Zombie Dog is a term referring to domesticated canines infected with the t-Virus through its Secondary method, namely the ingestion of infected food or organisms.[1] It should be remembered that they are separate from the Cerberus; the latter was created specifically as a Bio Organic Weapon, while zombie dogs are unintended side-effects of t-virus dispersal and are thus classified as irregular mutants.
Like their B.O.W. relatives, the zombie dogs retain much of their former agility, with a noticeable increase in durability and aggression. In most cases, potential prey should listen for the sound of padding paws as a clue to their presence, with a growling warning that it has become aware of the player and is preparing to attack. They will let out a pained yelp when killed.
Biology
As with most victims of the T-virus, the zombie dogs suffer from necrosis. It should be noted that unlike their B.O.W. counterparts, the Cerberus, their necrosis is far more severe, resulting in exposed muscles and tendons, even bones as well as a significantly decomposed face.
Raccoon City and Sheena Island
Zombie dogs encountered during these two outbreaks typically roamed in packs of two or three and occasionally four, and adopted random attacking patterns. They frequently encircled the prey before charging in with a leaping attack, pinning them to the ground and ripping their throat out.
Some were encountered at random throughout Raccoon City by several survivors. A few found their way into Raccoon University. One broke into the Raccoon General Hospital in search of prey.
The Raccoon City Destruction Incident is the only known event in which a non-Doberman was infected - a Labrador.[3] The reason for the frequency in Dobermans being found infected was due to Chief Brian Irons' suggestion to the K9 unit that the breed be used as the police dog for the Raccoon City Police Department.[4]
Rockfort Island and Antarctica
Curiously, these zombie dogs sometimes become active only when in close proximity to prey, completely ignoring the sound of gunfire nearby. This is particularly noticeable in the power room of the Antarctic Base. Whether this is down to the dogs being heavy sleepers or simply a deliberate act of lying in wait for prey to come to them is unknown. These dogs also learned to grab hold of a human arm and would attempt to shake it loose.
Tall Oaks
During the events of Resident Evil 6 zombie dogs are created by C-Virus infection. They are shown in Tall Oaks Station and they are extremely violent. They also show symptoms of necrosis and their bones are sometimes visible.
Tactics
In any of the games, the handgun is the best weapon to use against these enemies, as long as the person's timing is accurate and they aim low. With a shotgun, the best strategy is to wait until they actually jump and then fire. This should kill them in one shot and possibly knock any others out of the way, giving the player time to prepare for another shot. Or even the magnum may even be a better choice before the shotgun, in some of the games (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis) there are even animations where the canines are able to become decapitated with of course only needing one good shot. The knife can also be used with the right timing to knock back a leaping Cerberus and then finish them while they are recovering on the ground.
Conserve Ammo Tactic: In order to conserve most of the ammo, player can use handguns to knock these ones off the ground, then switch to the knife and stab them to death. When confronting a group of them, player have to shoot them to a corner before knifing. This tactic conserve a lot of ammo but need practice to master.
The dogs encountered by Claire Redfield on Rockfort Island were considerably tougher and harder to kill, capable of shrugging off handgun shots without falling.
In Resident Evil: Survivor, take care because they always appears in groups. Use the handgun and don't lose the chance to damage them while they are on the ground.
In films
The Undead dogs appear in the first three live-action film adaptations of the games, although only appear minimally. In all three films, they only appear in one scene each film, but always appear in packs.
In the first film, the dogs attack Janus "Alice" Prospero in a laboratory, which inadvertently unlocks her latent martial arts abilities. She kills them with a pistol (which she empties in the process) and her martial arts abilities.
In Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the dogs attack Jill Valentine, Angela Ashford, Janus, and Nicholai Ginovaef in a school, where they manage to kill Nicholai before Janus sets off an explosion that kills them.
In Resident Evil: Extinction, the dogs are released from their cages by a group of crazed survivors to attack Janus. However, she defeats them and escapes, allowing the dogs to live and kill the crazed survivors.
Further notes
- In the novelization of Resident Evil 2 by S.D. Perry, zombie dogs are depicted as having been flayed of their skin. This is in stark contrast to its appearance in the games, where it appears like a living doberman that has had chunks of flesh torn from its body. This is based on the official guidebook's artwork for the dogs, which depicted them in the same fashion.
- Zombie Dogs are more aggressive than the Cerberus in REmake, due to the fact that they immediately go after the player, even if they just got in a location. The Cerberus will instead remain calm until their prey gets near them.
- They're one of the easiest foes to defeat in Outbreak series, as a player can just shoulder ram them and later stomp on them until they die.
- The initial version of Resident Evil 2, Biohazard 1.5, featured German Shepard Zombie Dogs in the RPD sections of the game which would make sense considering they are often used as police dogs. In addition, the typical Dobermans were also around in the non-RPD areas of the game. It is unknown why the German Shepherds were scrapped.
- In the Resident Evil Outbreak File 2 gallery, they're mistaken for the Cerberus, likely because of the great similarities between the two forms of infected canine.
- The Zombie Dogs are used as weapons in Capcom's video game Under the Skin.
Gallery
Sources
- notes
- references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (in Japanese) BIOHAZARD CODE: Veronica Kanzenban Kaitai Shinsho. Enterbrain. p. 68.
- ↑ Excerpt from BIOHAZARD CODE: Veronica Kanzenban Kaitai Shinsho, page 68:
"ロックフォート島の訓練所や南極基地で飼育されていたドーベルマン種の軍用犬が､ T-ウィルスに汚染された飼料や生物を摂取することで二次感染したもの｡肉体 の腐敗は進んでいるが､ 緩慢な動きしかてきないヅンビと異なり､ 生前と変わらぬ俊敏さで獲物へと襲いかかる｡" - ↑ Biohazard 4D Executor
- ↑ モンスター紹介 (Japanese). Capcom. Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
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