The 9 Best Pop Culture Dog Moments of 2025

If there’s one thing you can count on in American pop culture, it’s that there’s never any shortage of adorable pooches. Whether they’re tearing up the big screen or lighting up the red carpet, we simply love to see pups living their best lives (and, in some cases, lives even we humans would envy). 

Still, 2025 felt like a particularly remarkable year for all the good dogs out there. They survived horror movies, graced magazine covers, and, in one case, even rose from rags to riches. This year wouldn’t have been the same without them, which is why we’re celebrating all the best moments with a loving look back. But before you start scrolling, know this: The entries are ordered chronologically and unranked — because in the world of dogs, there is no such thing as “best.” Each and every one of these babies is very, very good, and that’s all that matters.

Dogs (and cats) are transfixed by the animated Oscar winner Flow. 

As entrancing as we humans might find our favorite movies and TV shows, it’s rare for our pets to spare even a passing glance. But this spring, some pet parents noticed that their best buds had become entranced with one acclaimed title in particular: Latvia’s first Oscar-winning movie, Flow.

The animated film takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and follows an unlikely band of creatures — a cat, a dog, a capybara, a large bird, and a lemur — as they band together to survive a catastrophic flood. Matiss Kaza, who produced and co-wrote Flow, told The New York Times that the film used real animal sounds to bring its principal characters to life. That could explain all of those TikToks we saw of dogs and cats watching the film from their respective couches and kitty condos, utterly transfixed. What can we say? They have good taste!

A very good Great Dane gets his 15 minutes.

It’s not just any dog who can go toe-to-toe with Naomi Watts. But in The Friend, a comedy-drama about grief that debuted in April, Bing the Great Dane does just that. Watts plays a writer whose best friend and mentor (Bill Murray) has just died — leaving his beloved pup Apollo in her care.

Bing’s training and emotive personality allow the film to explore Apollo’s inner life, highlighting the sadness he feels after losing his longtime human companion. Thanks to the COVID shutdown, Watts had more time than planned to work with Bing and even welcomed him into her home. The real-life friendship the two developed shines through the screen just as much as Bing’s impressive acting.

“She never let dog hair or slobber bother her,” Bing’s pet parent and trainer, Bev Klingensmith,  told Kinship during the film’s release. “She had no problem with, you know, kind of just getting up in there, just enjoying the dog, and allowing the bond to happen that way.” No wonder they had such great chemistry.

Demi Moore twins with her pup, Pilaf, before the Met Gala.

Tragically, dogs are not allowed at Fashion’s Biggest Night Out, but that didn’t stop Demi from snapping photos with her baby Chihuahua in matching finery before the show this May. Pilaf’s swag was admittedly far more understated than Demi’s — most dogs do not enjoy large, stiff collars arched over their heads, after all — but the coordination was unmistakable. 

For those unfamiliar with this tiny pup, Pilaf has been working the press circuit ever since last year. She first rose to prominence by stunned festival-goers at Cannes while Moore promoted her body horror film, The Substance, and her star has been on the rise ever since. (And before you ask, yes — she has made an appearance in Dogue.) With any luck, she will one day receive her own invite to the Met Gala. In the meantime, maybe she can make a surprise appearance at the Pet Gala?

James Gunn’s rescue dog inspired Krypto in Superman.

The canine hero seen in Superman this summer might have been computer animated, but his real-life inspiration story is as compelling as they come. Writer and director James Gunn adopted Ozu while working on the film, and the bond they forged ultimately led Gunn to include Superman’s storied pup in his script. 

As Gunn wrote on Instagram, Ozu “came from a hoarding situation in a backyard with 60 other dogs” where he’d had no contact with human beings. Needless to say, the pup was a bit unruly when Gunn first brought him home — a trait that later informed his on-screen avatar.

“He immediately came in [and] destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture,” Gunn wrote, adding that somehow, Ozu even ate his laptop. “It took a long time before he would even let us touch him.” While working on Superman, Gunn wondered how much harder life would be if his newly adopted hell hound also had superpowers. The rest is comic book movie history.

Icy documentary Folktales melts our hearts.

A heartwarming coming-of-age documentary about late teens learning about themselves and the world by bonding with sled dogs? Obviously, I was a mark for Folktales from the jump when it came out in July. Set at the Pasvik Folk High School in Norway, the film observes a group of Gen Z-ers as they ditch their cellphones to learn survival skills. Each student brings their own struggle, but in the end, they all walk away stronger and more confident than they came in. 

