Brian Griffin is a cartoon character on the TV show Family Guy voiced by the show's creator, Seth MacFarlane.

Brian Griffin is the Griffin family dog. Unlike other dogs, he can speak intelligently, walk on two feet, and has a sharp wit. He also has a cultured background and can sing. Peter Griffin is his best friend. Brian has some issues which have led him to see a psychiatrist, and he is also a borderline alcoholic.

In the Family Guy universe, dogs seem to fall into two classes: the first include talking, human-like creatures, like Brian and his cousin Jasper, and the second are non-intelligent, more realistic dogs, such as Brian's girlfriend in the episode "Screwed the Pooch". The former class also interacts with humans as if they themselves were humans; in the episode "Brian Wallows & Peter's Swallows", Brian has a semi-romantic relationship with a human woman named Pearl Burton, who later died after being struck by a truck. Brian also had romantic feelings for Peter's wife Lois, seen in the episode "Brian In Love", but Lois just wanted to be friends when Brian told her about his feelings for her.

Brian was born on a farm in Austin, Texas, in a litter of about eight puppies to a bitch named Biscuit. He was taken away from his mother early on and spent some time as a homeless stray dog washing car windshields for change before meeting Peter Griffin, who offered him a warm meal and a home. When Brian returned to Austin with Stewie Griffin years later to confront his mother, he found Biscuit stuffed and serving as a table for the farmers. He grabbed her and absconded with her to give her a proper burial.

Brian attended Brown University, loves opera, and speaks French and a little Spanish. He briefly worked as a police dog, searching for drugs at the airport but became addicted to cocaine. He later worked as a waiter while trying to be a screenwriter in Hollywood; he ended up directing several porn movies in Hollywood.

Quotes

• Stewie: "Look where my hand is! I say, look where my hand is. It's in a very dirty place. Doesn't that disgust you?"; Brian: "Kid, you're talking a guy who uses his tongue for toilet paper."
• Brian: "Hey, barkeep, whose leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here?"