 | |
| Dog and cat plague | |
| Type: | Fictional event |
| Category: | Virus |
| Continuity: | Planet of the Apes |
| Dates: | 1981 |
| Locations: | Earth |
| Participants: | Dogs and cats |
The dog and cat plague refers to an event that takes place in the continuity of the original Planet of the Apes film series. In the year 1983, NASA astronauts returning from space, brought with them a virus that eradicated all dogs and cats, seemingly overnight. Humans as well as most species of apes were immune to the virus. Humanity, in their overwhelming need for pets, turned instead towards keeping apes as pets. Domestication led to a rapid developmental change in ape physiology and they grew in both size and intelligence. In short order however, keeping apes as pets evolved into keeping apes as indentured servants. Modern cities across the globe enslaved healthy apes of various species, particularly gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans.
Notes[]
- The concept behind the Dog and cat plague was created by director J. Lee Thompson and writer Paul Dehn, based on concepts originally developed by author Pierre Boulle and film producer Arthur P. Jacobs.
- The Planet of the Apes television series presents a logistical fallacy to the origins of the rise of the apes as there is a dog presented in the opening scenes of the pilot episode "Escape from Tomorrow".
- On page ten of Planet of the Apes #1 by Marvel Comics & Curtis Magazines, a cat can be seen. This too runs counter to the fact that cats are extinct.