Talkie Zoo: MAN'S BEST FRIEND

This movie will make you look twice at your own dog! Well, maybe not really. My own dog is a part Shih Tzu, and while she's pretty smart, she doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body nor has she been filled with the DNA of a variety of deadly animals. Man's Best Friend (1993; R) is based on the premise that you can imbue certain qualities, including deadly ones, into a dog simply by splicing in the DNA. For instance, adding the genes of an African big cat gives it the ability to climb, and adding the genes of a poisonous snake gives it the ability to pee deadly acid. Far fetched much? I think so.

Still, the one thing that's good is the bond this dog can form with a person, which is very true of dogs in general.

The genetically modified dog is accidentally released from a research lab and rescued by an animal rights activist reporter. Immediately, she falls in love with the quasi-monster who is jealous of her fiance` and is ruthless in his plans of doing away with the man. She doesn't at first believe the dog is capable of such malicious intent, but the boyfriend is thinking along the lines of funeral expenses more than vet expenses where this dog is concerned. He even tries to poison the dog, but the dog 'knows' the food is poisoned and retaliates against the man.

You could pit this dog against Cujo and this dog would probably win due to its extreme intelligence and powers.