Speaker 1: It's Maria's MutS and Stuff.
Speaker 2: What a great idea on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 3: Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff. And with me is
Speaker 3: return guest because I love him and his work so much.
Speaker 3: It is Patrick McDonald, the creator of Mutts. So Patrick,
Speaker 3: thank you, and I have to say congratulations from the
Speaker 3: get go on your thirtieth anniversary of Mutts.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 3: It is amazing.
Speaker 2: Sometimes it feels like I just started, and sometimes I
Speaker 2: feel like I've been doing it.
Speaker 3: Forever, of course, of course. But well, first of all,
Speaker 3: I guess I should remind people who are listening the
Speaker 3: last time you and I spoke it was the end
Speaker 3: of last year, and it was after guard Dog was
Speaker 3: freed and adopted. And I actually listened back to the
Speaker 3: last time and we were talking about guard Dog becoming
Speaker 3: a book, and you were like, yeah, it's in the works,
Speaker 3: we'll see and now it's reality. So congratulations on that
Speaker 3: as well, Thank.
Speaker 2: You, Thank you. Actually was the quickest book I ever did,
Speaker 2: and you know, the guard Dog story ended in December
Speaker 2: of last year, and usually books for this year are
Speaker 2: already put to bed. But I talked to my editor,
Speaker 2: Charlie Katchman and asked him if we could get this
Speaker 2: book out, and he said, well, if we could do
Speaker 2: it in like three or four weeks, we can. So
Speaker 2: that we put the book together in three to four weeks,
Speaker 2: which is pretty quick to put up. Yeah, this side together.
Speaker 2: But it came out great. If I say so myself.
Speaker 3: It damn no, of course. Yeah, yeah, well that's that's phenomenal. Three.
Speaker 3: I mean that's very like quick turnaround.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, well, you know, the story was so powerful.
Speaker 2: I just wanted and then the people enjoyed it so much.
Speaker 2: I wanted the book to come out as soon as possible,
Speaker 2: So it came out, actually came out a day before
Speaker 2: the thirtieth anniversary of months.
Speaker 3: I saw that. That's it. So congratulations on both. I
Speaker 3: mean that must have been like a double whammy, amazing
Speaker 3: for both, you know what I mean, both days two
Speaker 3: in a row like that. Was that planned to have
Speaker 3: it around your anniversary or just so happy and no, you.
Speaker 2: Know, actually they were shooting for it and they made it.
Speaker 2: Oh nice, The book company thought it would be a
Speaker 2: nice Absolutely, it's a beautiful tribute.
Speaker 3: And you know, timing is nice, and you know what
Speaker 3: it's it's almost like having a construction job and it
Speaker 3: actually ended on time, you know what I mean, it
Speaker 3: was perfect.
Speaker 2: It's probably as rare, probably as rare as that.
Speaker 3: Well, the book is beautiful and it's exactly as you
Speaker 3: had talked about when we spoke last and and uh,
Speaker 3: you put you know, it has responses from people because
Speaker 3: I know and we talked about it when guard Dog
Speaker 3: was freed, and you were kind of blown away from
Speaker 3: all the comments from your readers. Uh that what what
Speaker 3: an impact? And you know is that still happening?
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know every time, you know, it's really nice.
Speaker 2: You know, whenever a new guard Book strip appears and
Speaker 2: he's you know, in his new loving home with Doozy,
Speaker 2: we always get we always get a great response. People
Speaker 2: love seeing him now finally having a happy, healthy life.
Speaker 2: And I don't blame him, you know, it's funny. You know,
Speaker 2: I had him chained up for like twenty eight years,
Speaker 2: which sounds crazy, but it's true, right, and mainly because
Speaker 2: you know, I'm obviously friendly.
Speaker 1: With a lot of animal protection groups.
