Animals and humans are two very frequent sources of subject matter in The Far Side, with human-animal combination comic strips also being a big focus of the comics. The Far Side always liked to show an alternative version of things with human and animal relationships being just one area where this was applied. Nothing is quite like it would seem to in The Far Side, so why would the relationship between humans and animals be any different.
From homicidal poodles that will make dog owenrs question the feelings their dogs have for them to animals one would never think of as pet material being pets, the showing of human-animal relationships in The Far Side was never boring or routine. In fact, the presenting of human and animal relationships in The Far Side seemed to produce more questions than answers.
10 "Through The Hoop, Bob!"
October 6, 1981
A bond between a kid and their pet is a special thing. Although, turtles are not consistently thought of as pets that are easy to bond with. They're not super cuddly and they are not renowned for doing a lot but that will not deter the one protagonist of a Far Side comic strip. A young boy has trained his turtle, named with brevity, Bob to jump through hoops of fire. Bob is not only up for this, but seemingly very determined and ready for it, as is Bob's owner. Who would have thought that people could get so close and attached to turtles and even teach them crazy tricks? Yet, such is the case between Bob and his owner, prompting the reader to question the fond relationship that can grow between turtles and humans.
9 "Look Who's Been Loose The Whole Evening"
When a couple comes home from their night on the town, they see their home in disarray and their belongings wrecked. The culprit, they discover, is their tiny pet bird who has been loose in the house the whole time. A bird of such a small size sure managed to do a whole lot of damage, adding some legitimacy to the sayings of not judging a book by its cover and mighty things come in small packages. The house being in ruins from the small bird on the loose, makes animal owners wonder what their pets get up to when they are out of the house, putting human-animal relationships in a new light entirely. Necessitating many repairs to their now damaged belongings, the couple will be sure to never leave their destructive bird with an unlocked cage when they are out of the house from now on.
8 "The Pampering Will End"
February 21, 1994
Dogs are typically thought of as a human's best friend. rejects this and instead will make all dog owners rethink their relationship with their canine companions. When three poodles have planned to kill their owner, they realize that their pampering will end when their owner's life does. The Far Side was known for its surreal humor with dark tones, this comic strip being a perfect example. Murder of an innocent woman, as far as readers can see, is obviously very macabre but the fact that it is poodles discussing it makes it all the more kooky, cutting the seriousness of the strip. While the poodles will miss their pampering, it is evidently less important than being rid of their owner forever. Why the dogs want their owner to be dead is never revealed, but since this is The Far Side, chances are the reasons are absurd anyways much like the dogs' plan.
7 "No, I'm Not Your Little Dog Fifi"
1990
The Far Side gives life to a strip that will make the biggest poultry fan switch to vegetarianism. When a family is eating what they think is a chicken dinner, it is horrifically revealed that what they thought was their dog Fifi is actually the chicken they were going to cook in a doggy disguise. Worse yet, what happened to Fifi is crystal clear as seen by the appalled and repulsed look on the family's faces as they are digging their teeth into poor dearly departed Fifi. The comic strip makes chickens a creature to be feared, much different than how people typically think of the feathered creatures, which is usually as dumb and overall docile birds. Further, the chicken of the comic strip is an evil genius, with the chickens are dumb reputation being put into question.
Numerous Far Side comic strips have been controversial, either due to dark subject matter, accusations of being disrespectful, or just being downright confusing in the case of "Cow Tools".
6 "Sssssss"
1983
When a couple are driving across the plains to see wild animals, unbeknownst to them, their tires are getting slashed. As a result, they are in quite a bit of danger and their days could be numbered due to the calculated actions of the wild animals around them. As noted in this Far Side comic strip, animals are far more sneaky and cunning than humans give them credit for which will no doubt make humans side eye any predators, even if they are in a car, even more than usual. The fact that two animals are in front of the coupe to serve as distractions for the couple to take pictures of while a lone animal hangs back to make their tire flat so they are trapped prey takes a lot of premeditated thought and planning.
5 "I Wish She'd Hurry Up And Scoop That Guy Out"
April 18, 1986
Anyone who has ever owned a fish knows the unfortunate truth that fish usually tend to not live for very long. This is a major problem when other fish are living in the same bowl of the deceased who is still stuck in the same fishbowl. The Far Side makes it clear that an owner leaving a dead peer in the same fishbowl is not cool whatsoever and is actually extremely creepy to the living fish that remain. The owner may not see the big fuss of the dead fish staying in the bowl but this comic strip will help those to rethink the human-animal relationship in regards to what the living fish would prefer in that situation. In other words, owners should remove dead fish from the bowl, especially when there are other remaining, living fish around!
4 "Let's See You Roll Over A Couple Times"
April 6, 1984
Some pet owners love to see their furry companions do tricks, like shake hands or roll over. As it turns out, dogs would like to see thier owners do some tricks, specifically to roll over, as well. It goes against all assumptions that the pets would want to see owners do some tricks, making everyone question the human-animal relationship. As this Far Side strip illustrates, when a dog, who turns out to be from an alien race, is going to be taken back home in a UFO, he first wants to see the human owner he had roll over for him. The owner seems too gobsmacked by the sight of alien dogs to even comprehend rolling over for this E.T pup but the dog would still like to see it happen before he leaves Earth.
3 "Did Anyone To Feed The Giraffe Tonight?"
April 9, 1986
Giraffes are not typically pets, at least not in the real world. In The Far Side, however, all bets are off and pets can be any animal under the sun. Giraffes are gentle animals who are friendly with humans, but having one as a pet is more or less uncharted territory, making some new amendments to the giraffe-human relationship. The people in the comic strip must be up high because the giraffe's face is visible on the window and it does not look like the long necked animal is craning its head down. Regardless, the giraffe is much like any household pet to the people of the comic. Debating on whether anyone ed to feed the giraffe that night, it is a conversation typical of any pet owner. This pet just so happens to be very unique.
The Far Side has a dedicated legion of fans with numerous Reddit threads dedicated to discussing favorite comic strips and the most obscure comics, just to name a few threads.
2 "The New Neighbors Have Brought A Friend For You, Too"
June 28, 1982
Notorious for being quite aggressive animals, rhinos would be a bit of a nightmare pet. However, this is not so in The Far Side, where rhinos are basically akin to a sweet dog. The rhino even wags its tail like a dog does. In the comic strip, a woman and her adored pet rhino, King, see that the new neighbors actually have a pet rhino too. King looks like he is ready to make a brand new friend with his new neighbor. Given that the pets of choice in the comic are very unexpected to say the least, it totally reframes what most think of for human and animal relationships, especially when it comes to animals that are typically violent and aggressive. Given that the neighbors share a love for the same kind of pet, they are all bound to get along splendidly, with King and his fellow rhino sure to follow suit.
1 "Sure, I Let Him Drive Once In A While"
July 20, 1988
Dogs can do a lot for humans, emotionally and even physically like getting the newspaper or being service animals. Driving can also apparently be added to the list, as shown in this Far Side comic strip, making readers question animal-human relationships. When a man and his dog are pulled over by a cop for letting his dog drive, the guy reasons that it is all okay since the dog is never off his leash. The driving dog being off the leash is the least of the issues the cop has with this situation. Yet, the man in the car sees no issue with his pup driving whatsoever. To be fair, the dog does seem like he is a natural behind the wheel. It is The Far Side after all, maybe the dog is a driving savant that has better road skills than his human.
