In the "South Park" episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride," Stan (Trey Parker) gets a brand-new dog that he named Sparky. Stan loves Sparky, and Sparky is well-trained, loyal, and friendly. Stan, as any dog owner might, becomes slightly distressed when Sparky meets other dogs and humps them in public. Stan's friends notice, however, that Sparky is only humping other male dogs and, in that childish, homophobic way, laughing at Sparky's potential queerness. The characters are all eight years old, however, and live in a pretty small community in 1997, so their knowledge of queerness is quite limited.

Stan asks his teacher, Mr. Garrison (Parker) what it means to be gay, and the terrified and repressed teacher announced right to Stan's face that queer people are evil. Stan, overwhelmed and scared, flees. At home, Stan idly laments aloud that his dog is gay, internalizing his teacher's bigoted message. Sparky overhears Stan and runs away. Sparky somehow comes to an animal shelter in the woods ... an animal shelter for rejected gay animals. It's run by a character named Big Gay Al (Matt Stone).

Early episodes of "South Park" bank on stereotypes, and a lot of the show's "shock" humor remains shocking to this day, but the ultimate message of "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" is one of tolerance. Stan accepts Sparky for who he is, and they end the episode happy and together again. It was rare for a mainstream TV series, especially an animated one, to so frankly discuss queer themes in 1997. Despite the stereotypes, the episode was revolutionary in its way, nominated for an Emmy Award and a GLAAD Award.

In a strange casting coup, Sparky's barks and growls were provided by George Clooney.