If you want to pet dogs while keeping your villain credentials intact, try doing it anonymously, doing it but denying any benevolent intention, or doing it because you only kick PEOPLE, not dogs. Compare Licked by the Dog, where the innocent character shows kindness to the villain. Sub Tropes include Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas, Morality Pet (a villain's entire relationship with a particular character is one long dog-petting session), A Friend in Need, and Androcles' Lion (the dog later aids the villain as a reward for their kindness). If used as an Establishing Character Moment, it marks the character as "not too evil" right off the bat, whatever they might do later. This is a screenwriting term: put in a scene where the nasty old crank pets a dog and the audience will think, "Aw shucks, he's not so bad." Often used to demonstrate that a Jerkass is really a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, or, if more limited, that the character is goal-oriented rather than sadistic and/or evil for evil's sake. Showing the villain (or Anti-Hero) engaging in a moment of kindness, especially towards someone who can't repay them, as a way to humanize or soften them.
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