Snoopy might be the most widely recognizable cartoon dog next to Clifford and Scooby-Doo. He is the main character in the comic strip Peanuts and later in movies and TV shows. But let’s get to the real question.
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What Kind Of Dog Is Snoopy?
What kind of dog is Snoopy? A Beagle, this fact was first confirmed back in December 1960, a little more than 10 years after the comic strip debuted. However, when Charles M. Schultz first started drawing Snoopy he had a different childhood dog in mind!
Origins Of Snoopy
The very first published drawing from the Peanuts creator was a drawing of Charles dog “Spike” when he was 14 years old. It was a drawing he submitted to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not that got published by them on February 22, 1937.
Flash forward to October 2, 1950 Peanuts debuted in seven newspapers as a four-panel strip which at the time one-panel strips were the normal thing to do. By October 4th, Snoopy made his first appearance as Charlie Brown’s dog.
However, at that time it was not clear whos dog Snoopy was. In fact, the first strip to imply who the owner was sounded like Shermy owned Snoopy. In 1955, it was revealed that Charlie Brown took care of Snoopy.
Finally 3 years after that, it was made known that Snoopy was the dog companion of Charlie Brown! Yet, 14 years later when Snoopy, Come Home came out it was revealed that before Snoopy belonged to Charlie he belonged to Lila.
Snoopy is a kind-hearted dog, a loyal dog that has an imagination that birthed many very memorable moments in cartoon character history. So let’s go through a few shining moments Snoopy used his huge imagination.
Most notably, the World War 1 Flying Ace strips that star Snoopy as a fighter pilot against his enemy the Red Baron. In these strips, he jumps onto his doghouse and straps on his flight gear then delves into his imagination.
Of course, there is also Joe Cool, Snoopy’s cooler alter-ego that wears a special shirt and glasses. Often showing off his coolness by leaning against walls and stating his alternative name.
Lastly, we must recognize the first impression Snoopy ever did which was a bird! He jumped into a birdbath and sat in the water.
When told he couldn’t be in there because he didn’t have his wings he flapped his big ears. Without this, there would not be dozens of impressions to come.
There are also several more like the grocery store clerk, the attorney, the hockey player, and even an astronaut. The imagination of Charlie Brown’s dog Snoopy had no bounds.
Even more interesting starting in the 1960s Snoopy became a big symbol in the NASA program. Getting an award named after him called the “Silver Snoopy Award”, an award for employees who contribute greatly to mission safety and success!
Snoopy is the official safety mascot for NASA and has many space-related things named in his honor. For example, the caps worn underneath astronaut helmets are called “Snoopy Caps” due to their appearance.
The Apollo 10 lunar module was named Snoopy. More recently, in 2019 NASA and Snoopy have decided to come together again for another trip to the moon. So be sure to look for Snoopy in the upcoming 2024 space adventure to the moon.
Wrap Up
That’s the story of the amazing cartoon dog Snoopy! He is quite the character and has made quite an impact on the real world. I mean becoming a large part of the space program is amazing!
Sources:
https://peanuts.fandom.com/wiki/Snoopy
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/598232/snoopy-peanuts-facts
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/sfa/aac/silver-snoopy-award