Speaker 2: Sure it all said he had a job to do
Speaker 2: in a mission to you know, get that message out
Speaker 2: there about tethered dogs. Right. But now that I finally freedom,
Speaker 2: even me. I just loved drawing him free after after
Speaker 2: drawing him on the chain for so long. It's so
Speaker 2: nice to have him happy and with and have him
Speaker 2: with his little friend Doozies.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, it's so sweet. It was like such a
Speaker 3: happy ending. And you know, we just and I was
Speaker 3: thinking of this. We just saw with the hurricanes that
Speaker 3: happened with Helene and Milton, and there was a video
Speaker 3: that went viral of a dog that was tethered and
Speaker 3: a please officer actually stopped on the road, and I
Speaker 3: was watching the video. I don't know how many times
Speaker 3: I watched it. I don't know how the cop even
Speaker 3: saw that dog. But it was again someone who left
Speaker 3: behind their dog tethered to the fence in a hurricane.
Speaker 2: You know, it's it's it's unbelievable, you know that. You know,
Speaker 2: I did this story, and it sounds, I'm sure for
Speaker 2: some people have sounded kind of cruel and fictional, but
Speaker 2: it's just so sad how it's not that uncommon. I
Speaker 2: know dogs are left like that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't understand it. I mean, I I I know,
Speaker 3: I can't even say I understand that. I don't like
Speaker 3: especially if you're leaving enough. Yeah, I mean I can.
Speaker 3: I can't wrap my head around it. Like if you're
Speaker 3: leaving your home because your house is going to be flooded,
Speaker 3: but I'm going to leave my dog chained because he'll survive.
Speaker 3: I don't know how people think. I don't. I don't.
Speaker 3: It's very frustrating. But I guess for all the others
Speaker 3: who were educated through guard Dog and Mutts, I guess
Speaker 3: we need to be grateful and we are grateful for
Speaker 3: those people who you educated all these years.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's I hope the message. God, I felt like, boy,
Speaker 2: even if just one person sure inspired and unchained their dog,
Speaker 2: that it was worth it.
Speaker 3: I think so. I think people learned from it. I
Speaker 3: definitely do. I didn't see it anywhere. But are you
Speaker 3: doing a book tour or thinking of it?
Speaker 2: You know I've done. I've done a few places. Actually
Speaker 2: I just did near a comic con.
Speaker 3: Oh okay, oh fun, I.
Speaker 2: Tell you it was. It was extra fun. Actually, Matt
Speaker 2: Groening of The Simpsons interviewed me at comic con.
Speaker 3: Oh what I realize. Oh that's awesome, that's great.
Speaker 2: It was. It was awesome. We did get to talk
Speaker 2: about the book and well, no, It's also interesting with
Speaker 2: the book, so many people wrote it's amazing how many
Speaker 2: people have chained dogs as pets now, And it's just
Speaker 2: such a tribute to dogs, how you know, you know,
Speaker 2: like one human could treat them so horridly and then
Speaker 2: they could, you know, forgive that and be so loving
Speaker 2: and gentle off their new guardians. Just a tribute to
Speaker 2: the heart of dogs.
Speaker 3: That's true. It's true. I mean people should be as
Speaker 3: forgiving as dogs are. I'm always fascinated and amazed by that,
Speaker 3: because they really are. It's true. And you always hear
Speaker 3: these stories, and you know, you see stories all the
Speaker 3: time of dogs that go through so many hardship, you know,
Speaker 3: ones that are forced to be fighting dogs, and then
Speaker 3: they become you know, just companions and just want to
Speaker 3: be loved and just you know, sit on the couch
Speaker 3: and watch TV with you. I mean, it's just I
Speaker 3: just I love dogs so much because of that.
Speaker 2: You know, in the book, it's not only the you know,
Speaker 2: the story that appeared in the newspapers for seven weeks
Speaker 2: and it's newly I newly colored it, but also in
Speaker 2: a book we have at the back of the book,
Speaker 2: we have some true life stories with photographs of you know,
Speaker 2: readers who wrote about their.
Speaker 1: Own dogs that were chained dogs.
Speaker 2: So, and there's also a thirty page introduction where I
Speaker 2: kind of give the history of a guard dog in
Speaker 2: the strip.
Speaker 3: Yes, And were there any because I know, I'm sure
Speaker 3: you had so many stories, because I know you had
Speaker 3: said that too in the past, that so many people
Speaker 3: were reaching out about their own guard dog or a
Speaker 3: dog that was a guard dog. Is there anyone in
Speaker 3: particular that's in your book that stood out a little
Speaker 3: bit more than others.
