Pet People should start their day at the Pooch Cafe!
I can’t get enough of the zany adventures of Poncho, the little dog with big attitude who’s at the center of the “Pooch Café” universe. The comic strip, by Paul Gilligan, is a must-read for all die-hard pet lovers.
Many people now read The Leaf-Chronicle online, and I do too, because it’s a convenient one-stop place for news, photos, video and community information. But I prefer and will never give up the printed page. And while I enjoy the daily crossword puzzles and other games, my absolute favorite is a daily dose of the “Pooch Café.” It’s the first thing I turn to after pouring my morning cup of coffee.
Even if you too read the printed paper, you might have missed this gem, because it appears on the front of the Classified section. But don’t miss it one day longer!
Poncho is a little dog who thinks he’s a tough guy, but at heart, he’s an insecure wuss. Much to his horror, his owner married a cat-loving woman, so he has to deal with several feline roommates—enemies in his book—as well as a friendly fish who serves as a sounding board (a fish he often takes along on misadventures not suited for pets with gills) Poncho hates his owner’s cat-loving wife, Carmen (unless she’s feeding him), and conspires to break up their marriage, hoping his master will find a wife who digs dogs.
Poncho cavorts all over town with a muttly crew and hangs out at the corner bar, the Pooch Café, where canines plot against cats and try to invent a catapult to send them all into the sun. The pack also commiserates about the trials and tribulations of canine life.
One of my favorites: Poncho is on top of the couch, peering out the window and barking madly at squirrels that dared enter his domain. His master screams, “Poncho, shut up!” Poncho barks, master yells. Bark, shut up; bark, shut up; bark shut up. Later, Poncho goes to the Pooch Café,’ sits at the bar with a drink and complains wearily to his buddies, “My master wouldn’t shut up ALL DAY.”
As one who’s often screamed “Shut up!” to a yapping dog, before reading that strip, I’d never thought about the fact that my screaming might annoy a dog as much as their barking annoys me.
One of the best running series was when Poncho, a city boy, was dragged along on a camping trip. He got into all kinds of trouble, but his main worry was running out of food, so he asked his master if they could eat Carmen if they ran out. Finally his master said—after being bugged to death by the fretting Poncho who, like most dogs, lives to eat—“Yes! Yes! If we run out of food you can eat Carmen!” Poncho promptly gets the salt and liberally sprinkles it atop Carmen’s head.
Carmen, despite being a cat person, tries to befriend Poncho, and he sometimes weakens, but only for a moment. His pride won’t let him give in totally.
And like many dogs, Poncho panics if he has to take a pill. His master tries the old hot-dog trick, but Poncho knows the game and nibbles around the pill, to which his master wails, “you’ll eat kitty litter but won’t eat a tiny pill?” But despite his Dennis the Menace ways, Poncho just wants love and acceptance.
Just as one spouse might ask the other, “Would you get married again if I die?” Poncho asks his master if he’d get another dog if he dies. When his master says “maybe,” Poncho is beside himself and accuses his owner of not really loving him. His master, feeling sorry for the little runt, relents and says “No. I could never get another dog! You’re irreplaceable,” then asks Poncho if he’d get a new owner. Poncho immediately and tersely replies, “A dog’s gotta eat.”
Some people think comic strips are childish. But I disagree and believe a good comic is a wide window into our inner world where we can witness our true selves.
Cubicle dwellers living in the world of myopic management have the top-notch Dilbert (my second favorite comic strip) to mirror their desk bound lives, and now pet lovers have Poncho and the Pooch Café to bring a little cheer to their pet-filled world. So grab and paper and pull up a stool.
I love the strip above for so many reasons. One, The Boy Who Cried Wolf is my all-time favorite morals story and two, you know my feelings about most children.
posted by Sandy at 8/28/2007 06:22:00 PM
Pet People
18 Comments:
Catapulting cats, loves to eat, yells at the barking dogs... Humm sounds like Dragon to me!
My Dear Lovely Lady Skeeter, oh how right you are. Even tonight, MLOD and myself spoke of such yelping, short, annoying dogs. We were at Cancun’s for dinner. We sat all the way in the back so we could enjoy a romantic dinner in peaceful bliss. After about ten (10) minutes a young couple was seated next to us with squalling kids. I told wifey-pooh to just imagine the squalling kid as an annoying short dog that won’t quit barking. She can deal with yelping dogs. I can deal with squalling kids. But, not dogs.
And catapults, I have been working on a nuclear version that I believe will make it to the sun. (See note below)
Sandy, remember that Pooch Café is only a fictional cartoon. I can believe that you cannot get enough of Pooch Café. Let’s think about this—a little dog with a big attitude. Sound like anyone we know?? Anything that is written by Gilligan must be top-notch comedy reading. I wonder why he hasn’t gotten his Pulitzer yet. And Sandy, I don’t plan on dying hard; I just want to go peacefully in the night.
Sandy, as far as reading the paper, well I just like to look at all the pretty pictures. And hubba hubba, there was a good cleavage shot in today’s Community page. Woo Hoo. Keeps me coming back for more. That is definitely my idea of “community”.
