Character Dossiers

[Thoth]

Here are the dossiers for the Minor Animal Characters - Karl-Lenin Faust and Squeak, the Zoo Animals, the Mr Bigglesworth’s, the Farm Animals, the K-9 Unit, Joel’s Pets, and the Random Animals. Once again, there really isn’t enough information on most of them for backstories, and not much to explain either - so the backstories here are going to be limited to the speculative bits in the varies listings and to the cross-reference to Joel’s dossier for his pets.

The Mice - Karl-Lenin Faust and Squeak:

1) Karl-Lenin Faust appears. He is apparently a classical "socialist rabble-rouser".
Note: It would be interesting to find out where Karl-Lenin Faust picked up the rhetoric. Is there some crazed revolutionary raising mouse-agitators in his closet and releasing them into the world? Did Karl-Lenin (a name that probably wasn’t provided by his parents - unless they too were would-be socialist revolutionaries) simply read the wrong section of a library? Did his parents insulate the nest with scraps from a copy of Das Kapital? Sadly, we shall probably never know.
2) At least some of the mice either feel oppressed or are willing to follow anyone who promises an improvement in their living conditions.
3) Karl-Lenin Faust does much better at making speeches than at writing.
Inference: Judging by Grape’s Fanfiction and Letters to Actors, as well as by Peanuts "Spot Superdog" scripting and letter to Santa, this may be a common limitation of animals.
4) Karl-Lenin Faust has a specialized education of sorts (whether acquired through reading or some sort of instruction) - although many of the other mice don't seem to be clear on the rhetoric.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/09/ ... e-and-die/

5) The Mice have “discovered” fire.
Inference: The mice, and possibly the other small animal species, are VERY poorly organized; otherwise humans would need to be a great deal more accommodating lest their buildings all burn down. This might be fixed by building almost exclusively of stone and fireproof materials, but the house burning down during the Easter Egg Hunt suggests that this is not the case.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... er-of-che/

6) Mice, like many of the other animals, show spectacularly poor judgement.
Inference: The mice are not entirely familiar with the classic "bell the cat" stories.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... o-get-off/

Squeak:

1) Squeak is first mentioned. She is apparently going to move in with Joey.
Note: Pets generally don't get to pick where they live.
Inference: Squeak is a feral mouse - and is probably too small for Joey’s owners to notice.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/08/ ... -for-dogs/

2) Squeak is either visiting or has moved in with Joey, and is not that fond of cheese.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/12/ ... s-edition/

3) Squeak met Joey while he was roleplaying as a cat and has “cat friends”.
Inference: At least some cats see no reason to eat mice - at least not as long as they’re getting plenty of cat food.
Note: Overfed pets are pretty common in reality, but I can’t recall seeing any in the strip. Even Tiger doesn’t seem especially fat, despite his eating disorder. Either fat pets get mocked enough to make them exercise more, diet pet foods are a big business, something exotic is going on, or it’s an artistic preference.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/03/ ... -unsee-it/

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The Zoo Animals:

1) Shardul the Bengal Tiger finds people reading the instructional plaques about tigers out loud annoying. It's hard to blame him.
Note: Shardul doesn't seem to be much larger than a human, although he looks a bit more solid.
Speculation: Housepets tigers - and, perhaps some of the other carnivores - may have a considerably smaller physical advantage over humans, their pets, and their prey species than they do in reality, and may well use weapons. The spear-armed Lions of the Pridelands series may be quite plausible.
Inference: Since whatever barrier there is doesn't suffice to hinder conversation - and many of the other animals appearing later don't really seem to be effectively restrained at all - it seems likely that most of the zoo animals stay there at least semi-voluntarily.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... thy-brain/

1) Tarmac and Gambit appear.
2) Chinese-speaking female river otters don't like noise while they're trying to sleep.
Inference: The animals seem to pick up the human languages of whatever region they grow up in. They may not be able to pick up new human languages with anything like the speed they pick up their first one.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... -otter-be/

