Mutts (comic strip)

Mutts is a daily comic strip created by Patrick McDonnell and launched on September 5, 1994. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it follows the adventures of Earl, a dog, and Mooch, a cat. Earl and Mooch interact with each other, their human owners, as well as the animals around their neighborhood.

Mutts has received numerous awards internationally, both for comic strip excellence and for its themes of animal protection. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz praised Mutts, calling it "one of the best comic strips of all time."

The friendship of Mooch and Earl focuses on the differences between cats and dogs as human companions and as friends with each other: Earl is friendly, loves the company of his human companion, and likes to play outside; Mooch is often indifferent to his human companions, except when being fed, and prefers to stay inside or is often seen with Earl, his best friend. Both animals frequently express themselves through thought balloons when their owners are present.

Earl is an innocent black and white Jack Russell terrier who lives with his human companion Ozzie, a bachelor. They love spending time together and taking frequent walks. Earl often howls in loneliness when Ozzie is away from home. Earl spends much of his free time with Mooch, either inside or wandering around town visiting other animals. He loves to eat both human food and his own dog food. It is revealed in a 2011 Valentine's Day strip that Earl was adopted by Ozzie from a shelter. Earl was inspired by Patrick McDonnell's late Jack Russell terrier, also named Earl, who lived with Patrick and his wife for more than 18 years.

Mooch is a curious tuxedo cat with a large nose who lives next door to Earl with his human companions Millie (who often calls him "Moochie," "Moo Moo Cakes," or "Shmoochums," and he calls her "Shmillie") and Frank, a goldfish named Sid, and a snail named Little Earl. Mooch can be reclusive, sometimes preferring to stay inside and nap, or play with his Little Pink Sock, rather than go outside with Earl. He has a speech impediment that causes him to insert an sh into words, such as yesh (yes), shmilk (milk) and shmousie (mousie). He frequently snubs (or shnubs) his cat food, much to Millie's chagrin, dislikes car rides, and, like Earl, he eats human food at every opportunity.

In 2003, Earl and Mooch were included in McDonnell's illustration for the front cover of the album Vivaldi's Greatest Hit: The Ultimate Four Seasons, the dog conducting a quartet of trees playing musical instruments and the cat dancing to the music.

In 2005, Earl and Mooch appeared as guests in Blondie and Dagwood's 75th anniversary in the comic strip Blondie. In 2004, Pearls Before Swine crossed over with Mutts. In that strip, Rat goes to Comics Re-education Camp, where Earl and Mooch try to teach Rat to be a Lovable comic strip character. In another strip, Frank and Mooch are hanging out with many old comic strip characters, including but not limited to: Dick Tracy, Peanuts, and Little Nemo.

From time to time there are special sets of daily comic strips. Some, such as Shelter Stories (which focus on animals in shelters), serve to remind readers about one of the key beliefs that Mutts holds dear: compassion for all animals. Others, such as Animal Idol (a parody of American Idol), are an homage to various pop culture references. One set of strips was a nod to The Big Lebowski, featuring Mooch as the Dude, with different characters quoting lines from other characters from the film.