Pooka is a supporting character and Anastasia's pet dog in Anastasia. He was voiced by Frank Welker.
Gender
Anya uses the male pronoun "he" to refer to Pooka:
- ANYA: What are you talking about, the dog goes.
- DIMITRI: The dog does not go.
- ANYA: I say he’s going.
Later she also says "Pooka? … Here boy!"
Personality
Pooka is is Anastasia's scruffy pet dog. He is the first friend Anya made after being heartlessly sent away from the orphanage.
Little is known about Pooka's past, but it is assumed that he was either separated from his owners, lost, or abandoned soon before his encounter with Anya.
Pooka first met Anya when she was trying to decide whether to go to the fish market as she was commanded, or go to St. Petersburg and possibly find her family. Out of frustration, Anya asks for a "sign", and Pooka suddenly appears from behind a fallen tree.
Pooka wastes little time, and immediately decides to make friends with Anya by taking her scarf and leading her in the direction of St. Petersburg. Anya decides to accept the dog as her "sign" and go to St. Petersburg with her in hopes of finding a place to call "home".
Trivia
- There's actually no such name for dogs as "Pooka" in Russian language. In Russian dub, he was renamed "Pushok", which means "fluffy".
- Pooka was not Anastasia's real pet puppy, who was on the portrait. The portrait in the ballroom of the whole family includes a spaniel, who existed. The spaniel, named Joy, belonged to Anastasia's brother Alexei, and was found alive at the house where the family was killed. Anastasia's own dog, Jimmy, did not survive.