Speaker 2: Or maybe not? I think, Yeah, I was gonna say,
Speaker 2: I think they were all powerful. You know. It's funny.
Speaker 2: My editor every year goes visits, spends the fourth of
Speaker 2: July with a friend upstate New York. And these people
Speaker 2: have two dogs, and the dogs love my editor and
Speaker 2: he's known.
Speaker 1: Them for like ten years.
Speaker 2: And it wasn't until the book came out that he
Speaker 2: found out these two dogs he's known his whole life
Speaker 2: were used to be chained. His friends never told him
Speaker 2: that story.
Speaker 3: Wow.
Speaker 2: So it's again just how many. It's amazing how many
Speaker 2: dogs you know, through shelters found new homes.
Speaker 3: Sure, yeah, I'm just scratched. I scratched my head over it,
Speaker 3: like I just I don't know. I mean, I think
Speaker 3: it's come a long way, but I think we need
Speaker 3: to come a little bit longer, you know, because people
Speaker 3: are still doing it. But we have made progress over
Speaker 3: the years. So I guess we should be grateful for that.
Speaker 3: And thanks to you, you know, with guard Dog who
Speaker 3: who you know, trained many people and taught many people like, yeah,
Speaker 3: it's not a good thing to do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's true. I'm optimistic. I mean, you know,
Speaker 2: there's still long ways to go, but in so many
Speaker 2: animal issues. I feel like there's been so many, you know,
Speaker 2: in the last in my lifetime just seeing them, so many.
Speaker 3: Changes, you know, Oh definitely, yeah, me too.
Speaker 2: No, Yeah, so I get I get optimistic to see
Speaker 2: that there has been changes, and I think I think
Speaker 2: the younger generation, more and more kids are just coming
Speaker 2: into us and realizing that animals, you know, deserve better lives.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree, I definitely agree with that. And I
Speaker 3: think and I think it goes across the whole the
Speaker 3: whole span of of like animal welfare. I mean, think
Speaker 3: about being a vegan or a vegetarian twenty years ago,
Speaker 3: and it was like, oh, you can eat a potato,
Speaker 3: you know, and now and now it's very very different,
Speaker 3: and there are so many younger people I know who
Speaker 3: are vegans, are vegetarians and before I mean I remember
Speaker 3: when I first went people, and this is a long
Speaker 3: time ago, and people looked at me like I had
Speaker 3: three heads, like wait, do we eat chicken? And I'm like, no,
Speaker 3: be you.
Speaker 2: Know, so yeah, no, my wife and I've been being
Speaker 2: for a.
Speaker 3: Real long time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and You're right, it's so much easier now and
Speaker 2: every you know, it's it's amazing. I mean, we were
Speaker 2: in Europe two years ago and I was thinking, well,
Speaker 2: maybe it's not going to be you know, we're not
Speaker 2: going to be able to have that many vegan meals,
Speaker 2: but every restaurant we went to had vegan venues.
Speaker 3: So that's amazing.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: How times have changed, thankfully, But yeah, it was very
Speaker 3: very different. And I think the fact, like you said,
Speaker 3: with younger people, I think that is actually that's helped us,
Speaker 3: you know, because yeah, no, it's true. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Even at my book signings that I'm talking like twenty
Speaker 2: years ago, you know, so many times I'd have parents
Speaker 2: with really young children come up, and the parents weren't vegan.
Speaker 2: But they're saying the kids want to be vegan, and
Speaker 2: they're raising their kids vegan. So I think kids come
Speaker 2: into this world, you know, loving animals, and I think
Speaker 2: now this this younger generation is actually doing something about it.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I think so too, because I've heard the same
Speaker 3: thing with parents aren't but their kids are, and I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 3: you know, so yay future generations.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: So I noticed on your website, of course, because it
Speaker 3: is your thirtieth anniversary, and I love that you did
Speaker 3: kind of the history of year by year from when
Speaker 3: you first started, so over thirty years September fifth to
Speaker 3: nineteen ninety four, from nineteen ninety four till now twenty
Speaker 3: twenty four. And I know, like the vegan was something
Speaker 3: that you introduced. I saw you many years ago. How
Speaker 3: of things, I'm sure I know things have changed. Do
Speaker 3: you feel like things changed drastically in like the later
Speaker 3: part of the thirty years or at the beginning or
Speaker 3: maybe evenly throughout?
