The Walking Dead to finally fetch the origin story for Daryl's canine companion 'Dog' in S10 return

With great belly rubs comes great responsibility. To close out the extended 10th season of The Walking Dead, AMC is giving fans exactly what they've been clamoring for: the origin story for Daryl Dixon's dog, Dog (yes, that's the good boy's name). Appearing on a preview special last night, showrunner Angela Kang reportedly promised that Season 10's six bonus episodes would explain how Daryl (played by Norman Reedus) first met Dog. The canine character first appeared in Season 9 after Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) departure from the series.

"We will get to see a little Dog, a little baby puppy Dog," Kang said (via ComicBook). "The Dog origin story." When asked if Leah (Lynn Collins) is Dog's original owner, the showrunner clammed up real quick, simply stating: "I think Leah, without giving too much away, Leah is formidable." 

"[Daryl and Leah] have a very complex situation that arises after they meet," Kang continued. "So we wanted to tell this story from Daryl's past, and I don't want to say too much more, but let people kind of see how it unfolds between them."

While Season 10C was conceived of after production on Season 11 had already begun, Kang still promised that "there's still a lot of really great character work" to be explored.

"We get into where Daryl and Carol are at after the emotional roller coaster that they were on in the Whisperers arc, we get to see wonderful Paola [Lázaro, who plays Princess] and the group that she's with, getting to learn a little bit more about the group that they were apprehended by at the end of episode 16," she said. "We get to see Aaron and Gabriel on just an old-fashioned Walking Dead survival story that tells us a lot about the state of Alexandria, which is going to be really, really important for the story going forward, and then we get to dive into the Maggie and Negan dynamic, which I know a lot of people are excited to find out how those two are gonna occupy the same space."

Also featuring the human version of Lucille, the final six episodes of The Walking Dead Season 10 will begin airing on AMC Sunday, Feb. 28. The eleventh and final season is scheduled to air between 2021 and 2022 before spinning off into a brand-new show centered around Daryl and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride). Based on what we know so far, the currently-untitled project will have more of an anthological, road trippin' vibe as Daryl and Carol travel from one undead scenario to the next each and every week.