Street puppeteers used trained animals in their shows for a long time. The most famous was Brioché's monkey Fagotin, dressed in a lackey's livery and equipped with a sword without a point. According to the Combat de Cyrano de Bergerac avec le singe de Brioché, au bout du Pont-Neuf, a text written around 1650 and published in 1704, it was killed by a sword blow from the writer Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655).

In the 19th century, the French puppeteers staging the character of Polichinelle and performing in the streets and public gardens were always accompanied by a cat who fought against the executioner as he raised his gallows to hang Polichinelle. In England, a dog called Toby traditionally took part in the Punch and Judy shows.