A paw(s) for comic relief Stardom on the funny pages

Two Lab mixes that raise money for the Pasco Humane Society land in the Marmaduke strip.

By Lisa Buie, Times Staff Writer
Published February 12, 2008

Carrie Green submitted a letter and a photo of her two Lab mixes to Marmaduke artist Brad Anderson for his Doggone Funny feature in the Sunday comics. Green knew the dogs had been selected but wasn't sure when it was running until seeing it Sunday.
	[Brendan Fitterer | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Brendan Fitterer | Times] Lucy, left, and Katie, are 5-year-old yellow Lab mixes that help raise money for the Humane Society at Sam's Club. Katie loves to carry the donations basket.

HUDSON - Frequent shoppers at Sam's Club in New Port Richey already know Katie and Lucy.

They're the yellow Labrador retriever mixes decked out in red bandannas who help raise money for the Pasco Humane Society. Industrious Katie charms customers by carrying the donations basket in her mouth, while Lucy does the same just by sitting pretty. The 5-year-old sisters were part of a six-pup litter at the society's no-kill shelter.

On Sunday, they were introduced to comics readers at more than 600 newspapers worldwide. The pair, affectionately known as "the girls," were featured in a Marmaduke strip.

Marmaduke is the lovable Great Dane who drives his family nuts. He's a canine version of Dennis the Menace. Each week, the strip's creator, Brad Anderson, devotes a separate panel called Doggone Funny to the antics of real dogs based on submissions from fans.

One of those fans was Carrie Green, who adopted Katie and Lucy. A volunteer for the local the Humane Society, she sent a letter and a photo of the dogs this past summer doing their thing outside Sam's. She thought it would be a good way to raise the profile of the Pasco organization, which receives no financial support from the national headquarters to run its shelter, a mobile home off Hays Road.

"Most people don't even know we exist," said Green, a 61-year-old nurse at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point's open heart surgery unit.

The organization is trying to raise $400,000 to $500,000 for a hurricane-safe shelter.

She never heard back from Anderson directly. Recently, she opened her mail to find the cartoon panel, along with a pen and a calculator that featured Marmaduke's paw prints.

"I was kind of shocked," Green said. No note was enclosed to let her know when the girls would run. She and other Humane Society volunteers happened upon the strip Sunday.

Cartoonist Anderson, who created Marmaduke in 1954, said he receives "piles" of submissions from readers seeking to have their dogs featured. "It's a shame I get so many I can't use them all," he said in a phone interview from his home in Texas. He recalled being struck by Green's letter and the photo of such "an enterprising dog" as Katie.

"I liked the fact that they came from the Humane Society and now work for the Humane Society," he said.

"We're just over the moon excited about it," said Sharon Scheiblein, who is also a nurse and volunteer. "Katie is cute carrying that little basket around. Katie will get money and bring the basket and get a treat."

And Lucy? "She's kind of happy to let her sister do all the work," Scheiblein said.

As for the dogs, they couldn't care less about being made famous, Green said.

"I told them they're celebrities now," she said. "I'll have to give them ice cream tonight."

Lisa Buie can be reached at buie@sptimes.com or 813 909-4604.

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Interested in adopting?

To learn more about the Pasco Humane Society or see a list of adoptable pets, visit pascohumanesociety.petfinder.com.

[Last modified February 11, 2008, 20:40:37]