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.
“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
“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
“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
“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!
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