legend follows the harrowing tale of Robert Neville and his pet German Shepherd, Samantha, as they try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. An attempt to cure cancer led to the creation of a virus that transforms those infected into cannibalistic monsters, but luckily, Neville is immune to its effects.
While scavenging a ruined New York, Neville and Samantha are attacked by a group of infected dogs. The pair successfully fight the creatures off, but Samantha is bitten and, as a result, is due to transform into a Darkseeker. Unable to reverse the effects of the virus, Neville takes Samantha home and cradles her in his arms before being forced to end her life.
7 My Dog Skip
Willie Morris is an only child who struggles with making friends. When his only companion, Dink Jenkins, is drafted to go to war, Willie’s mother decides to get a dog to ease the sadness her son feels over his friend’s loss.
Skip and Willie forms an instant connection and become inseparable. Their bond becomes known throughout Mississippi, with most of the state’s residents regarding Skip as one of the friendliest dogs around. Skip goes on to live a wonderful life full of happiness before peacefully passing away on Willie’s bed at the age of eleven.
6 Hachi: A Dog’s Tale
Parker Wilson is a professional music teacher with a soft spot for stray animals. After happening upon a lost Akita puppy, he is faced with a difficult decision but eventually decides to take the young animal home and care for it like his own.
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His wife, Cate, is initially skeptical of the new resident in her home, but quickly comes to love Hachi after seeing the joy the animal brings her daughter. Wilson eventually passes away due to cardiac issues, but Hachi refuses to abandon his master. He continues to wait at the train station where they first met for him to return. He spends the remainder of his life at this station before he dies, showcasing just how loyal he was.
5 Cujo
Cujo was once an adorable St. Bernard, but his personality underwent a devastating change when he was bitten by a bat. He became aggressive and began attacking people without reason, but his behavioral change went mostly unnoticed until it was too late.
Donna and Tad travel to a local car repairman and are greeted with a now blood-soaked Cujo. Their car breaks down, leaving the pair stranded until help arrives. With no means of calling for assistance and a finite water supply, Donna takes it upon herself to sneak passed the beast to obtain sustenance in a nearby house. Cujo jumps at Donna and impales himself on a broken baseball bat she was holding in her hands.
4 White Dog
When Hollywood actress Julie Sawyer accidentally hits a stray White Shepherd with her car, she takes it upon herself to ensure the injured creature is cared for. She eventually discovers that this dog is the product of an evil man who trained the animal to perform racial attacks.
Sawyer finds two professional dog trainers and asks them if they can alter her dog’s mindset. Carruthers refuses to help, but Keys smiles at the challenge and succeeds in reshaping the creature’s mind. No longer provoked by race, the dog is deemed cured, but is sadly shot after trying to kill Carruthers for his resemblance to his previous owner.
3 Marley And Me
John and Jenny Grogan decide that it is finally time to start their life as a married couple when they move to Florida. Their first step in starting a family sees the pair adopting Marley, an adorable Labrador puppy who they quickly learn is a complete troublemaker.
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Marley is a menace who consistently makes life difficult, but no matter how many possessions he ruins or obedience classes he fails, the Grogan family refuse to give up on him. After suffering a second heart attack, the Grogans have no choice but to put Marley to sleep, but not before reminding him of how great he is.
2 Frankenweenie
Victor Frankenstein is a young scientist with a heart of gold. It is made evident shortly into Frankweenie that he doesn’t have many friends, but he doesn’t care so long as he has his pet Bull Terrier, Sparky, to greet him when he returns home from school.
After Victor hits a home run during a baseball game, Sparky chases the ball and is killed by an oncoming car. Refusing to accept the death of his best friend, Victor unearths Sparky from the cemetery and proceeds to blast lightning into his lifeless body to revive him. Not many movies will resurrect a deceased dog, but Frankenweenie is a heartwarming exception.
1 A Dog’s Purpose
A Dog’s Purpose documents the heart-wrenching tale of a dog’s multiple lives over the course of five decades. Bailey was found by a young boy named Ethan and rescued by both him and his mother from two garbage men. The pair quickly form a strong bond, but Bailey’s life is sadly cut short when Ethan finds a lump on his belly.
Bailey is then reincarnated as a German Shepherd and embarks on a series of different adventures throughout his many lives. He retains his memories of Ethan throughout each of his incarnations and vows to one day return to his master’s side, no matter how long it takes. Bailey embraces death five times throughout the movie’s runtime.
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