June 4, 2008

(Images Courtesy of Berkeley Breathed and Patrick McDonnell)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A postcard with a burned beagle’s picture on the front -- eyes staring up at the recipient that seemed to question why he was burned. That image propelled writer, author and artist Berkeley Breathed to create stories and messages of animal advocacy.

While the love of his pets Earl and Mooch inspired Patrick McDonnell to create his stories -- most recently, a collection called “Shelter Stories.” Earl, his Jack Russell Terrier, recently passed away.

“He lived till he was 19-years-old,” McDonnell said. “I felt if I could capture his spirit and joy of life, I accomplished my job.”

Both artists use what is mostly seen as a whimsical medium to pass on serious messages about animal advocacy, welfare, cruelty and adoption.

Breathed’s recent creation, “Flawed Dogs” is based on a cast of characters might be found in a shelter near you. The idea came to him after an animal story-filled day: he saw a picture of a beagle who won the Westminster Dog show, and later that same day, a picture of one of Michael Vick’s fighting dogs that was saved in a Utah shelter.

“That’s a dichotomy every writer would leap at. And one I couldn’t ignore,” Breathed said. “On the one hand dogs are being celebrated for something completely fraudulent -- their looks. And on the other hand, they’re being abused and exploited for their fighting ability.”

Bipsie, Noodles, Lulu and Rollo are part of the gang that helps Sam -- the main character -- exact revenge on a show-poodle who separates Sam from the little girl who loves him.

All of the dogs are “flawed” in the way most of society may deem, including Sam -- who sports part of a golf club for one of his hind legs.

For Breathed, shelters are for him what prisons have been for novelists and movies -- a venue that provided stories just “waiting to be exploited in a story,” he said.
The messages of judging value, beauty and love are part of his strips. But mostly, Breathed said he wants to attack “cruelty.”

“If you’re so concerned about cruelty to humans and pain, how can you draw a line on a species level,” he asked.

Kindness to creatures is the message McDonnell spreads in his work. He wants readers to relate to his characters the way they relate to their own pets. The dialogue is done from the pets’ point of view.

While many are funny, some have serious, reality-check messages, like a four-panel strip in which a dog explains how cute he was when his owners first picked him up.

But as he grew bigger, their “hearts grew smaller” -- and now he sits in a shelter.
“I try to be entertaining. I believe a comic strip is an art form like any other art form and can tell the whole panorama of life. It’s mostly gags, but sometimes there’s stories that touch our hearts in different ways,” McDonnell explained.

In his book “Shelter Stories,” McDonnell lets his characters explain how they landed in shelters, their disappointment during each day they spend in a shelter, and their hope of finding a new home. His drawings are accompanied by photos of real pets and thoughts from their owners.

“When I’m doing the strip, I’m thinking of all the animals in shelters dreaming of that and thought it would be nice to inform the public and remind them about those animals,” McDonnell said.

Throughout their stories -- whether done daily, weekly or in a compilation like their books, both artists shy away from preaching their advocacy.

“People put up reactive shells about feeling bad about things they’re doing. It’s very difficult to break through that,” Breathed said.

But in using the medium of comics and cartoons, “they’re drawn in and don’t even know they’re drawn in. They’re finding themselves questioning values they probably resisted questioning.”

To learn more about these animal advocate artists, visit their Web sites, berkeleybreathed.com and muttscomics.com.

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