Dave Douglas

Dave Douglas is the main protagonist of the 2006 Disney Remake The Shaggy Dog.

Dave is a workaholic lawyer whose job keeps him too occupied to spend time with his family. But when a genetic border collie bites him, he receives Dog traits and then transforms into a dog, and his life turns upside down.

He is played by Tim Allen.

Biography
Dave Douglas is a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County who is prosecuting social studies teacher and activist Justin Forrester for firebombing the pharmaceutical corporation Grant and Strictland. Forrester denies this, but claims that Grant and Strictland has been engaging in illegal animal experimentation. This distances Dave from his daughter Carly, one of Forrester's students. Meanwhile, the evil Dr. Kozak has stolen a Bearded Collie from Tibet believing using it's DNA to create a potion for immortality. The dog escapes the lab and Carly and Josh decide to take him home, naming him "Shaggy". When Dave discovers the dog, he out in the garage, then the dog runs to get the newspaper. The dog gives him his newspaper, but as Dave reaches for it, bites him on the hand. The saliva goes into Dave's blood and DNA, infecting him.

The next day, Dave receives all of dog like traights which cost In the ongoing trial, Forrester testifies seeing the animals behaving like dogs, which sparks Dave's suspicions about Grant and Strictland. When his dog-like behavior annoys the judge, Dave is removed from the case at a visit to the pound the next day, Douglas changes into a sheepdog identical to the one from the lab. Kozak's team finds the real dog and takes him back to the lab.

Hidden in the laboratory, Dave witnesses Dr. Kozak injecting company president Strictland with a drug that will paralyze him for several months, giving Kozak enough time to usurp control of the company. After viewing security cameras, Kozak and his minions realize that somehow Dave became an exact copy of Khyi Yang Po. Kozak orders his goons to go to Dave's house to "pay him a visit."

When Dave comes home, still in his canine form, he overhears a conversation between Carly and Josh that he and Rebecca may be splitting up. Upon hearing this, Dave then knocks over a Scrabble game and uses the letters to reveal and clarify all the past events to them. But when Dave gets out of the house, he is captured by Kozak's goons.

Dave is taken to the lab to be euthanized, but Kozak has a court summons, and must deal with Dave later. Right before he leaves, Kozak mocks Dave in canine form Dave Bites him. He then begins to exhibit the same issues Dave had at the beginning of his adventure; Dave had successfully transferred the gene sequence into Kozak.

Dave, with the help of the dog-mutated animals, manages to escape as a human and races to the courthouse in his car with the mutated animals. He calls his wife and kids, tells them to meet him at the courthouse with clothes and the dog. He gets caught in a traffic jam and changes into a dog to get to the courthouse in time, where his family are waitng for him.

In the courtroom, Dave calls Kozak back to the stand and tries to get him to admit what he has done, but Kozak manages to hide his secret. Thinking fast, Dave mocks Kozak by implying he was working under Strictland's shadow, and angers him. The two begin growling at each another, and the judge, exasperated by Dave's canine behavior, orders the bailiff to remove him. But Dave thinking fast, throws Kozak a nightstick like a common stick, alerting his dog senses to get it, thus causing him to grow a tail. Kozak is immediately arrested soon after.

The pharmaceutical company is returned to Strictland, the mutant animals are protected, and Dave is able to spend more time with his family. The film ends with the family vacationing in Hawaii, where Khyi Yang Po is seen surfing. Dave's canine habits slightly remain, as he catches a Frisbee with his teeth in the closing scene.

Trivia

 * Near the climax, As Dog!Dave jumps off a bridge onto a bus he yells "To infinity...and beyond!" This is obviously a reference to Buzz Lightyear, who is also played by Tim Allen.