Citizen Dog is an American Comic Strip by Mark O’Hare that ran between 1995 and 2001. Set in a world where animals can talk to each other and to humans, the strip featured the adventures of Mel, an average human, and Fergus, his (slightly) more intelligent dog. Other characters included Cuddles the neighbor cat, who tried to be the voice of reason in a crazy world; Arlo, Fergus’ best canine friend; Bruno, a large bulldog who did not talk and had a slight obsession with Cuddles; and Maggie, a local schoolgirl whom Fergus and Arlo would follow to school much to her annoyance.
Provides Examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Bruno acts like this with Cuddles.
- Acquainted with Emergency Services: Cuddles is in first name terms with the local police.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: One strip features an elderly couple discussing that scientists “now believe that animals can and do communicate with people”, before dismissing this as a “bunch of nonsense”. They seem unaware that they live in a world with Talking Animals, even as Fergus and Mel walk past them mid-conversation.
- Art Evolution: The first year of the strip had more overblown proportions on the characters, eventually becoming simpler towards the end.
- Aside Glance: Numerous examples.
- Beat Panel: Usually the third of the four panels when it occurs.
- The Bore: Parodied with Cuddles. When he purchases a day planner, his list of tasks is merely the entry "Make a list of things to do", and he "schedules" a coffee refill with Betty. The other characters also scoff at his artistic tastes.
- Buffet Buffoonery: The topic of a whole series of strips with Mel and Fergus visiting a buffet, which Fergus proceeds to thoroughly devour.
- A Dog Ate My Homework:
- On one occasion, Fergus actually does eat Maggie’s homework. He then has to go to school with her to back up her story.
- Another time, Maggie’s teacher asks her to read her history report, and Maggie says that Fergus ate it. Fergus angrily denounces this as a “racial stereotype”. The teacher than asks Fergus to read his history report, and Fergus says that that one he did eat.
- Drop-In Character: Cuddles the cat, who belongs to Mel's neighbor.
- The Everyman: Mel, in contrast to the slightly zanier Fergus or Cuddles.
- Fishing Episode: Mel likes to go fishing, but never catches anything. The fish love taunting him over this.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: Occasionally the strip does a different format, such as one week before Thanksgiving which imagines Fergus and Mel as being around in colonial times.
- Funny Answering Machine: Mel and Fergus try this, but end up arguing over it instead.
- Furry Reminder: Even though they walk and talk like humans, the strip does not let you forget that Fergus is a dog and Cuddles is a cat. Fergus is confused by many human quirks and Cuddles does get trapped up a tree by a vicious dog on more than one occasion.
- Get a Room!: Fergus says this to Mel and his girlfriend Zoe, much to her annoyance.
- Greasy Spoon: Cuddles often hangs out at a local diner, ran by Betty. Fergus and Mel occasionally visit too, much to Cuddles’ annoyance.
- Gretzky Has the Ball: In-Universe, Cuddles has no idea about sports of any kind.
- He asks if he can be quarterback when attempting to play basketball.
- In another series of strips, he gatecrashes Mel and Fergus’ bowling night, despite having no idea how to play it, so Fergus convinces Cuddles that bowling requires a goalkeeper stood in front of the pins.
- Improbable Parking Skills:Mel: It’s difficult to stay upset at a dog that can parallel park.
- Interactive Narrator: One strip has a computer flying through space, the “Cybership Internet!”. Mel, Fergus and Cuddles are on the bridge, as the narrator says they will “boldly go where no one has gone before!”. The next panel has the three reading instruction manuals and trying to get the equipment working. The narrator repeats “And boldly going where no one has gone before!”, to which the three angrily look at the “camera” and say, “We’re working on it!”.
- Let's Meet the Meat: Thanksgiving turkeys are always shown alive as well as sentient, with one set of strips even having them antagonize a pig to be sold first in a supermarket deli. They convince shoppers to grab the pig by labelling him "Martha Stewart's Choice".
- Mailman vs. Dog: Fergus and Arlo have a (mostly) friendly rivalry with the local mailman, Larry. They even sometimes socialize in the local bar.
- Midnight Snack: Both Mel and Fergus attempt this numerous times, whilst trying not to alert the other. Sometimes Fergus trucks Mel to go downstairs, and then “as he’s there”, bring him a snack.
- Neglected Garden: Mel is not the best gardener in the world.Fergus: So the neighborhood association is suing us again.
Mel: We have ten days to weed or they come with the bulldozers. - No, You Hang Up First: Cuddles is staying with Fergus and Mel whilst his owner is away, and does this with her over the phone.
- Satellite Character: Fluffy, the other major cat character, who is rarely if ever seen outside of interactions with Cuddles.
- Shout-Out: The "Cybership Internet" week is a clear reference to Star Trek: The Original Series, with Mel, Fergus, and Cuddles representing the Power Trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Discussed. Fergus and Mel are queuing to see Independence Day, and talk about how “aliens blow up Earth”. Arlo decides to see the film for this reason (Arlo had been planning to see "Tom Cruise blow up a helicopter", located between "Arnold blows up assassins" and "The Army blows up Alcatraz" originally). Cuddles is going to see a Jane Austen adaptation, and Fergus and Arlo ask what blows up in that movie.Cuddles: Jane Austen doesn't blow up people!
Fergus: What kind of movie is that?
Arlo: Obviously not a very good one. - Talking Animal: All animals can talk in this world, and in the case of cats and dogs they also walk upright on two legs. All of this is seen as perfectly normal by the humans. Whilst still treated as pets, animals can still go to bars, spend money and even drive on occasion.
- Those Two Guys: Fergus and Mel.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Fergus and Mel can act like this at times.
- The Voiceless: Unlike all other animals, Bruno never speaks.
- Wolves Always Howl at the Moon: Fergus often howls at the Moon, much to the annoyance of Cuddles. In one strip he looks through a telescope at the Moon, but gets cross when Mel says it is “nothing to howl about”.
