• Alley Oop: Dinny. He's a 65-foot-long, 40-ton brontosaurus.
• Arlo and Janis: Ludwig. The family's last name is Day.
• Ask Shagg: Rosko. There's also Mouth the Myna bird and Slippy the Flying Squirrel.
• Beetle Bailey: Otto. The little bulldog is among the most anthropomorphic comic strip animals, wearing an Army uniform and hanging out with the guys.
• Blondie: Daisy. The kids are named Alexander and Cookie.
• Bloom County/Outland/Opus: Herrings. Bill the Cat also appears in all three Berke Breathed comics.
• Broom Hilda: Gaylord Buzzard. The black-and-blue intellectual lives in the enchanted forest.
• Calvin and Hobbes: Hamster. Written by Mabel Syrup, the book is called Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie.
• Cathy: Electra. Cathy Guisewite wanted to represent her own pet for many years but could not draw a dog to her satisfaction.
• Curtis: Chameleon. Because it can turn invisible, Curtis usually gets the blame for its tricks.
• Dennis the Menace: Hot Dog. Dennis named him for his mustard color.
• Dilbert: Human Resources. The sadistic feline takes the term "resources" to the extreme.
• The Family Circus: Kittycat. The dogs are Barfy and Sam.
• For Better or Worse: Farley. The old sheepdog passed away after rescuing April from drowning.
• FoxTrot: Iguana. Jason usually uses Quincy to torment his sister Paige.
• Fred Basset: Alex Graham. The strip began in 1963 and continued for eighteen months after his death in 1991 before going into reruns. (And yes, I didn't bother asking because the dog is indeed a basset hound.)
• Garfield: Lasagna. He'll undoubtably eat anything on Jon's plate though.
• Get Fuzzy: Satchel Pooch. Their owner Rob Wilco often sends Bucky to the closet for a timeout.
• Hagar the Horrible: Snert. The family also has a helmeted duck named Kvack.
• Heathcliff: George Gately. His nephew Peter Gallagher now draws the strip.
• Hi and Lois: Dawg. The Flagstons spun off their own comic strip from Beetle Bailey.
• Jump Start: Snoog-a-boo. Joe's partner is usually emotionless, but he's a real softy for his pet.
• Krazy Kat: Ignatz. Krazy loves her anyway, in an elementary school sort of way.
• Li'l Abner: Salome. She's smart, valuable, and would taste great in a sandwich.
• Little Orphan Annie: Sandy. They appeared together on a U.S. postage stamp in 1995.
• Mallard Fillmore: Television reporter (WFDR in Washington, D.C.). The green duck was of course named for our 13th President, the final Whig to hold the office.
• Marmaduke: Great Dane. The overly affectionate Winslow family dog is house-trained but not particularly obedient.
• Monty: Parrot. Pilsner is bird-brained (he thinks his mirror is another bird) but a lot funnier than Tweety.
• Mother Goose and Grimm: Dog. Grimmy is also rather untrained, alternately picking on Mother Goose and Attila the cat.
• Mutts: Mooch. Earl the dog is his buddy.
• Over the Hedge: RJ. Bruce Willis provided his voice in the 2006 movie.
• Peanuts: World War II. Snoopy is deathly afraid of all cats, but at least World War II was able to open his dog food can for him.
• Pearls Before Swine: Stephan Pastis. The comic's main characters are Pig, Rat, Zebra, and Goat.
• Pickles: Roscoe. Muffin is the family cat in the 2001 National Cartoonists Society comic strip of the year.
• Pogo: Possum (opossum, if you oprefer). The Okefenokee Swamp was also home to Albert Alligator, Dr. Howland Owl, Churchy LaFemme (turtle), Porky Pine (porcupine), and many other animals.
• Prickly City: Coyote. The political pup and his young human friend Carmen often exchange their views on current events.
• Rose Is Rose: Peekaboo. The house cat stereotypically loves lounging in the sun or on laps.
• Shoe: Bird (specifically, an eagle). P. Martin Shoemaker is the editor of the local newspaper.
• Stone Soup: Biscuit. The female mutt lives to eat but also enjoys playing outside.
• Tiger: Stripe. The mutt is actually white with black spots.
• Ziggy: Fuzz. Ziggy's other pets include Sid the cat, Josh the parrot, Goldie the fish, and Wack the duck.

Everyone loves talking animals (ask Mister Ed), although sometimes it's better not to actually hear them. I'm sorry, but Garfield the cat just shouldn't sound like Carlton the Doorman (*Who provided both voices?). So this week's questions are about those silent stars of black and white (well, color on Sundays). All of these comic strips are currently in syndication or are very well known. (Original artists are listed in parentheses.)

