comic strip artist Patrick McDonnell draws on his concern for animals
by Rebecca L. Rhoades
Fall, 2000
Open to the comic strips in any newspaper, and you'll see a variety of animals as title characters (think Marmaduke and Garfield) or in supporting roles as loyal family members (Blondie's Daisy or Family Circus' Barfy, Sam and Kittycat). But few comic strips have captured the hearts of animal lovers as well as Mutts, the five-year-old tale by Patrick McDonnell of a dog, a cat and their owners.
There's Earl, a feckless Jack Russell terrier, and his mustachioed owner -"My Ozzie"- who takes him for walks and gives him belly rubs. Mooch, the inquisitive yet naive cat who "shpeaks" with a lisp, is owned by Ozzie's kindly neighbors, Frank and Millie. It is these simple human/animal relationships that makes Mutts stand out from the majority of cartoon animals-- the animals remain true to their nature, enabling readers to identify with their own pet relationships.
"Animals have so much personality themselves that they don't need to wear little suits and act human," says McDonnell. "And by keeping them as animal-like as possible, I was better able to address animal issues, which is important to me."In addition, the strip's clean lines and philosophical text have evoked comparisons to 'Peanuts', perhaps the most famous strip of all time about a dog and his companion. In fact, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz has said, "To me, Mutts is exactly what a comic strip should be. It's hard to believe that after 100 years of comics, Patrick could come up with a new and perfect little dog."
Character Development
McDonnell started his career as a magazine illustrator, and he often included images of a man and a little dog in his drawings. So when McDonnell first sat down to create Mutts, he knew that these two characters would be the strip's main focus.
At first, Mutts was simply the story of Ozzie and Earl. It was also McDonnell's own story- the real Earl is the artist's Jack Russell terrier. "Those strips with Ozzie and Earl going for their walks, that's pretty much me."
It was during one of their early walks that Ozzie and Earl met Mooch, who, like most cats, took over. From that point on, Earl had to share the spotlight.About three years ago, McDonnell's life began to imitate his strip when his wife, Karen, rescued a feral cat from a New Jersey parking garage. But McDonnell is quick to point out that he named the little calico Meemow, not Mooch. "She's not really a Mooch cat. She has her own personality."
Earl and Meemow provide McDonnell with a constant source of inspiration. "It may sound corny, but when I sit at the drawing table, most of the time Earl's sleeping at my feet and Meemow's sleeping on the table. They're definitely inspirational for some of the story ideas."
Over the years, some of those story lines have included animal welfare and environmental issues. During their many adventures, Earl and Mooch have encountered such varied creatures as bears, tigers, ocean life and birds. They've also learned about deforestation and the humane treatment of companion animals. McDonnell hopes that his strip will encourage people to think more about the animals and plants with whom they share the planet. "If I do a story about a tree or a squirrel or a crab, it's just to remind people that there's more to life than their TV sets or their computers."
Compassion in Comics
McDonnell's concern for animals has garnered him the attention of the animal welfare community. In 1997, he was honored for his contributions to animal welfare with the Ark Trust's Genesis Award, which recognizes artists who communicate animal issues with creativity and integrity. His winning series focused on a serious and often controversial subject- fur.
The series opens when a woman, who is visiting Frank and Millie, removes her fur coat, and Earl and Mooch think that a bear has regurgitated her. To their horror, they realize that the "bear" is actually "a coat made up of the skins of furry little animals!"
"Yesh! Just like . . . us," exclaims Mooch with horror.
The two quickly decide that the proper thing to do is bury the coat. Ozzie and Frank are forced to pay for the damaged coat, so Frank asks Millie if she would like to keep the coat. With Mooch contentedly purring on her shoulders, she indignantly responds, "Never! I like my fur breathing."
"I think nothing could hit home more than this series," says Beverly Kaskey, senior vice president of the Ark Trust. "Patrick's able to take the medium of cartoons and put a message in it that no one's going to turn away from. So maybe showing the ridiculousness of a fur coat from the eyes of an animal is as powerful or more powerful than showing animals on a fur farm."
In 1999, McDonnell was presented with a second Genesis Award, this time in recognition of a weeklong series dealing with shelter animals. The poignant "Shelter Stories" tells the animals' all-too-common stories. There's Bowser, the large dog who was surrendered to the shelter because he "got big" while his family's hearts "got small"; and Tom-Tom, the rescued street cat who wonders why he has yet to be adopted. After all, he says, "I'm not too picky."
"Patrick's strip has spread the word about animals in shelters more than all of the work and effort of those of us in the animal welfare field," says Kaskey.
McDonnell created "Shelter Stories" after receiving literature from the Humane Society of the United States promoting National Shelter Week. At the time, he was already thinking about doing a story on shelters, and he felt that this would provide the perfect opportunity for a yearly series on homeless animals.
Soon after the appearance of the first "Shelter Stories," McDonnell was approached by North Shore Animal League (NSAL) to create a similar series for its annual Adoptathon, a worldwide campaign promoting shelter adoptions. For the week leading up to the Adoptathon, Mutts was dedicated to shelter animals. In Friday's strip, McDonnell included the national hotline number [(877) 236 9725], and according to Marilyn DiToro, NSAL manager of public relations, the phone began ringing off the hook.
"More than 37,000 pets were saved in 1999, and that's due in large part to Patrick," says DiToro. "We know that because most of the people who called our Adoptathon number said, 'I got the number from Mutts.'"
McDonnell collaborated with NSAL in May 2000 for another Adoptathon. Once again, he included the hotline number [(877) 236 9725] in the series, and about 26,000 were adopted this year.
"Finding homes for those animals is the thing I'm most proud of," says McDonnell. "I think that animals have it pretty hard on this planet, so anything I can do to help them makes me feel good."
McDonnell concludes, "I recently got a letter from a shelter employee who tacks the strips on her wall to remind her why she works there. Boy, those are the people who are really doing the hard work. If I can lift their spirits, then that makes me want to continue."
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