To celebrate 25 years of MUTTS, we asked readers to tell us what the strip means to them, and to share some of their favorite memories of Mooch, Earl, and the rest of the crew.

Patrick and Team MUTTS are overwhelmed with gratitude by the many thoughtful responses we received. Below are just a few of the messages that tugged at our hearts. Some have been edited for brevity/length.


Published on October 6, 2005

“When I met my husband, he talked about the MUTTS comic and asked me if I knew of them? I told him ‘no’ and he seemed a bit disappointed. After that, he would send me the strips every day. When we started to officially date he called me ‘Shnelly.’ I was like, who is Shnelly? Then he showed me the ‘Oh, Shnelly, can’t you see us together some day?’ comic strip. Every time he saw me, he would put his arm and hand out like Mooch and say ‘Oh, my Shnelly!’ My nickname has become Shnelly and I call him Mooch. That year we actually dressed up as Mooch and Earl for Halloween. At our wedding, we ordered that comic strip and had it displayed on our wedding table. The MUTTS comics have a special place in our hearts. We also adopted our two male kitties, which we love!!” — Ashley


Published on October 19, 2008

“MUTTS has always been my favorite comic and one that I would clip out of the paper on a regular basis! The farm animal ones were my favorite, as I’m a life vegetarian and have been a farm animal advocate since middle school, before it was common or cool!” — Kira


Published on May 23, 2017

“I discovered MUTTS after Calvin & Hobbes ended. Been a fan ever since. We have your art and inspirational strips decorating every area of our shelter. You inspire me to work hard to take the best possible care and find the best possible homes for our shelter residents. I have fostered for our shelter for 13 years, volunteered and worked there for as long, and named many of the adoptees after your characters. The sweetest adoption was my first foster failure, who I named Shtinky Pudding. You also inspire me personally to be a good steward of my planet … whales, tigers, and all living things.” — Karen


Published on May 1, 2004

“I started reading MUTTS many years ago when my local paper started running it. I always look forward to the Shelter Stories. The first Shelter Stories that featured Chickpea and Chickpea’s brother ran just after I had adopted brother and sister kitties myself so I was particularly drawn to their story. When the week ended with them still at the shelter I was very sad. But then they were adopted in a later week of Shelter Stories and I bawled like a baby. There are not many comic strips that can have that kind of emotional impact.” — Leila


Have your own MUTTS story to tell? Let us know in the comments or email us at blog@mutts.com.

Want to read more stories from MUTTS lovers? Stay tuned for more posts like this throughout 2019 and 2020, because we’re celebrating 25 years of MUTTS for a full 12 months!

Comments (12)

That strip with Chickpea and Chickpea’s brother really gets to me because my cats are also littermates. I adopted them from a rescue group at an adoption event. My little gray guy, Sheldon, was in a cage with another, unrelated male kitten, and as I peered in, Shel climbed up and looked me right in the eye. I was approved to get two kittens, and I wanted a female, so I was shown another cage and picked out an adorable ball of tortoise fluff, who promptly sat in my lap and purred. I knew I would take her home, and then the woman from the rescue group told me that the little gray guy was her brother! I took them home and they’re still inseparable, five years later.

Anne-Marie

Elena, un caro saluto da qui in America! E baci per i tuoi gatti. <3

chessiepique

My all time favorite comics are Peanuts and Mutts. Many of the Mutts strips have decorated my office bulletin board or home refrigerator over the years because Mooch “spoke” for my cats.. One strip gracing the refrigerator right now is Mooch kicking the football: “That’s for you Charlie Brown” How perfect. I also love the relationship between Mooch and Earl — and how typically they exhibit the characteristics of dogs and cats. Another saved strip is the one in which Earl asks Mooch how “we” live with the guilt and remorse of being bad. And, Mooch of course, being typical of the species, replies, “A little reminder here – You’re shpeaking to a CAT.”

Thanks,Patrick, for giving all the animals voice.

Dina Dorich

I like the one whereStinky Puddin is saying he is going to visit his angel and goes to the shelter.i had that comic on my wall when later I went to the shelter and this exact comic was hanging there as a poster. The shelter workers really are angels. It’s my favorite of all your comics.
But it bugs me that Chickpeas brother has no name

Pam Golick

Mutts newsletter is my daily smile. Greetings from Italy. Silvano

Silvano JOLY

I am Italian and I found out the existance of Mutts’s beautiful world almost one year ago thanks to a friend. I love reading the strips every single day as well as I love your merchandising! And I am glad about the existance of the shelters volounteers, they make our world a better place, definitely. I also have the luck to live with 3 beautiful cats, picked from the street when they were soooo little and alone, the best thing I’ve ever done in my life… What else can I say….I love Mutts world!

Elena Caraco

Mutts is mine and my husbands favorite comic. Our local newspaper does not carry it anymore so we wake up to it each morning by email now!

We have a 19 year old tuxedo cat with an attitude so Mooch is our favorite character and we really identify with Mooch’s antics. Of course, Earl is a sweetie!

Thanks for brightening our days with all the lovable characters, great items for sale and all you do for the animals. Still waiting for the movie!

Mike and Nancy.

Mike and Nancy

Sour Puss Rules! Just got my Crabby hat and pins also!!

Dave

I love the comic strip of shtinky writing about saving the world, but needed help. That’s what my husband says. You cannot save everyone or everything ! So far I’ve saved 4 cats . We are more dog lovers 😊 Sofie, Dixie, Mario, and Royce she’s the newest member of our family. I love our cat family. ❤🐾 and one dog Bellotti.

Patricia Gardner

Fur Babies mean so much to my husband and I; each takes a part of our hearts when they cross the Rainbow Bridge! However, MUTTS helps is to celebrate each life, and brings chuckles when a particular strip strikes an incident of joy or “crazies” we have experienced.
As a result, we sport MUTTS socks, gifted one another MUTTS figurines, so much more.
Earl, Mooch, and friends bring so much pleasure to us. Thank You, Patrick.
Lin and Johann

Lin Düren