There is a moment in “Bart’s Dog Gets an F” (Season 2) that perfectly illustrates the real Homer Simpson.  Through nothing more than stupidity, and the relentless confidence that comes with such stupidity, Homer is utterly certain that his dog is in his back yard.  Of course, he is wrong:

Homer, as is his way, makes a tremendous ass of himself before he is indisputably proved wrong.  That is the kind of grueling suburban humiliation that made Homer an America hero.