1) The Zoo Kangaroos appear.
Note: The Kangaroos, and possibly the zoo animals in general, apparently feel obliged to put on a show for the visitors.
Inference: The "show" is probably semi-voluntary given the behavior of the Kangaroos and the later behavior of the wolves at the wolf pen.
Speculation: The “show” may be part of a tacit contract of sorts: guaranteed food, safety, medical care, and a comfortable lifestyle in exchange for being on display. Such an arrangement might even include some sort of "credit at the zoo shop", which would put the zoo animals in roughly the same position as circus performers and fit in with “it’s like a compulsory job”.
2) The Kangaroos have picked up a full set of Australian stereotypes.
Inference: The zoo animals may have access to television.
Speculation: Their dens may be more like apartments than they are like real zoo accommodations - which may help explain why the Foxes apparently have access to computers, televisions, and coffee-makers later on.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... p-paddock/

1) The wolves at the wolf-pen don't seem too obliged to put on a show - or at least don’t feel obliged to do so for other pets.
Note: The art style has changed since this strip, and has gone to color, so it's hard to tell - but the zoo wolves might be a different subspecies from Miles and his pack.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... he-ground/

1) Dolphins are telepathic, and are either somewhat deceptive or inclined to practical jokes.
Inference: Telepathy really isn't all that remarkable in the Housepets universe. Other psychic abilities may also exist.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... er-whales/

1) The Apes apparently have a monolith to amuse them.
Inference: The Apes - and Grape - have all seen “2001 A Space Odyssey". Either the zoo shows movies (perhaps there’s a movie night?), the apes have a television, there’s a nearby drive-through they can see, the apes sometimes sneak out of the zoo and go to the movies, or there actually is an alien monolith at the zoo.
Speculation: The apes may be subtly (or not-so-subtly) mocking their human visitors.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... rathustra/

1) The birds at the aviary have threatened to unionize.
Inference: The birds can communicate in some fashion (most likely speech, although dolphin-style telepathy is possible). This lends a whole new dimension to espionage and early communications efforts.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/10/ ... et-buffet/

1) The zoo foxes have a communal display, a computer, and a coffee maker.
Inference: From the “snowy” jokes they either have, or are familiar with, broadcast television.
Inference: The foxes are either getting an allowance of some sort (whether in cash, credit, or toys and treats) or the zookeepers want to keep them busy. The same may apply to the other animals.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/11/ ... -computer/

1) The snakes at the zoo know some very good tricks - and Peanut is easily manipulated.
2) Snakes don't have limbs, although they can speak perfectly well. It looks like only animals that normally have paws are anthropomorphic.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/11/ ... e-animals/

1) Three dozen zookeepers allowed the zoo animals to participate in a multi-species scrabble tournament. Evidently they have few worries about escapes, since it’s unlikely that Grape or Peanut could offer any serious bribes.
Inference: This lends a bit more credibility to the “circus performer” theory, above.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/11/ ... -literate/

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The Mr Bigglesworth’s:

1) The Mr Bigglesworth's first appear. Their owner apparently can't tell the difference between them.
Inference: The Mr Bigglesworths are all apparently Siamese or at least look like one.
Note: The Mr Bigglesworths are in luck; Siamese are one of the longest-lived housecat breeds. They are prone to kinked tails and cross eyes though.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/12/ ... more-cats/

2) The Mr Bigglesworths will only be getting on copy of the new Pridelands book.
Note: It looks like the title might be "Fall of the Pridelands" from the wall poster.
Note: The Mr Bigglesworths seem to have new tags and possibly new collars; the old tags were octagons, the one shown here is a “B”.
3) The mob of fans does not react well to spoilers, whether actual or
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/03/ ... the-drain/

4) Eleven Mr Bigglesworths appear, apparently having some sort of a meeting.
Note: That may be all of them, it matches the number on the role-call sheet.
5) One of the Mr Bigglesworths is wearing glasses.
Inference: He or she may have eye problems (his or her eyes do seem a bit askew) unless the glasses are just an attempt to look a bit different from all the others.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/06/ ... l-of-them/

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The Farm Animals:

1) Rufus and Made-Of-Win appear.
2) Rufus is one of the few dogs with a named breed - Australian Shepard.
Note: Rufus gives the visual impression that he's fairly old. The fact that he states that his previous owner purchased the farm, then sold it (and apparently him) to Uncle Reuben s few years ago tends to support this.
Note: Judging by the comments, a number of people got the impression that Rufus was blind and might have bad teeth. As a personal observation, he does give me the impression that he’s staring past those he's talking to. This could be a habit, an indicator of poor vision, or simply an incorrect impression.
3) Rufus likes bad jokes. Made-Of-Win is less tolerant.
4) The horses don't mind being ridden.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/07/ ... p-daisies/

5) Money-For-Nothing, Action Replay, and a nameless cow appear here.
6) Horses are apparently used to being told that they “look delicious".
7) Peanut did not expect the horses to be so expressive. Since at least one of the horses blames the media - "they keep portraying us as four-legged bicycles:" - evidently horses (and possibly animal in general) rarely get speaking roles in movies or on television.
8) The cow doesn't pay much attention to Grape's taunt that "Hey I'm gonna eat your innards". From the alt text it's a mixture of indifference and obliviousness.
Speculation: Cows may not be too bright, but this may also imply a tacit bargain. Prey species tend to wind up being killed and eaten regardless - and so getting to live in a barn with plenty to eat, a calm and peaceful lifestyle, protection from predators, basic medical care, and a painless death, may be considered a step up from running around wild, having to watch constantly for predators, having to put up with all the other disadvantages of being feral, and then being painfully killed and eaten at some more-or-less random age.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/07/ ... your-food/

9) The barn cats first appear here. Judging by the alt-text, they are intentionally teasing "that cute visiting dog" (Peanut).
10) The barn cats aren't wearing collars. Judging from Grape's earlier reaction at the gas station, this is indeed seen as being equivalent to nudity.
Inference: The Barn Cats aren’t as wrapped up in taboos, or as neurotic, as many of the pets seen so far. This may be due to them having less human interference in their lives and to growing up with feline parents and other animals, rather than being raised by humans.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/07/ ... the-mouth/

11) The Barn Cats are going ahead with their slow-motion pillow fight and are involving Grape.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/07/ ... s-too-far/

12) The Barn Cats apparently think that "city folk" prejudices and circumlocutions are "cute".
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/07/ ... g-reasons/

13) Rufus assumes the "wide old mentor" role to give courting advice to Peanut. Apparently he either has a "simple and rustic" view of such things or was simply teasing. Having a dead chicken that handy seems a bit unlikely otherwise - although not impossible.
Note: Rufus still seems to stare past people a bit, but he doesn't really appear blind here. Possibly he’s just a bit farsighted or is subject to eyestrain.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/07/ ... -occasion/

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The K-9 Unit:

1) Sergeant Ralph appears. He's obtained a bucket of water from somewhere.
Note: The K-9 dogs use collar-mounted radios and apparently use sunglasses (in various styles) as a part of their uniforms.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/05/ ... efreshing/

2) Sergeant Ralph has now produced a cup of something hot and a blanket from somewhere. Inference: Either this sort of thing is carried along as equipment (possibly in the trunk), or he's exceptionally talented.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/05/ ... at-driver/

3) Kevin is another K-9 dog, apparently with either less experience, a poorer memory, or more excitability than Fido.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/05/ ... -mixed-up/

4) Fido evidently outranks Kevin.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/05/ ... ood-crowd/

5) There's an unidentified cream-and-brown police dog in this strip.
Note: I don’t believe he’s appeared again.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/05/ ... nd-humans/

6) Sergeant Ralph and an unidentified policeman appear here.
Note: Four police dogs appear in this sequence. Since they apparently normally ride in the front seats of the police cars and probably no more than one to a motorcycle, this would imply the presence of at least four policemen unless some of the K-9 dogs are doing their own driving.
Inference: K-9 units are probably considerably more common in Housepets than in reality. It is possible that policemen are commonly partnered with K-9's rather than with human partners, and so might be expected to take “dognaping” considerably more seriously than simple theft, even if there is no major legal distinction. There might be, but the bit about “and the sentence was going to be time served” leads me to doubt it.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/05/ ... -year-one/

