Cartoonist’s Renderings Of Dogs Will Have You ROFL

The amount of talent in this one family is just ridiculous. Did you see the shoe dog series that went viral, done by Butch McCartney? (if not, go here!) Well, in our interview, Butch told iHeartDogs.com that he got his start by helping his dad, Mike McCartney. Naturally, I had to look up his work too.

And boy was I glad I did! While his son’s talents lay in photographing real dogs in funny and heartwarming poses, Mike is a cartoonist. And he is THE DOG CARTOONIST.

Since the 70’s, when he started out doing caricatures of dogs with their owners, he has a way of bringing out a dog’s inner personality and capturing it in ink.

Then, in 1991, prompted by his mother, Nancy, he went to a Great Dane Specialty, where they asked for an image for a mug with a “goofy” Dane on it. And his mother suggested he make some funny Dane prints to sell as well.

“They bought up everything we brought to the show and were lined up all day every day for the event,” Mike explains. “That’s when it was forced into my consciousness: they, the dog owners, insisted on us designing cards, mugs, and shirts and on and on. I LOVED IT!!”

Since then, he has done items for many, many breed shows.

What makes his designs so special?

Often, he uses common stereotypes of each breed or what the breed was bred (for example, herding humor for herding dogs). Other times, he just comes up with something from a situations or characters he has met. The result is pure comedic gold.

Over the years, his dog cartoons have been put on everything from mugs and calendars to tissue boxes and t-shirts.

He has even done images of service and working dogs – highlight how important they are to their owners and handlers:

Enjoy some of his amazing art below and follow him on Facebook to get his latest work. You can purchase items with his amazing cartoons on his website. (The following images are reprinted with expression permission from Mike McCartney.)