Speaking with Kinship, co-director Rachel Grady noted that the Pasvik students were caring for 40 dogs all at once, “which means it’s not about you. You have to show up, because this animal is relying on you to feed it, to make sure that it’s healthy, to check its body and make sure its claws are OK. … I think there’s something about that that’s just incredibly healthy for one’s ego, you know?”

For Grady, that was the biggest takeaway of the entire filming experience: “You have to check some of your self-absorbed selfishness at the door.” As one of Pasvik’s instructors, Iselin, says many times, dogs will look at you like the most precious thing in the entire world, no matter what. “No one ever does that,” Grady says. “Humans don’t do that. So you’re getting a lot out of it, and the thing you learn is you have to give it back.” Even if you’re not usually a documentary-head, this one is well worth a watch for any animal lover.

Sabrina Carpenter Gives Us Man’s Best Friend.

I know, I know. It probably feels like this album rollout and the subsequent pearl clutching that surrounded it happened eight years ago. And yet, somehow, it all happened this August.

It’s not just the punny title that makes this a major canine cultural breakthrough. It’s not even the dog collar photo. It’s the cover spread that Sabrina’s dogs, Goodwin and Louie, managed to get out of Vogue — er, actually, Dogue.  

Where to start? The miniature Mercedes Benz convertible that Goodwin and Louie smile from in the photo shoot? Adorable and aspirational all at once. Like one of those battery-powered toy cars every Toys R Us girlie dreamed about in the ’90s. The dogs’ easy grins? Impeccable. Effortless. Enviably natural.

The desert scenery and powder-blue sky in the background? Classic Hollywood and perfectly complements their fur. And don’t even get me started on the adorable behind-the-scenes videos, shots of the pups in Elizabethan collars and tiaras, and group photos with American Girl dolls. It’s delightful nonsense like this that makes Sabrina Carpenter one of the best pop stars to ever do it. Let’s just hope that this isn’t the last time she involves her precious pooches.

A Brazilian street dog becomes a movie star in Netflix’s Caramelo.

The star of one of Netflix’s biggest tear-jerkers of the year happens to have a pretty emotional story himself. Amendoim, who plays the titular Brazilian street dog in Caramelo, was a rescue himself. Actually, this pup kind of saved himself. As director Diego Freitas told the Brazilian outlet Splash, Amendoim (whose name means “Peanut” in Portuguese) “showed up at the production company’s door” as a three-month-old puppy. As Freitas put it, “It was meant to be.” 

In Brazil, street dogs called vira-lata caramelo are a bit of a national emblem. These dogs are a smart, scrappy, and absolutely beloved part of Brazilian public life. In Caramelo, our human protagonist, Pedro, is a chef who finds out he has cancer thanks to a sweet, savvy street dog who weasels his way into his life. The film cast 60 street dogs, all of whom got adopted — most of them by members of the production team. The film went gangbusters when it debuted on Netflix in October, a testament both to the filmmakers’ accomplishment and also the absolute adorability of their canine star. Who doesn’t love a Cinderella story?

Good Boy masters horror through a dog’s eyes.

We all know the stereotype about dogs in horror movies, but not this time. In Good Boy, the canine-centric horror pic that debuted in October, the dog is the one who lives to tell the tale. That alone is worth celebrating, considering how rare it is.

The entire film unfolds through the eyes of Indy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever whose dad moves them out to the country while managing a gruesome illness. Indy (the real dog playing the on-screen character by the same name) turns in an incredible performance, and the film’s cinematography keeps the camera lens fixed on his every move and micro-expression. It’s no wonder he lobbied the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a chance to compete for Best Actor. He might not have a shot at the gold statuette, but he’ll always be No. 1 in our hearts.  

Soleil becomes the first in her breed to win the National Dog Show.

Full disclosure, we only have access to winner records going back to 2002, when the National Dog Show first began airing on television. There’s a chance that in this dog show’s storied history, which dates all the way back to 1879, that another Belgian Sheepdog has taken home the big prize. Still, as far as we know, Soleil made history last month when she won Best in Show, becoming the first of her kind to take home the big prize.

What can we say about Soleil? She has “it.” Her eyes sparkle. Her coat is full, glossy, and perfectly shaped. She has the kind of gleaming smile that reaches through the screen and makes you think, “We would definitely be best friends if we met IRL.” And while I could not confirm her actual birthday, I can say definitively that she carries herself with the easy, commanding charisma of a triple Leo. 

According to her handler, Daniel Martin, Soleil is a consummate professional. “Soleil loves the energy, and she feels it,” he said recently while basking in the glow of their victory. “That’s her magic.” What else is there to say? She’s cast a spell on us all.