Lucy Is the Breakout Star of 'NCIS' Season 18 — Whose Dog Is She?

Dave, Mark Harmon's adopted pit bull mix, entered the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. In the fall of 2016, Dave violently attacked one of the crew members on the set of NCIS. According to TMZ, the unlucky employee needed 16 stitches as the result of the incident. 

A recent episode of NCIS, "Watchdog," starred a well-behaved dog who developed a close bond with Mark straightaway. Could the two dogs be the same? Has Dave ever appeared on NCIS? 

Dave has garnered a great deal of attention over the years. Some believe that the black-haired pup continued to accompany Mark to the set of NCIS in Valencia, Calif. following the accident, which likely rubbed up at least some of Mark's co-stars the wrong way. 

According to a rumor, Dave's behavior became a great source of conflict between actors Mark and Pauley Perrette — so much so that she may have handed in her resignation because of the rift. So, is Dave back with a vengeance? 

Mark's keenest fans have kept a close eye on the dogs starring in NCIS, with some venturing so far as to share updates on Pinterest when Dave — or a dog who bears an uncannily similar appearance to Dave — features in an NCIS episode. According to avid Pinterest users, it's possible that Dave made an appearance in Season 13 Episode 20 of NCIS. 

Season 18 introduced viewers to a beautiful, brown-haired, wise-eyed doggo who goes by the name of Lucy on NCIS, and she doesn't look much like Dave. Most fans agree that the dog starring in Season 18 of NCIS does not belong to Mark. 

According to a yet-to-be-corroborated rumor, the 2016 dog incident posed a grave problem for the cast and crew of NCIS. Some believe that Mark continued to bring Dave to the set even after the bite, while others claim that Mark stopped bringing Dave around sometime after the incident. 

Either way, the attack is frequently mentioned in conversations about Pauley's departure from NCIS. In a tweet from around that time, Pauley implied that she felt that it was her responsibility to flag the issue to Mark and the rest of the team — and then proceeded to exit NCIS in 2018. It's unclear if Mark and Pauley had other issues to work through, or if they fell out solely because of Dave. 

"Maybe I'm wrong for not 'spilling the beans.' Telling the story, THE TRUTH. I feel I have to protect my crew, jobs and so many people. But at what cost? I don't know. Just know, I'm trying to do the right thing, but maybe silence isn't the right thing about crime. I'm... Just... ?" Pauley tweeted on May 13, 2018. 

Pauley and Mark refused to appear on the set at the same time for the shooting of some Season 15 episodes. As a source told The Wrap in 2018, they had specifically arranged their work schedules to film shared scenes separately. 

"She did her scenes on one day and he did his work on other days, and they still produced a great show," the person told The Wrap. "It was simply scheduled that they did not work the same days." 

Catch new episodes of NCIS every Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.