As far as the Pooch Café goes, I’m never heard about it until you and Wifey Poo were talking about it one day. My first thought was “what the hell??” Gee, how did I make it all these years without the Pooch Café? Hmmm….pretty damn good. However, I can relate to Pooch in one way. Much to MY horror, I married a cat-loving woman. So, I have to deal with several feline roommates—enemies in my book. I have no friendly fish to take on misadventures, but I do have Smokey. And misadventures they are. He likes to ride down interstate on the roof of the car going 80 miles per hour and he really likes to go to the nudie bar. The little girly girls think he is just the cutest thing! They hug him and love him. And when he’s really feeling no pain, he likes me to use him as a tip instead of a dollar bill.
I run around with my wenches and hang out at the corner bar. And we plot against wifey poo, instead of cats. But, I can relate to the CATapult. I’ve been trying to hurl cats for years. But, the best I have managed so far is just a couple of blocks. But, I will keep trying. I must continue to build a bigger and better trebuchet. I have plans for a nuclear version that I feel would actually send cats outside of the Earth’s gravitational field and hurl them all the way to the sun. Ahhh, what success I would then feel.
You refer to Poncho and his master--“bark”, “shut up”, “bark”, “shut up”. Well, I can relate to having to endure someone that just won’t shut up. You can decide exactly WHOM I am referring to……..
First of all, yapping, barking, even whining dogs are not NEARLY as annoying as screaming, crying, temper tantrum throwing kids. There are no dogs in restaurants, but you can't have a quiet meal in this town because there's always a screamer. I wish someone would open a child-free restaurant, at least a section. That's a million dollar idea.
I heard awhile back there was talk of making Pooch Cafe an adult Simpson-like cartoon. Don't know what the status is on that, but it would be great. There are not enough pets on TV shows.
And Dragon, you should say your wife never shuts up. It's the quiet ones you have to worry abuot.
Dragon, I have to agree with Sandy. A screaming child is MUCH worse that any barking dog, even the yappy ones!
If you need help with the trebuchet, please the Foreman know as he actually built one to launch pumpkins and has a great plan for a much larger one.
Is having an adult only section in a resturant allowed? I would love that, but there were issues when there was adult only apartment complexes or adult sections. They had to do away with most of them. I wonder if the same laws apply. You know how those kinds of parents are, they would throw a fit that they were being discriminated against.
I also think there should be child-free Wal-Mart type stores and child-free airlines. Ever get stuck in a plane full of babies screaming, especially a long flight? I know they can't help it, but that doesn't change the fact that it's HORRIBLE.
Thanks for posting this article about Pooch Cafe! My husband and I are both dog owners and fans of Pooch Cafe. We manage to get a daily chuckle from the antics of Poncho!
Adrienne, when we lived in Louisiana, we were in an adult only apartment complex. We loved the quietness we had and the pool was never rowdy as it can be with teenage kids! But within a year of us living there, someone was suing them for discrimination to allow kids. Why would a parent sue to have a child live where it is obviously not wanted?
Sandy, one of the reasons I don’t like to fly is due to the stress when seeing that screaming kid in the terminal and me wondering if I get the luxury of sitting next to it... Argggggg...
I adore well behaved children but unfortunately, in our selfish “All About Me” society, it is becoming harder and harder to find well behaved children!
Oh, and we dont get "Pooch Cafe" or 'Mutts" in our paper in GA... sniff sniff....
Hi Jo Dee! Nice to see more pet lovers here. Please come back and tell us more about your pets and family! We're a bit crazy at times, but most of us didn't know each other until we me here, and now we even get together for dinner and fun, as you can see by the topic below.
And Skeeter, you can find Pooch Cafe online. Just do a google search and you can go to the website daily for the days' cartoon, or even have it sent to you. And I"m sure Mutts has a website too.
Ah, will check in on the cartoons. Thanks for the info Sandy....
Welcome to the fold of Animal Lovers Jo Dee! What kind of furry doggie "owns" you???
Hello Jo Dee! Welcome to our world! As Sandy said, it's always good to have more pet lovers join us. We may be crazy people but we are fun! Hope you'll join us in our next get together. Be sure to tell us more about your clan.
A Cat-a_pult to the sun is NOT funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may have to kick some scaly old butt!
A Cat-a_pult to the sun is NOT funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may have to kick some scaly old butt!
Pam, My but is not scaly. If you don’t believe me, just ask wifey-pooh, or the wenches I gang out with at the corner bar.
Gang out with? I think maybe your tongue is scaly, not your butt. But I guess the wenches would know that too, eh? :)
Sounds like his brain got all overheated thinking about all his wenches. Poor dear. I hope you gals don't kill the poor ole fire-breather.....
I found Pooch Cafe on the internet and now have it as one of my favorites so I get to see it everyday!
SORRY Dragon, I didn't mean that literally anyway which you should know. I would never seriously insult my dear brother. I know you are a hottie with the women. Oh poor Guinivere what she puts up with. Brother, you are one lucky man to have such a wench for life to put up with all of your shenanagans!
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