![MUTTS comic](https://moderndogmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mutts_Opener-940x640.jpg)
Unchained
Beloved MUTTS character gets happy ending after nearly 30 years
For nearly three decades, the popular syndicated comic stripย Mutts has featured a recurring character named Guard Dog. Perpetually chained in a backyard, he tugged on heartstrings around the world, quickly becoming one of the stripโs most beloved characters.ย
Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell didnโt set out to create a symbol for animal rights. He just wanted to create an antagonist for strip characters Earl the dog and Mooch the cat.ย
โI decided a rough bully dogโas a foil for them to deal withโcould be interesting and began designing a big gruff dog,โ says McDonnell. โI gave him a spiked collar to make him look mean but, when I added a chain, I realized he wasnโt a villain but a tragic character with a tough story to tell.โ
Guard Dogโs plight captured the imagination of many. As a chained dog longing for freedom, he played an important role in raising awareness about the cruelty of tethering. His poignant story inspired countlessย Muttsย readers to become involved in animal welfare. Animal groups implored McDonnell to keep Guard Dog in the strip as a symbol for all chained dogs, to remind people that no dog should live in such conditions. Readers, however, wondered if Guard Dog would ever be free.
Those longing to see Guard Dog released found a glimmer of hope in the form of a young neighbourhood girl named Doozy. Doozy paid Guard Dog many visits on her way to and from school, always arriving with something to brighten his day: an umbrella, a blanket, treats, a hug, a kind word, a reminder that he wasnโt alone in the world.
Finally, in November 2023, readers got their long-awaited happy ending: Guard Dog was unchained. The multi-week storyline saw him abandoned by his guardian and left chained with no food or water after they moved homes. Earl and Mooch learned what had happened and got their human guardian to come to Guard Dogโs rescue, setting off a happy ending for the character.
โMy pen-and-ink Guard Dog was a stand-in, speaking for all the real dogs who have had to endure this pain,โ says McDonnell. โThe response to the seven-week story ending with Guard Dog having a loving forever family was beyond anything I could have imagined.
โAs a cartoonist, you put a character into a comic, and they tell you what to say. Guard Dogโs powerful voice in the comic strip spoke not only for tethered dogs but also for everyone who feels chained by their thoughts and circumstances. Guard Dog always had grace and hope in spite of his dire situation. I felt guilty keeping him on that chain all those years, and canโt express how good I feel now that heโs free and with Doozyโฆ He and Doozy, together, was meant to be.โ
*Find resources to help tethered dogs in your community at mutts.com/GuardDog.
This article originally appeared in the award-winningย Modern Dogย magazine.ย Subscribe today!
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