This is a reference to Full Metal Alchemist. It's a fairly common reference, if you've ever seen "Ed... ward" or something like it, this is the same reference.
(Spoilers ahead) In the anime/manga, he's studying how to create chimeras, and secretly, it's going very poorly. In a desperate attempt to get his research to work, he fuses his adorable daughter and her dog, believing only humans can make intelligent chimeras. It's also revealed he has prestige in the field only because his last successful chimera was made with his wife. It's a tragic gut punch, and a rather infamous scene.