Speaker 2: You know, it was a slow evolution for me, you
Speaker 2: know when I started. One of my first goals when
Speaker 2: I started was that I really did want to keep
Speaker 2: Earl and Mooch.
Speaker 1: In the animals in the comic very animal like.
Speaker 2: You know, there's a lot you know, like Donald Duck
Speaker 2: and Mickey Mouse, which who are animals, but they don't actually.
Speaker 3: Get right exactly right.
Speaker 2: I think, you know, the strip was inspired by my
Speaker 2: own dog Girl and I and as well pet owners
Speaker 2: know your dogs and cats have personalities, they're funny. They
Speaker 2: don't need to be human to.
Speaker 3: Be funding right, right exactly.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So you know, my goal in the beginning was
Speaker 2: to try to see the world through their eyes and
Speaker 2: you know, keep them as as animal like as possible.
Speaker 2: Of course they talk, but you know, they keep them
Speaker 2: animal alike. And I think once I started going that route,
Speaker 2: you know, trying to see the world through animal eyes,
Speaker 2: you know, I started realizing how tough it is for
Speaker 2: quite a few animals on this planet, sure particularly I
Speaker 2: started out with dogs and cats and shelters and thinking
Speaker 2: how could I get that in the strip. So I
Speaker 2: slowly started adding those shelter story you know, I do
Speaker 2: two weeks of about animals and shelters, and then it
Speaker 2: just started, you know, as my consciousness grew the strip
Speaker 2: right through. And then I was also asked to join
Speaker 2: the Humane to be on the board of the Humane
Speaker 2: society the United States, and then I started learning really
Speaker 2: out at have it tough on this planet. So I
Speaker 2: kind of brought in this the strip to touch on
Speaker 2: more animal issues and I try to be entertaining about it, but.
Speaker 3: And you are you are.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So it definitely became a part of the strip
Speaker 2: and I'm really happy about that and people and people
Speaker 2: respond to it, and you know, you know, it's nice.
Speaker 2: A comic strip's so interesting way to make art. You know,
Speaker 2: for the readers, you sort of become family. You know.
Speaker 2: It's like I know for me with Peanuts as a kid.
Speaker 2: I mean, you know, you live with them every day.
Speaker 2: Sure you get it, you know, so uh, you know,
Speaker 2: if you do it correctly, you really could bring issues
Speaker 2: to the table and not feel like you're preaching, but
Speaker 2: just sort of like a family talking about something.
Speaker 3: So yeah, no, and that's yeah, no, you have. You've
Speaker 3: been very successful with that, and you know you need
Speaker 3: to know that because you're right, you don't you I
Speaker 3: feel like you've opened people's eyes to so many different
Speaker 3: animal welfare issues without shoving it down their throats because
Speaker 3: you know, you know how people are, Oh, don't tell
Speaker 3: me what to do, but you've done it in a
Speaker 3: very like diplomatic entertaining way. Oh thanks, I tried, No
Speaker 3: you did, you succeeded. I think Patrick, you definitely have.
Speaker 3: So you should really feel good about that because I
Speaker 3: think you've definitely taught many, many, many people about animal
Speaker 3: welfare issues that maybe, you know, maybe they had heard
Speaker 3: about it or they were a little bit aware, but
Speaker 3: the fact that they saw it in their favorite comic
Speaker 3: strip kind of told to them in an entertaining way.
