History Trivia / Mutts

** Shtinky was originally portrayed as a regular tabby kitten who walked on four legs. Soon after he turned into an animal rights activist, he became bipedal and acted more human-like, to the point where he's rarely ever seen four-legged.

** Earl is based on [=McDonnell=]'s own dog, Earl, and later his rescue dog Amelie when the latter passed away in 2009.

** Mooch's character and personality is based on many of the cats [=McDonnell=] knew growing up. His speech impediment is inspired by many dialects found in older comics, with ''ComicStrip/{{KrazyKat}}'' being a huge influence. However, [=McDonnell=] has stated on at least one occasion that the lisp was actually based on a childhood friend that said, "Yesh" whenever he got in trouble.

** Mooch's character and personality is based on many of the cats [=McDonnell=] knew growing up.

** The same goes for [[AnimalSweetOnObject Mooch and his obsession with the Little Pink Sock]]; [=McDonnell=] witnessed and received mail or stories about cats playing with socks, which were always pink for some reason. [[ThrowItIn Naturally he would apply it to Mooch, as he claimed it fitted him]].

** A children's book featuring Mutts characters titled ''Some Other Day'', set to the tune of "Rain, Rain, Go Away", was planned, but ended up being put on hold by [=McDonnell=]'s publisher. As of 2023, it's unknown whether or not ''Some Other Day'' will eventually be published.

** Many sources say Mutts debuted in 1995 when it in fact debuted in 1994.

* HeAlsoDid: While writing for ''Mutts'', [=McDonnell=] provided concept art for the movie, ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''.

** Creator/BlueSkyStudios was planning on doing a feature film based on the comic strip. However, the film had been in DevelopmentHell for quite a long time. In addition to that, Blue Sky Studios ended up shutting down, [[ShootTheShaggyDog making this whole effort pointless]].

-->'''Mooch:''' We did a version of yeshterday's strip a few times before, Earl.
-->'''Earl:''' That's okay with me, Mooch. Dogs LOVE repetition!
-->'''Mooch:''' We did a version of yeshterday's strip a few times before, Earl.
-->''(Earl gives an AsideGlance)''

* Mutts was originally going to be named ''Zero-Zero'', ''Zero-0'' or just ''Zero'' for short. It focused on a stray dog of the same name (who would later be renamed to Earl) wandering around the city and making friends along the way. However, it never came to fruition because an editor wanted Patick to focus his comic more on pets. Some of Zero's material was reworked into Mutts during the final stage.
Blue Sky Studios was planning on doing a feature film based on the comic strip. However, the film had been in DevelopmentHell for quite a long time. In addition to that, Blue Sky Studios ended up shutting down, [[ShootTheShaggyDog making this whole effort pointless]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Blue Sky Studios was planning on doing a feature film based on the comic strip. However, the film had been in DevelopmentHell for quite a long time. In addition to that, Blue Sky Studios ended up shutting down, [[ShootTheShaggyDog making this whole effort pointless]].

** At least twice the strip has done a joke where Mooch answers the door, only for a lion to barge in, [[LiteralMetaphor followed by him commenting that it must be March]].

->'''Mooch:''' We did a version of yeshterday's strip a few times before, Earl.
->'''Earl:''' That's okay with me, Mooch. Dogs LOVE repetition!
->'''Mooch:''' We did a version of yeshterday's strip a few times before, Earl.
->''(Earl gives an AsideGlance)''

* RecycledStrip: Many strips for March 1st use the exact same joke: Mooch asks Earl what day it is. Earl says "March 1st." Mooch marches, then asks again. In 2019, this joke was used on March '''4th'''. The next day it got a LampshadeHanging:

->''(Earl gives an AsideGlance)''