The viewers of Walking Dead have a new idea for the writers of the series: do not kill Dog!

Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for The Walking Dead.

"If Daryl dies, we are rioting," says the slogan adorned with many Walking Dead cup or fan t-shirt, referring to a long-time AMC character.

Now you can add a postscript: do not mess with Daryl's dog either.

A fan of the zombie drama, now in its ninth season, has launched a Care2 petition urging the series writers not to kill Daryl's canine companion, named – wait for it – Dog.

"Please, sign my petition to ask TWD's authors to keep Dog in the show in perpetuity!", Lance Kelsey B.

"The dog is Daryl's companion and he's really adorable," she says, claiming that Dog is a substitute for his old friend Rick Grimes in Daryl's life.

Grimes, for the uninitiated, was the first character seen by viewers The dead who walk began in 2010 and has forged close ties with his other survivor, Daryl Dixon, played by Norman Reedus, as the series unfolded. Rick was released from the series with the episode of November 4, although actor Andrew Lincoln will continue to portray Rick in stand-alone films.

"Daryl and Rick were practically incredible brothers and leaders, and honestly, losing too much dog would be too much," says Kelsey B's petition.

It had been signed by more than 42,000 people on Monday Monday afternoon.

The bad news for petitioners is that animals do not have much longevity in the series, which envisions a postapocalyptic world in which the dead walk on Earth feasting on all that is sensitive.

Some viewers are probably still traumatized by death, in season 8, of a tiger named Shiva, a CGI creature.

Nevertheless, Dog was always with us when The dead who walk Pause for his mid-season break last Sunday and Twitter was full of messages from relieved fans. (The character of Jesus, played by Tom Payne, was not so lucky.)

Will Dog survive when the show comes back in February, as survivors face a new enemy called Whisperers? Dog is in a scene of the new trailer teasing the rest of season 9 but, beyond, who can say?