7) Apparently a Kangaroo has somehow provoked a K-9 investigation at the library.
Inference: Fido, Kevin, and Sergeant Ralph all appear here with no sign of human handlers. It seems likely that - despite an earlier statement on the limitations of K-9 units by Fido - they are allowed to do at least some investigations on their own. There is, however, no indication of whether or not the Kangaroo in question has actually committed a crime beyond (probably) being AWOL from the local zoo and hanging around the library.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/09/ ... stigation/

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Joel’s Pets:

1) Joel's pets - a cat, a dog, and another dog - appear in flashback. There are good views of the cat and one dog, the other dog (presuming that it is the other dog in the lower left of panel five) is obscured.
Inference: Even if nothing unpleasant happened to some pets that had apparently kidnaped a human child, Joel’s pets would probably be pretty old by now. They appear adult in Joel's memory (making them four or so at a minimum) while Joel appears to be quite young - being about the same size or smaller - and he now appears to be in his twenties (admittedly, only a guess). Further discussions on Joel's pets can be found under the entry for Joel.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/05/ ... nd-humans/

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Random Animals:

1) Some outdoor “neighbor cats” appear. Evidently some people tend to keep their pets outside.
Inference: Many of the pets don't have that much to do.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/07/ ... -outdoors/

2) There are a bunch of "Neighbor Dogs". They reappear in the background many times, but - so far at least - without much impact on the story.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/08/ ... yal-order/

1) Fox's cousin in Kansas appears.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2008/12/ ... s-edition/

1) Pap the Puppy appears.
2) Pap, despite his age, is rather mouthy and teases Tiger about his name.
Note: Pap has not appeared again yet. Hopefully Tiger didn't really manage to get rid of him.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/06/ ... -children/

1) A Cat Waitress appears.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/08/ ... kill-cafe/

1) "Joey's Creepy Friends" first appear here, playing D&D.
2) Judging by the implied game, they're probably adolescents themselves; older individuals will have more sense than to intentionally fail saving throws when they have such limited information.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/06/19/fast-learner/

3) At least one of "Joey's Creepy Friends" likes anime, and is snobbish about watching it with subtitles rather than dubbed.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/09/ ... -subtlety/

1) Here we have a reference to what is apparently a Kangaroo which has somehow provoked a K-9 investigation at the library.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/09/ ... stigation/

1) An assortment of forest animals appear here.
2) They seem quite pleased with Zachary's opening of the "mysterious ancient temple".
Inference: Given the number of small animals to be found per acre in wooded and grassland areas, this is a very small group. They’re probably just some of the Raccoon’s personal friends.
https://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/11/ ... done-that/

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Responses:

For Frank:

I shudder to think what kind of "fun" these ferrets can have in the "pet health and wellness" system, since it'll probably end with an oxygen-tank induced explosion. Please fix the typo.

Ah, typos to be fixed. Thanks for mentioning it.

Considering that Fox didn't know who Mr. Milton was, I'm not too sure of that. You are right, though, in that he's seen more than we have, since we were following Bino at the time.

Yep. That's why “Some” weight. I’m not saying how much, that's up to how much you trust Fox's judgement.

So, yeah, if they weren't powerful, there probably would be no reason to fear them.

I suspect that Money and Influence likely equates to power. My gerbils were crazy, but never scary.

For Ebly:

Foldo probably does have better information then, thank you. Another item to go on the update list.

Next up: probably Henry Milton and the Ungrateful Relatives, because there isn’t anyone else left except “Sir Not Appearing In This Comic”.

Return to the Thread Index: https://www.housepetscomic.com/forums/v ... 99&start=0

[rickgriffin]

The other horse's name is Action Replay

[Thoth]

Ah, missed the tag. Well, that's an easy edit. Thanks for mentioning it.

[ndigit]

Note: Rufus still seems to stare past people a bit, but he doesn't really appear blind here. Possibly he’s just a bit farsighted or is subject to eyestrain.

Actually, I noticed one of Rufus' eyes were grayed out and so it makes me think he might be blind on one side. Or maybe it's genetic but it wouldn't be strange either way.

[Foldo]

For Ebly:

Foldo probably does have better information then, thank you. Another item to go on the update list.