Speaker 3: I don't know. I think that definitely was a brilliant
Speaker 3: way of getting to people. Oh thanks, yeah, yeah, So
Speaker 3: I know you're just that's what I love about You're
Speaker 3: just so humble. Thanks. Oh my goodness. So all right,
Speaker 3: Well I don't want to ask what's next, because there's
Speaker 3: a lot for you with guard Dog and the book
Speaker 3: and everything. But I know you're always working on something
Speaker 3: besides the comic strip. What's on the horizon for you? Right,
Speaker 3: because I've got I've grown to know you talking to you,
Speaker 3: and you know, I'm a big fan of yours. Uh, so, yes,
Speaker 3: you're you always have something in the plans and the making.
Speaker 2: And well I'll tell you two projects, okay, One is
Speaker 2: you know the thirtieth anniversary of Much this year. Next
Speaker 2: year is the twentieth anniversary of my first picture book
Speaker 2: for children, and it's a Much book. It was called
Speaker 2: The Gift of Nothing, and so there's going to be
Speaker 2: a twentieth anniversary edition of the Gift of Nothing next year,
Speaker 2: and also with it, there's going to be a new
Speaker 2: companion book called The Gift of Everything that also starts
Speaker 2: ear Stars are all of Moot. So there will be
Speaker 2: two new picture books out for next fall. And then
Speaker 2: you know, I we probably didn't talk about this, but
Speaker 2: last year I did a book with the Marvel Superheroes.
Speaker 3: I think we just briefly touched on that. I think, yeah, which.
Speaker 2: Was a lot of fun. And part of that book
Speaker 2: is I started doing these big, kind of abstract paintings,
Speaker 2: but including the superheroes. So I'm having painting show in Princeton,
Speaker 2: New Jersey. It's at the Art Council of Princeton and
Speaker 2: it starts November ninth, goes to December seventh, New Jersey.
Speaker 2: Yeah I should mention this. How could I forget? Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's the gallery. The top floor is going to be
Speaker 2: these huge paintings, but the bottom floor is going to
Speaker 2: be a Prince hand colored prints.
Speaker 1: From the guard Dog series.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, if you're a guard Dog fan, you could
Speaker 2: see these and purchase these these hand colored prints. And
Speaker 2: each print has a drawing a guard dog on it,
Speaker 2: so an original trying. Oh that's amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 3: So okay, so it's November ninth through December seventh. And
Speaker 3: tell me again the name of the gallery in Princeton.
Speaker 2: It's called the Arts Council of Princeton on Witherspoon Street.
Speaker 3: Okay, all right, So well that's a project that's happening
Speaker 3: right now. That's pretty big. And the next fall will
Speaker 3: be the two picture books. And I just think there
Speaker 3: has to be something else going on with you. I
Speaker 3: just know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, the painting's keeping me busy. Yeah, I have
Speaker 2: a few ideas it's next. But okay, I'm just I'm
Speaker 2: just literally finishing these two picture books. I just finished
Speaker 2: the covers this week, so now it's time for me
Speaker 2: to think what the next project's going to be.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I smell something by the end of the year,
Speaker 3: just because that's how you are, because that's you know,
Speaker 3: that's it's like, it's what geniuses do. You can't just
Speaker 3: stop doing what you do. So but you are. Your
Speaker 3: plate is very full and I love it. And for
Speaker 3: listeners who want to get the guard Dog Book and
Speaker 3: see everything else, go through your thirtieth anniversary. You can
Speaker 3: get all that information at MutS dot com. It's very
Speaker 3: interesting to follow each year at mutts dot com if
Speaker 3: you just read it the homepage and go to the
Speaker 3: thirtieth anniversary. And of course there's so many beautiful products
Speaker 3: of all of your work at MutS dot com. And
Speaker 3: you always are so generous and give portion to animal
Speaker 3: rescue groups, which is really amendable.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's the important.
Speaker 3: Part, it is, and you know, keep doing what you do. Trick.
Speaker 3: We like I've always said this to you, but I
Speaker 3: really truly mean we do need more people in the
Speaker 3: world like you, Patrick McDonald for all you do in
Speaker 3: your big heart and teaching us all just how to
Speaker 3: be better people. And thank you for that.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you for all you do too.
Speaker 3: Likewise, well mine's a really small portion, so and I
Speaker 3: get to talk to you, so that's great, So thanks
Speaker 3: so much.
Speaker 2: Okay, take care