Good news for Des Moines! You are getting "Mutts" in your paper. As the article below makes clear, the creator often uses the strip to advocate for homeless animals. He has even done a series on the plight of farm animals and has published various cartoons protesting wild animal hunts, such as the seal and bison slaughters.
You might send an appreciative animal friendly letter to the editor at letters@dmreg.com
Or if you go to http://tinyurl.com/cduqy to send your letter you'll find a great page with "Tips for being published."
Here is the Des Moine Register article about Patrick McDonnell and "Mutts":
Animal lovers wagging over 'Mutts' comic
By Mary Challender
Register Staff Writer
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060206/LIFE/602060306/1039
February 6, 2006
It may be a dog-eat-dog world.
But in "Mutts," a strip that makes its debut on The Des Moines Register's comics page today, creator Patrick McDonnell focuses on the softer side of nature — both animal and human.
The 49-year-old New Jersey resident prides himself on his strip's heart, not its edge.
"I think humor in general nowadays is kind of sarcastic and mean-spirited," McDonnell said. "A big part of the strip is to celebrate the simpler things in life and have a joyful attitude."
"Mutts," which replaces "Judge Parker" seven days a week, stars Earl, a lovable pup who enjoys belly rubs; Mooch, the curious "schmilk"-and-cookies-devouring cat who lives next door, and a stable of other characters, both two- and four-legged.
McDonnell said he wanted to be a cartoonist since he was 3 or 4. He created "Mutts" 11 years ago after a decade as a magazine illustrator.
For inspiration for the strip, he turns to his Jack Russell terrier, Earl, who will turn 17 soon, and MeeMow, a stray adopted by his wife as a kitten.
Although he grew up with cats his entire life, McDonnell's long relationship with Earl means he's unwilling to claim to be either a cat or dog person.
"He's my first dog," he said of Earl. "He's everything you could want a dog to be."
In "Mutts," McDonnell said he strives to keep his animals "animal-like" — or as animal-like as dogs and cats who talk to each other can be. He hopes people will look at the antics of Earl and Mooch and be reminded of their own pets.
"I think people can relate to that special bond we have with our cats and dogs," he said.
A third character in "Mutts" is Shtinky Puddin, an adopted stray kitten whose obsession is saving endangered species. It's a devotion McDonnell, who uses his strip to advocate for homeless animals, shares.
Twice a year, he does a series of strips that focus on shelter animals and the people who work at the shelters. He's also on the board of directors of the Humane Society of the United States.
"It's a tough life for some animals on this planet nowadays," he said. "I try to focus more on what they have to deal with. I try to see the world through their eyes."
(END OF REGISTER ARTICLE)
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Date: Mon Feb 6 15:49:14 2006