Comic Animals Questions

• Alley Oop (V.T. Hamlin): Who is Alley Oop's pet dinosaur?
• Arlo and Janis (Jimmy Johnson): Who is the family cat?
• Ask Shagg (Peter Guren): Who is Shagg's cat friend?
• Beetle Bailey (Mort Walker): Who is Sgt. Snorkel's dog?
• Blondie (Chic Young): Who is the family dog?
• Bloom County/Outland/Opus (Berke Breathed): What is Opus addicted to?
• Broom Hilda (Russell Myers): What popcorn-addicted bird plays tricks on the others in this strip?
• Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson): What type of animal is Huey, the hero of Calvin's favorite bedtime story?
• Cathy (Cathy Guisewite): Who is Cathy's dog?
• Curtis (Ray Billingsley): What type of animal, owned by Curtis's friend Gunk, is always causing trouble?
• Dennis the Menace (Hank Ketcham): Who is Dennis's cat?
• Dilbert (Scott Adams): What department is Catbert the director of?
• The Family Circus (Bil Keane): Who is the family cat?
• For Better or Worse (Lynn Johnston): Who was the family dog?
• FoxTrot (Bill Amend): What type of animal is Quincy?
• Fred Basset (?): What Scottish cartoonist created Fred?
• Garfield (Jim Davis): What is Garfield's favorite food?
• Get Fuzzy (Darby Conley): What canine housemate is Bucky Katt always tormenting?
• Hagar the Horrible (Dik Browne): Who is Hagar's dog?
• Heathcliff (?): Who created Heathcliff in 1973?
• Hi and Lois (Mort Walker): Who is the family dog?
• Jump Start (Robb Armstrong): Who is Crunchy's dog?
• Krazy Kat (George Harriman): Who is the mouse who throws bricks at Krazy Kat?
• Li'l Abner (Al Capp): Who is the Yokum's pig?
• Little Orphan Annie (Harold Gray): Who is Annie's dog?
• Mallard Fillmore (Bruce Tinsley): What is Mallard's job?
• Marmaduke (Phil Leeming/Brad Anderson): What kind of dog is Marmaduke?
• Monty (Jim Meddick): What type of animal does Monty's best friend Moondog own?
• Mother Goose and Grimm (Mike Peters): What kind of animal is Grimm?
• Mutts (Patrick McDonnell): Who is the cat co-star?
• Over the Hedge (Michael Fry/T. Lewis): Who is the lead raccoon?
• Peanuts (Charles Schulz): Who is the vicious cat who lives next door to Snoopy?
• Pearls Before Swine (?): What former lawyer began drawing the strip in 1997?
• Pickles (Brian Crane): Who is the family dog?
• Pogo (Walt Kelly): What type of animal is the title character?
• Prickly City (Scott Stantis): What type of animal is Winslow?
• Rose Is Rose (Pat Brady): Who is the family cat?
• Shoe (Jeff MacNelly): What type of animal is the title character?
• Stone Soup (Jan Eliot): Who is the family dog?
• Tiger (Bud Blake): Who is Tiger and Punkinhead's dog?
• Ziggy (Tom Wilson): Who is the title character's dog?

* Lorenzo Music, who was actually the developer, writer, and producer of the 1970s television show Rhoda.

Category Questions:

History & Government	Who was the founder of FedEx whose Yale professor gave him a 'C' on the paper in which he originally proposed the company?
Sports & Games	What male tennis player lost six straight first round matches in 1999 but nevertheless rose to #1 on the ATP tour?
Geography & Nature	What country shares the island of New Guinea with Papua New Guinea?
Literature & Arts	Under what name did Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin write The Haunted Pool and Fanchon the Cricket?
Math & Science	With what vaccine did the U.S. House of Representatives ask the Pentagon to stop inoculating troops in 2000?
Entertainment & Food	What actress played the title character in the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess from 1995 to 2001?

Category Answers:

Entertainment & Food	YODA	After Luke Skywalker exclaimed, "I don't believe it!" the Jedi Master responded, "That is why you fail."
History & Government	FORD	In 1933, the U.S. Congress investigated the possibility that Henry Ford may have helped finance Hitler's early foray into politics, but the results were inconclusive.
Literature & Arts	FORGERY	The overprotected wife had forged her father's signature to get a loan.
Sports & Games	UNSER	Al Unser's brother Bobby had passed several cars while exiting the pits under a caution flag. By paying a $40,000 fine instead of a lap, he became the oldest Indy 500 winner at age 47.
Math & Science	NEWTON	Isaac Newton was the first scientist buried at Westminster Abbey in 1727.
Geography & Nature	SALEM	A trustee named the Cherry City for the historic town in Massachusetts.

Quiz Quilt Answer: SNUFFY (First letters going up)

Aloysius Snuffleupagus is Big Bird's best friend on Sesame Street.

c) Mr. Irrelevant

Ryan Hoag, Andre Sommersell, and Kevin McMahan claimed the honor in 2003, 2004, and 2006 as seventh round picks of the Raiders and Andy Stokes in 2005 for the Patriots.