Characters / Mutts

Main Animals

General

• Interspecies Friendship: They all seem to get along pretty well despite what the stereotype on dogs and cats would suggest.

Earl

A Jack Russell Terrier who is joyful and generally optimistic about life.

• Expressive Ears: His ears fly up when he's shocked, surprised, caught off-guard or frightened, which happens pretty much all the time.
• Furry Reminder: He chases squirrels, barks at the mailman, chews shoes and chewy toys, howls when Ozzie is not home and generally acts like a dog when he isn't acting human-like. Mooch sometimes invokes this by throwing him a stick or ball.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Mooch.
• Interspecies Friendship: With Mooch.
• Loyal Animal Companion: The way he interacts with Ozzie, especially on walks, would make anyone wish they had a dog like him.
• Nice Guy: Generally a nice and friendly mutt.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: He's a very cute dog that never fails to make anyone smile.
• Straight Man: Serves as one to Mooch.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He likes his dog food but he also enjoys eating human food. A lot. Especially when it comes from someone else's plate.

Mooch

A tuxedo cat with his own way of speaking and Earl's best friend.

• Affectionate Nickname: He's frequently called "Moochie" by Mille and (formerly) Earl.
• Animal Sweet on Object: In 2001, he develops an obsession with little pink socks and since then, can usually be seen playing with them.
• Ascended Extra: Invoked. According to Word of God, he was originally supposed to appear for one week only at the beginning of the strip as a one-time gag, but because he took over in "typical feline fashion", he became the main character along with Earl shortly after.
• Camp Straight: High-strung, emotional and flamboyant, but deeply infatuated with Shnelly. He apparently sees the little pink sock as female too.
• Catchphrase: "Little pink sock, little pink sock..."
  • Also, "Yesh!"
• Cats Are Lazy: When he doesn't feel like doing anything, he can be this.
• Cats Are Mean: Averted. He's pretty friendly.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: He's very moody and prone to wild notions and bizarre leaps of logic.
• Cool Cat: Seriously, who would not want to have a cat like him as a pet?
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Earl.
• Interspecies Friendship: With Earl.
• Literal-Minded: Very much so. Observe!
  Earl: You're right, Mooch — winter's too long. We'll hibernate and it will just woosh by!
  Mooch: Yesh.
  (Beat)
  Mooch: I don't hear any wooshing yet.
• Meaningful Name: Mooch gets his name from the way McDonnell's family's cat would affectionately rub her face against his mother's, giving a "mooch". The definition of the word "mooch" means "to loiter, loaf, or roam about; to get by sponging off others". Mooch is sometimes seen lying around, doing nothing and has been known to stray, as he demonstrates in earlier strips. He and Earl often ask Butchie into getting them food constantly. Mooch's name could also be interpreted as a reference to the song "Minnie the Moocher" or Baron Mooch from Krazy Kat.
• Nice Guy: Like Earl, he's a pretty friendly cat.
• Picky Eater: Tends to "shnub" any cat food Millie tries to feed him, either because he doesn't like it or just because he feels like being difficult.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: For a cat, he's pretty adorable, especially when he's not trying to be.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Like Earl, he loves human food, but he specifically likes "chicky shnoodle" and "shmilk and cookies", as stated on the official website prior to its revamp.

Guard Dog

A tethered bulldog that longs to be "free" and accepted. In a seven-week-long storyline, he gets freed and adopted by Doozy and her family.

• Angry Guard Dog: Played with but generally averted - Guard Dog, while surly, rarely gets angry enough to threaten anyone. He's just as likely to elicit sympathy from being tied up all the time.
• A Dog Named "Dog": He's a guard dog named Guard Dog. Averted after Doozy renames him Sparky.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Pretty much every animal calls him Guard Dog.
• Foil: To Earl.
  • Earl lives in a house with Ozzie, a Nice Guy, whereas Guard Dog is owned by a Jerkass man and his family, who all want nothing to do with him, and spends his life tethered in the backyard.
• Meaningful Rename: His new name is Sparky, which was Charles M. Schulz's nickname.

Noodles

A tough alley cat.

• Big Brother Mentor: He acts as a mentor/parental figure to Shtinky, informing him to do what's right.
• Big Eater: He tends to overdo it on the holidays.
• Cats Are Mean: He originally started out this way, but has since became more calm and mellow later on, though he does fight with Mooch sometimes.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: He's not a very talented singer. Justified, as he is a cat.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He loves receiving food scraps or whatever he can find out of the trash, but doesn't mind eating human food from either Millie, Ozzie or Butchie.

