In the world of Gary Larson's The Far Side, anything can be dangerous - even your household pets. From dogs and cats to goldfish, songbirds and dinosaurs, humanity is at constant risk from the animal kingdom, especially the animals they live alongside.

Here are the 10 funniest Far Side comics where humans reckon with dangerous pets, falling afoul of animals they wrongly believe are trained, loyal or inherently harmless. Be sure to vote in our end-of-article poll and see which comic Screen Rant readers voted #1.

10 We Had to Get a Few Things Straight

Human vs Bear Is Far Side's Defining Conflict

Of all the pets that are likely to turn dangerous, a bear is near the top of the list. In this strip, a trapper has raised a bear cub, losing his arm after trying to take away its bowl. It's clear that while the trapper may be selling this relationship as owner/pet, he's been 'trained' a lot more thoroughly than the bear has. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics where bears take on humans.

'Humans vs bears' is a running theme of Far Side, representing the clash of humanity and nature trying to share the same space. Larson originally pitched Far Side under the title Nature's Way, but was encouraged by his editors to broaden the strip's subject matter. While he certainly did that - with comics starring pirates, aliens and cavemen - animals remain a major theme of the series. Some fans have accused Larson of liking animals more than humans, but the 'pet bear' strip is pretty typical of his outlook - two organisms living in an inherently risky compromise.

9 I'm Through Begging

Far Side Shows Dogs Turning on Humans Surprisingly Often

While keeping a bear as a pet may be an extreme and risky decision, most people would expect a pet dog to be far less dangerous. Sadly, in the world of The Far Side, man's best friend is capable of picking up a pistol and making demands, especially once they're sick of being forced to beg for their food. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics where dogs take on their owners.

Far Side often characterizes animals by assuming they're aware of how humans see them. Chickens live tragic lives destined for the dinner table, while deer are constantly trying to outwit hunters. In the case of dogs, Larson imagines them recognizing the power differential between pet and owner and trying to do something about it - often in the most extreme way possible. Thankfully, most of the aggression of Far Side's dogs is aimed at Far Side's cats, though even there, humans can end up caught in the crossfire, as seen above.

8 Mitch Loses a Dollar

T-Rex Is a Recurring Figure in The Far Side

Like keeping a pet bear, keeping a pet T-Rex is inherently dangerous, even though the owner in this case is making a minor income from betting his guests what the dinosaur will eat. Keeping a tyrannosaur in a shallow cellar is destined to go wrong, though thankfully Larson skips the unavoidably gory end game. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics starring Tyrannosaurus Rex.

In The Prehistory of The Far Side, Larson its that as a science fan, he's always felt guilty depicting humans and dinosaurs living side by side. While the comic starring Mitch is clearly surreal, Larson's other comics show dinosaurs interacting with cavemen, with the creator stating:

I've always felt that I've committed some heresy by doing cartoons (like the ones above) that mixed dinosaurs with primitive people. I think there should be cartoon confessionals where we could go and say things like, "Father, I have sinned - I have drawn dinosaurs and hominids together in the same cartoon."

7 Get It Off Me!

Gary Larson Has a Dark History with Pet Snakes

Larson is incredibly skilled at telling an entire 'story' in a single image, implying past or future events that make a situation way funnier or, in this case, way darker. In the strip above, a bulging python lounges on the ground, as a nearby parrot repeats the dying words of the Pet World employee who was presumably just confused by the snake. Larson loved building gags around the image of a bulging snake, using this state to make it clear that someone was just eaten alive.

Larson's fascination with this image was likely influenced by his own snake attack. In The Prehistory of The Far Side, Larson recounts how he bought a baby Burmese python, only for it to grow out of control and "attempt to do me in." Larson laments how, by ignoring how dangerous his pet had become, he missed that "instead of an interesting and beautiful member of the reptile family, I was now living with a gigantic predator with a very small brain."

6 Piranha vs Cat

Far Side's Deadly Pet Shop Strikes Again

Staying within the pet shop, here's another strip where Larson tells a complete story with a single image. In this strip, the pet shop has a carnivorous fish out for display, apparently tempting the shop cat to try and grab itself a snack. Sadly for the feline, the piranha has flipped their relationship, leaving it with two simple wooden prosthetics. While some might see the cat as responsible for its own fate, the blame surely lies with whichever pet shop owner decided a piranha belongs in an open bowl out in the middle of the store.

5 Bird Cage

In the World of Far Side, Any Pet Can Be Dangerous

While a lot of Far Side's pet vs owner situations seem fated because of the deadly nature of the animals in question, the surreal nature of Gary Larson's world means that no-one is ever truly safe - even from a tiny, caged bird. In the strip above, an elderly pet owner has somehow been tricked into switching places with her cockatiel, resulting in the bird making a daring escape. The owner comically bellows "You'll never get away with this!" after her pet, but it seems like the bird has already succeeded.

4 Is He Friendly?

Far Side Loves Questions with Obvious Answers

After the grisly cat vs piranha comic, it's nice to see a feline on top. Again, Larson uses a single image to tell a story, with a lethal Siamese cat brutalizing its owners, and about to unleash Hell on an overly curious guest. Larson often has the reader complete his joke - Far Side is too smart to show what happens next, and trusts its reader to draw the correct (if surreally dark) conclusion. Hilariously, despite their many injuries, the cat's owners don't seem particularly energized to save their friend.

3 A Giant Tentacle

Far Side's Giant Squid Is Its Secret Star

One of Far Side's wildest running gags is the idea that in this world, people frequently keep giant squid as pets. Even in the strip above, where a giant squid owner confronts his pet about a missing Shih Tzu, it's made clear that he's not the only giant squid owner in the building. Open the image gallery below for more comics starring Far Side's giant squid.

While Larson never wanted to have recurring characters in The Far Side, he did include several stock characters - repeating designs and concepts that come back again and again without an ongoing story. Ultimately, Far Side treats its characters way too badly to have them come back again and again - as he says in The Complete Far Side, Larson's brand of humor is hurt if readers feel too much sympathy for his characters.

2 Closer, Dug, Closer

Gary Larson its His Caveman Comics Have a Fatal Flaw

In another strip that Gary Larson needs to apologize for in the cartoon confessional, a badly injured caveman encourages a friend to reach out to his pterodactyl. As with the pet cat, the reader knows exactly what's going to happen next, but in this case, the humans involved seem a lot more to blame for misunderstanding the basic nature of a prehistoric predator.

1 It Worked!

Larson Loves to Create Impossible Moments

In our #1 Far Side comic about dangerous pets, two goldfish have set a snare trap to catch their owner. The thing that makes this Far Side comic so joyous is the number of questions it forces the reader to ask - how did two goldfish escape their bowl to set up this trap, which is clearly anchored to the ceiling? Why do they even want to catch their owner when they can't do anything with the result? The tube of food by the bowl emphasizes how little the fish have to gain by taking out the person who looks after them. Despite these questions, the extremity of the image invites a huge belly laugh - exactly the kind of response that Gary Larson was always looking to create.

Those are the 10 funniest Far Side comics starring dangerous pets and the unfortunate people who own them. Be sure to vote in our poll below for your #1 strip on this list, and comment below with any of Far Side's other gags that you think belong on it.