Next up: probably Henry Milton and the Ungrateful Relatives, because there isn’t anyone else left except “Sir Not Appearing In This Comic”.

Return to the Thread Index: https://www.housepetscomic.com/forums/v ... 99&start=0

Extract of Wikipedia France on Wolves (Google translation):
In France, as in many countries, wolves have survived in the more remote areas near the borders. But in the nineteenth century they had almost disappeared. The remains of a wolf killed in the woods Valloires (Pas de Calais) in 1830 is preserved by the Museum of Natural History in Lille. Wolves have survived later escaping to battered from the France to Belgium (depending on whose side they are hunted). The last wolf officially recognized in the Pas-de-Calais has been killed in the woods Créquy (Ternois, Pas de Calais) in 1871. Yet another was shot a little further south in the north of the Somme in 1880.

Personal knowledge:
Currently, wolves are mainly in the mountains of southern, eastern and central France. Southern cities, although smaller than Paris, began to have more night (to cross the Rhone river, to go to Massif Central montains, the wolves were forced to use the bridges), because Current packs become too large. So there are many wolves running through French cities, but not in Paris (although this may change someday).

[EHH123]

I hope this gets updated soon, Thouth. I want to hear your thoughts on Sasha and her hidden intelligence.

[Ebly]

the last post in this thread was in january. i really don't think it is going to be updated any time soon.

[Buckdida]

If I'm not mistaken, Thoth lost the password to his forum account.

Hence, he won't be on until he finds it again.

[rickgriffin]

Uh, he could just email me to get it reset. And I'm pretty sure the forum has a system for that too.

[Frank]

Thoth's commenting again, so he's around for sure. Maybe we could let him know though the comments section.

Hey, Thoth! When you get back I made something for you! I took you at your word and made it

Nonsensical "Strip-I'd-Like-To-See": Eldritch Abomination Vet versus Pete / Gaspar with King in the middle trying to make sense out of it. If someone wants to try it as fan art, I will applaud.

I put it here since it is basically a reply to your post.

I wrote the dialogue back in December, so it may contradict the canon since then. I have a follow-up planned, but since doing the actual drawing of this one took me 3 days non-stop, no guarantees about when it'll be done.

[Dubiousity]

That's pretty cool.

[Liam]

You, Frank, are awesome.

[rickgriffin]

I looked at the image first and it took me half a second to realize what was going on.

I love it when that happens.

[Kyderra]

it... it all makes sense

[valerio]

bam! translated
Absolutely loved that

[Thoth]

That is indeed an awesome job on that strip Frank. You have my applause! (And a salute to your artistic skills and talents).

Also, as you can see, I have indeed located the password again. Now all I need is to locate the time again... (That, sadly, has been the hard part all along). Fortunately, there should be some available in a week or two, and I can try to catch up.

[Liam]

THOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOTH!!!

















































Hi.

[Ebly]

oh man, it's been a long time
have fun updating

[Alex]

oh man, it's been a long time
have fun updating

I guess it'll be easier with the updated cast page. At least he won't have to think "Did I leave someone out?" because all characters are listed there.

[Macsen]

It would be cool if we had an actual size comparison chart. :3

[Frank]

It would be cool if we had an actual size comparison chart.

wish granted

[Macsen]

Is this going to be updated again some time? :3

[Ebly]

probably not since he seems to have left once again

[lightwolf21]

Is a Dossier in the works for Lester?

[Dissension]

I direct your attention to the post immediately preceding yours. *points up*

[Frank]

Well, I suppose we could always continue this ourselves. Any voulunteers?

[Foldo]

Well, I suppose we could always continue this ourselves. Any voulunteers?

You?

[Sinder]

Lester:

jerk

[Ebly]

Lester:

アニメオタク

[Foxstar]

Ebly wins the point.

[Macsen]

When I get home, I'm gonna crop up some new character icons. I think we can get some new ones for Fido, Sgt. Ralph, Kevin, Lucretia, Lester, Keene and possibly King as well.

[Indagare]

Should something be started here for Bailey? She's not going to have much here now, but if she's going to appear some more, it could become important.

Also, would it be wrong to want this thread stickied so that it's on top? I think a lot of the character information and guesses here would be very useful for new readers.