Shtinky Puddin'

A little kitten and dedicated animal advocate.

• Animal Motif: Tigers. They're Shtinky's favorite animal and represent his bravery, courage, independence and fearlessness.
• Catchphrase: "Yello!", "I dunno", "I know" and "Save the tigers!"

• Large Ham: He can be this sometimes, especially when he feels the need to save endangered species.

Woofie

A Big Friendly Dog who "wuvs" everything.

• Dogs Are Dumb: Downplayed. While he may not be the smartest out of the Mutts gang, he can be a wise figure to his friends and sometimes surprise them with his kindness.
• Third-Person Person: Woofie refers to himself in the third person, although this was dropped later on. It stills happens sometimes, but not as much.

Sourpuss

A grouchy cat who hates Mondays. Also runs the local news station.

• Affectionate Nickname: He has been referred to as "Mr. Sourpuss", "Kitty" and "Kitty Boo-Boo" by his owner.
• Cats Are Mean: Probably the only cat character in the strip who plays it straight.
• Expy: A grouchy orange cat that hates Mondays. Sounds familiar...
• Hates Being Touched: Do not try to cuddle him!
• Meaningful Name: He's a cat. He's a grouch. In other words, he's a sourpuss.

Humans

Ozzie

Earl's owner.

• Affectionate Nickname: He is often referred to as "my Ozzie" by Earl.
• Hidden Depths: When he is not spending time with Earl, he sometimes communicates with other animals.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: Downplayed. While he cannot understand Earl outside of body language and basic needs, he can talk to and even listen to animals, but for the sake of the strip, is oblivious.
• Straw Vegetarian: Downplayed. He still eats pepperoni on his pizza, but for the most part, he's a vegetarian.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He likes rice and beans and anything that's vegetarian or vegan.

Millie

One of Mooch's owners and Frank's wife.

• Affectionate Nickname: Mooch calls her "Shmille".
• Catchphrase: "Moochie! Din-din!"
• Crazy Cat Lady: Downplayed. She loves Mooch but doesn't seem to like the idea of having more cats, because for her, Mooch is enough.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: She's an retired old lady that loves cats and loves to speak about them to her friends.
• Vegetarian for a Day: She once decided to have a vegan Thanksgiving, much to the chagrin of Frank.

Frank

One of Mooch's owners and Millie's husband.

• Butt-Monkey: He's the victim of more than his share of pain and humiliation.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a tad cantankerous, but he's got a good heart.
• Vegetarian for a Day: He was forced into doing this as the result of Millie cooking a vegan Thansgiving. While he disliked the idea, he changed his mind after eating some tofurkey.
  • He also tried one of Butchie's vegan muffins when the latter and his deli became vegan.

Butchie

The owner of Fatty Snax Deli that Earl and Mooch often visit. In June 2020, he became a vegan permanently.

• Animal Lover: He becomes this after committing himself to veganism.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": His real name is Butch, but everyone, including his crush, calls him "Butchie".
• Eyes Always Shut: His eyes are closed most of the time except for when he's surprised or dumbfounded.
• Nice Guy: When he isn't working at Fatty Snax Deli, he can be quite friendly to his customers.
• Oral Fixation: He is almost always seen with a toothpick hanging out the corner of his mouth.
• Laser-Guided Karma: He once tricked Earl and Mooch into getting some of his meat as an April Fool's prank, only for him to receive a bite on the butt.
  Butchie: Animals have no sense of humor.
• Straw Vegetarian: Downplayed. After seeing the "spark of the divine" at an animal sanctuary, he decides to commit himself to a plant-based diet, which leads to a major revamp at Fatty Snax Deli. Due to this, he is happier and friendlier than he ever was prior to becoming a vegan. However, he does not force his opinions on his meat-eating customers, instead encouraging them to take small steps whenever possible.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He used to like cold cuts and meat in general, but now likes meatless and vegan alternatives.
• Ironic Nickname: His nickname is Butchie, but becomes this after he decides to become vegan.

Doozy

The neighborhood's resident Cheerful Child and Guard Dog's owner.

