What MUTTS Means To You: A Lasting Impression

To celebrate 26 years of MUTTS, we’re asking readers to tell us what the strip means to them, and to share some of their best memories of Mooch, Earl, and the rest of the crew.

We are appreciative of all the messages we’ve received, and we will continue to share your responses — so please comment below if you have memories or kind words. Thank you for the love!

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“I love MUTTS so much! I love each animal and all their relationships. I really adore Earl and Ozzie’s bond. One of my favorites is ‘The Boys of Summer’ with Earl and Ozzie surfing a big wave. I look forward to the strip every day and always look at the one hanging in my room.” — Janine T.

Published August 9, 2009

 

“I love Shelter Stories! They always make me cry, especially after I lost my dog in 2017. I’ve been reading them for so many years and my dog was always by my side. My dog was adopted and I loved reading them to him.” — Brea

Published May 8, 2019

 

“I love Shelter Stories! I have the one with the greyhound hanging up in my office. I also love the ones with the squirrels that throw nuts and when the birds sing.” — Fal.

Published November 5, 2006

 

“We adopted our first cat from the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago the week MUTTS came out in the Chicago Tribune. I’ve been a fan ever since. The cat I have now actually met Patrick. He signed The Gift of Nothing for her.” — Ashleigh G.

Published July 2, 2016

 

“I love MUTTS because they perfectly capture the eternal optimism of our pets. ‘Today’s The Day!’ will always be my favorite.” — Joan

Published November 2, 2014

 

“I adore MUTTS comics. They are so precious. I also love the occasional special messages like Earth Day and reminders to adopt instead of shopping. I fell in love with these comics as a child and have never stopped.” — Emily B.

Published April 22, 2010

 

Want to share your MUTTS memories with us? We’d love to hear them! Join the conversation on Facebook or leave a note in the comments below.

 

— Chintan Parikh
Tagged: Animals, People

Comments (15)

I love Mutts. The cartoonist is spectacular. Love the ones about the animals needing rescued and loving homes as I’ part of a rescue. However I love them all. They all have so much meaning.

Misty Hammerbacker

Is there a compilation of all the strips in one book or two or more? I’d like to be able to look thru it at leisure. I’ve always been a fan ever since I was in my 20s. It’s been 50 years of loving “Mutts”! My son is also a fan. I need that book(s) to feel happy every day.

Victoria Abbott

victoria abbott

I have followed Mutts almost since inception and though the strips and “story arcs” have evolved, they still keep their power to convey a thoughtful message. Each character brings to the front their concerns for a better world. Earl and Mooch can inspire so much with just their innocent humor and candid honesty. Guard Dog and Doozy always deliver their punch for friendship, love, compassion. Shtinky Puddin’ will always remind us to love and protect our planet, flora and fauna. And then the Shelter Stories, encouraging all of us to put our grain of sand in the effort to make life better for all those souls awaiting for “forever” homes. Mutts is a powerful comic strip that with kindness and respect shows us the way to become better humans. Thank you for this cartoon!!! 🐾💖

Francisco Rodriguez

We were so mad at our local paper when they stopped running the Mutt’s comic. After stopping the paper we signed up in the computer to get Mutt’s every day in our mail. It is the first thing that we open every morning . Always something to look forward to and put a smile on our face. Thank you for all that you do for our dog and cat kids.

Steve and MJ Schalk

Cheers, and thanks to Patrick, Matt, and all the Mutts team, you are a bright light in my life. Staying soft and gentle when the world turns nasty.
Favourite Mutts: It is definitely the one from the 2014 calendar, [I don’t know if it has a name, you can substitute that or a picture for what I have written here] which says, “Thanks for this day, for all the birds safe in their nests, for whatever this, for life.” I keep all the Mutts calendar ‘prints’, and that one is always on my wall, or now on my current calendar. It’s a bit beat up for having been blu-tacked and then removed every month to the next month, but it’s still always up. My Prayer, given to me by you.

David Ritter