They’re our best friends and some of our favorite fictional characters. In cartoons, our pups’ quirks are amplified, from Scooby-Doo’s love of specific snacks to Snoopy’s penchant for play. TV pets remind of the real life ones we have loved and cared for over the years. Plus, they can give us a few good laughs too.
Check out our list of the top 7 cartoon canines and add your own favorites in the comment section.
7. Brian Griffin
He is wise, literate, sophisticated and, sometimes, a little pretentious. Brian is more than the Griffin’s pet on Family Guy. He’s often the best thing about the show. The anthropomorphic pooch has had his share of heartache in life, but he still has a lot of love to give.
Brian’s relationship with Stewie, the youngest human in the Griffin family, often provides the show’s most heartwarming moments. Brian is there for Stewie when he desperately needs a friend. Likewise, when Brian’s life appeared to end, Stewie saved the day (and maybe the series). Sometimes, Brian’s a little hard to handle, but he’s still the kind of canine friend we would want in our home.
6. Goofy
Since 1932, this Disney star has been making audiences across the globe double over with laughter. Lanky and floppy-eared, Goofy often ends up in trying situations. When he’s the teacher, his pupils play one prank after the next on him. When he’s an athlete, well, Goofy isn’t much of that. His attempts at demonstrating Olympic sports end in a clumsy disaster.
Despite his various mishaps, Goofy is an ultra-lovable character whose good humor gets him through whatever catastrophe the animators throw his way.
5. Buttons
In Animaniacs, Buttons is the dutiful furry friend of a little girl named Mindy. The problem is that Mindy is the rambunctious sort of child whose love of adventure supersedes her mother’s rules. Mindy likes to wander off on all sorts of wild, and dangerous adventures, and Buttons has to follow her in order to make sure that she returns home safely. Of course, Mindy’s mom frequently believes that Buttons is getting her daughter into various messes.
Buttons is the kind of dog we want to have, the one who can put up with us even when we aren’t perfect and who knows that we love our canine pal in return.
4. Ren Hoëk
Half of the team that drove Ren & Stimpy to cable cartoon success, Ren Hoëk is, well, kind of a pain. He’s frequently mean to his feline pal, Stimpy. Where Stimpy exclaims, “Happy! Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! Joy!” Ren is often surly. He flies off the handle quickly. Stimpy puts up with Ren’s mood swings. Ren, despite his bad attitude, can be a decent friend to Stimpy too.
Maybe we’re like Stimpy. Despite Ren’s sour disposition, we would want the neurotic Chihuahua with the Peter Lorre-ish voice as our friend too.
Adventure Time screenshot
3. Jake the Dog
In Adventure Time, Jake the Dog and Finn the Human are more than just friends. They are brothers. Raised in the same family, the stretchy canine and his backpack-toting companion journey through the kingdoms of the Land of Ooo. They make friends. They solve problems. The two have their ups and downs, but their relationship is solid, with Jake being a wise, guiding light for Finn.
2. Scooby-Doo
The goofy star of the Hanna-Barbera classic does more snacking than yapping, yet Scooby-Doo still manages to steal scenes and hearts when he turns up on the small screen.
As the canine companion of teenage mystery solvers, this pooch has seen some excitement in his time. All it takes are a couple Scooby Snacks to get him on the trail of the episode’s villain. Scooby-Doo is pretty good at getting into a peck of trouble as he goofs around with Shaggy, but he’s still a capable and lovable member of the gang.
1. Snoopy
For more than half a century, Snoopy has been charming comic strip readers and TV watchers alike with his imaginative antics. The beloved beagle can be whoever he wants to be while perched on top of his red doghouse. He’s a dog of adventure and a sensitive artist all at once.
Snoopy is a friend of the Peanuts gang who doesn’t always put up with their shenanigans. He teaches his human pals without saying a word as the crew grows together.
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