Written for Petside
Growing up, television was a warm welcoming place. On Saturday mornings I visited with cartoon friends. There was reassurance the characters behaved the way I expected. I knew their laughs, the way their shoulders shook, if their eyebrows tilted up. When they were confused or sad I felt for them but I knew when they were just faking to play a trick. Their flaws were lovable and their cockamamie antics delectable. Here’s my list of seven animated dogs worthy of mention.
1. Clifford the Big Red Dog
This year is the 50th anniversary of Clifford the Big Red Dog, a lovable animated character created by Norman Bridwell. Clifford was created for Scholastic Books and remains their official mascot. Clifford’s life began as the tiny runt of a litter. An eight-year old girl named Emily Elizabeth chose him for her birthday and her love for him was so great that Clifford kept growing and growing until he reached the height of 25 feet. He became too big for Elizabeth and her family to stay in the city so they left to find a new home. I think of Clifford from my childhood days as a happy, friendly, gregarious sort. He was well-meaning and helpful but often got into big trouble because of his size. I wished it was me whenever Emily rode on his back.
2. Rowlf the Dog
Ah, the Muppets. Who can forget Jim Henson’s Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Ernie and Burt, Oscar the Grouch and the Cookie Monster? Here’s a surprise: The first Muppet to reach stardom was Rowlf the Dog, a scruffy brown doggy with long floppy ears. It has been 50 years since Rowlf earned TV fame as Jimmy Dean’s sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show. Rowlf is calm, no matter what insanity goes on around him, he loves classical music and plays a mean piano.
3. Snoopy
My all time favorite cartoon dog is Snoopy. In case there is anyone out there who doesn’t know, Charles Schulz created Snoopy the Beagle for the Peanuts comic strip. It was 63 years ago that Snoopy’s life began. He was a regular dog at first but over time, the little guy acquired personality quirks that shot him to scene-stealing status. Snoopy went from living inside his doghouse to lying atop. Schulz credits that as the life changer for Snoopy. A bit of trivia: Snoopy’s name came from Schulz’s mother. When she’d been alive she had said that if the family ever got another dog, she’d name him Snoopy, which comes from the Norwegian word Snuppa, meaning sweetie, honey or baby. Funny though, Snoopy isn’t the kind of guy who fits those exactly. Snoopy is his own man—who could ever forget Joe Cool with his dark shades or The Red Baron, WWI flying ace?
4. Goofy
Now let’s talk about Goofy. I’ll always think of him fondly. Walt Disney created him in 1932; that’s 81 years ago! Isn’t it great that cartoon dogs never age? Goofy’s name is perfect for this clumsy, lovable, lughead. I always found it funny that he wore a turtleneck, vest, white gloves and pants that were too short, with shoes that were too big. Goofy came into this world at the same time as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Pluto and that brings me to number five.
5. Pluto
Pluto is Mickey Mouse’s dog. As most dog owners feel, Mickey considers Pluto his best friend. The pooch has big feet, big paws, a big green collar, skinny black tail, and animated black ears with signature Walt Disney eyes. Pluto can’t stand cats ever since meeting Minnie’s feline, Figaro. He’s got a supersonic sense of smell and can hunt down anything. Pluto falls in love quickly and often. He fell hard for Dinah the Dachshund but despite that tendency, Pluto’s biggest love is for Mickey.
6. Scooby Doo
Scooby Doo was born at Hanna-Barbera and got his name from Frank Sinatra’s song, Strangers in the Night (doo-be-doo-be-doo). Creator Iwao Takamoto went to see a Great Dane breeder and asked about the desired traits for the pedigree. After getting a full description, Takamoto created Scooby with the opposite qualities. He gave him a hump back, bowed legs, small chin and opposable thumbs. As a kid I delighted in the way he was scared of everything. This huge brown dog with a big black nose would tremble and shake, then jump into the arms of his owner, Shaggy. Scooby had a speech impediment that gave him trouble with the letter “R.” As an adult, I’ve attributed my expression, “Ruh Roh,” to Scooby, but I learned today that I was wrong. Read on…
7. Astro
Astro, also drawn by Takamoto for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Jetsons(which first aired in 1962), was the Jetson family dog. Astro is the character responsible for “Ruh Roh.” Interestingly, both Astro and Scooby Doo were voiced by the same man, Don Messick, and both added the letter “R” to words. Astro said things like, “I ruv roo.” Another phrase I adopted from cartoon doggies is thanks to Huckleberry Hound. It was Huck who got me in the habit of saying, “stuff like that there.” Now, getting back to Astro and The Jetsons, every episode ended with George Jetson and Astro walking on a treadmill but suddenly Astro chases a cat, the treadmill makes George fall down, he loses his grip on the leash and gets sucked into the treadmill. No matter how many times I watched the ending, I howled.