Gaspode

Gaspode is a small terrier-like dog who possesses human-level intelligence and the ability to speak, as well as an extensive collection of diseases (including one which is only found in pregnant sheep). However, since everyone knows that dogs can't speak, people tend to interpret his speech as personal thoughts, a tendency which Gaspode regularly uses to finagle food from passersby. The exceptions to this are Carrot Ironfoundersson, Angua, and the Canting Crew (who believe in much stranger things than talking dogs). Gaspode is frequently conflicted between his desire to be a Good Dog and his belief that he has to look out for himself, because no-one else will.

Gaspode originally gained his intelligence and ability to speak when he was involved in a wild idea which sought to create a Discworld obssession with Moving Pictures. Descended from dogs that fled the destruction of the first appearance of this idea, Gaspode was "selected" to fill the movie role of the Wonder Dog. Unfortunately, he looks nothing like the common conception of what a Wonder Dog is, so lost the position to Laddie, whereupon he became an agent for Laddie and the human actors Victor Tugelbend (renamed Victor Maraschino) and Theda "Ginger" Withel (renamed Delores del Syn).

After the wild idea was contained or defeated, Gaspode lost the unwanted gifts that had been bestowed on him, and returned to being a homeless street dog. However, Gaspode has regained his intelligence and speech as a result of sleeping too close to the High Energy Magic labaratory in Unseen University and being exposed to magical seepage.

Gaspode later becomes a "thinking brain" dog for Foul Ole Ron, and eventually joins the Canting Crew, a group of variably insane homeless people who have no difficulty in believing in talking dogs.