In the Resident Evil 4 remake, the fate of the dog appears to change from the 2005 classic. The Resident Evil remakes have consistently made small adjustments to the original games’ plots without affecting the overarching story. Resident Evil 4's remake alone has made changes to certain character arcs and introductions, with the developers purposely using these minor differences to stir speculation for longtime fans of the series.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the Resident Evil 4 remake.]

One preview for Resident Evil 4's remake seemed to give away that the dog encounter from the village section of the game had been altered. In the original RE4, Leon encounters a dog that caught its leg in a bear trap. While it’s technically possible to ignore the dog or even kill it, most players will help the poor dog out of its situation. The dog then comes back later during an El Gigante fight to distract the enemy and help Leon get the upper hand. Previews for the RE4 remake show a big story change, however - one that had fans worried the dog wouldn't play a similar role.

Resident Evil 4 Remake Trailers Show The Dog Has Died

Leon finds a dead dog in a bear trap from Resident Evil 4 Remake gameplay footage.

Early gameplay footage for Resident Evil 4's remake showed Leon approaching a dog in a bear trap. But this time, the dog is dead by the time the player gets to it. Given that the dog was a beloved part of the original as a kind of one-off companion, fans were upset that it might not feature this time around. Alternatively, some fans speculated that there might be some game mechanic where you must save the dog quickly or else it would die from its wounds. Now that the game is out, fans’ fears have been put to rest.

Resident Evil 4 Remake Brings Back The Dog

The dog from Resident Evil 4 Remake bares its teeth.

The gameplay footage does show a dead dog, but it’s an entirely different dog from the original game’s companion. It seems this footage may have been a trick to pull at fans’ heartstrings and drum up speculation. The real dog still appears in the remake of Resident Evil 4, simply at a later point during Chapter 3. Players are alerted to the dog’s presence by a whimpering noise, begging Leon to come help it out of the trap.

After the player releases the dog, the story plays out as in the original Resident Evil 4. Leon goes on to fight the El Gigante, and the dog once again comes to the rescue. Leon even utters the line that arguably made this whole interaction famous: “Hey, it’s that dog.” Something about the line delivery in the original game contrasted with the howling dog majestically perched on the hillside etched this moment into fans’ memories forever.

Tiny moments like the dog are what made the original RE4 feel oddly realistic as the entire world was interactive and had real consequences for Leon’s actions. This was an impressive effect to achieve given the B-movie style campiness of the plot and action. While the RE4 remake has made changes to characters like Luis and Kra, the plot doesn't affect Leon's complete timeline in Resident Evil in any major way. It seems the dog remains canon to this timeline, much to fans' relief. There are still plenty of other tiny, but impactful moments to experience in the Resident Evil 4 remake.