• Animal Lover: She's one of the few human characters to be compassionate about animals.
• Big Eater: She once ate all of her Halloween candy while trick-or-treating, resulting in her getting a stomachache.
• Girlish Pigtails: She sports these.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Bushy.
• Hidden Depths: Doozy is shown to be extremely good at cheerleading, skateboarding and surfing. She also knows yoga, right down to knowing the poses' names in their original language.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Candy and ice cream. Also sandwiches.

Bushy

Doozy's best friend.

• Expy: She's obviously an expy to Nancy, albeit with some minor changes.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Doozy.
• Meaningful Name: Bushy gets her name from Ernie Bushmiller, the creator of Nancy.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Popsicles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate bunnies.

Sourpuss's Owner

The owner of Sourpuss and girlfriend to Butchie.

• Animal Lover: She loves any animal or pet that she finds cute and is even confirmed to be a dog person in one Sunday strip.
• Cuteness Proximity: She usually has this reaction when she sees Earl or Mooch.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She wears a purple coat when going out.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: She is usually seen with another woman that she's friends with.
• Iconic Item: She's almost never seen without her purse.
• Iconic Outfit: Her purple coat and pillbox hat.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: She's ironically a dog person, but she also loves cats and owns a cat named Sourpuss.
• Nice Girl: She's a friendly, sweet lady who's generally nice to animals and her friends.
• Prim and Proper Bun: Wears her hair like this.
• No Name Given: She remains nameless throughout the strip, but she is commonly referred to as a "lady" and a "woman".
• Trademark Favorite Food: She likes tea, cookies and exotic foods.

Mr. Grey

A millionaire who was formerly Shtinky's owner.

• Expy: He bears a strong resemblance to Little Orphan Annie's Oliver Warbucks, albeit with glasses.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Inverted. He owns a kitten named Jules/Shtinky Puddin' that's meant for his unseen daughter.

• Trademark Favorite Food: Filet mignon and caviar.

Dr. Woo

A veterinarian.

• Demoted to Satellite Love Interest: Anytime she makes an appearance in recent years, she's bound to be this.
• Token Minority: She's an Asian-American woman, something that's pretty rare to see, even to comic standards.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Apparently she likes Mexican food.

Ms. Lulu

A "pet psychic" introduced in 2005.

• Telepathy: She has the ability to read animals' thoughts.

Other Pets and Animals

Crabby

The world's crabbiest crustacean known for his colorful way of expressing himself.

• Meaningful Name: He's a crab and he's crabby. You can probably see why they call him Crabby.
• Symbol Swearing: He does this an awful lot, much to the horror of his friends.

Lollipop

Crabby's wife, who is a soft-shelled crab.

Bip and Bop

A pair of mischievous squirrels.

• Screwball Squirrel: They are troublemakers who like to drop nuts on people's heads.

Sid

Frank and Millie's pet goldfish.

• Butt-Monkey: He's often jolted about or messed with by Mooch.

Chickpea and Chickpea's Brother

Two identical twin kittens that made their debut in a Shelter Stories arc.

• Ambiguous Gender: Chickpea is explicitly stated to be female, but official sources say she is male.
• Demoted to Extra: While they are listed as being part of the main animal cast, they are seen less frequently after getting adopted and only really show up in strips featuring most of the cast.
• Half-Identical Twins: Chickpea and Chickpea's Brother are exactly alike. They may finish each other's sentences, but even they can't tell each other apart.
• No Name Given: The real name of Chickpea's Brother is unknown, which leads to everyone referring to him as "Chickpea's Brother".
• Trademark Favorite Food: Their favorite food is hummus. Get it?

Chippy and Monk

A pair of chipmunks who are members of the Mutts Book Club.

Shnelly

A housecat and the object of Mooch's affections.

• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Her real name is Nelly, but because of Mooch's lisp, everyone has been calling her "Shnelly". She did have to remind Mooch a few times but eventually got used to it within the next few strips she appeared.
• The Faceless: Shnelly's face is never seen. All we see of her are her ears.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Mooch has said on at least one occasion that she's bigger than him, despite never actually seeing her face.

Mussels Marinara

A wise-crackling shellfish and Crabby's sidekick.

• Clamshells as Mouths: He often converses with Mooch, Earl and Crabby. Mussels also sports a pair of eyes on his upper shell, and speaks with such fervency that he levitates.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Plankton.

Little Earl

Mooch's pet snail.