Cooler VS CatGut: A Pound Puppies Cage Match

What do you get when you cross the Fonz from the TV show "Happy Days" with a stuffed Pound Puppies toy?  That would be Cooler, one of the talking, clothed Pound Puppies introduced in 1985.  Cooler and his friends (and their rival, CatGut) were part of a merchandising spin-off of the 1984 Tonka Pound Puppies toy line.

Scrounger and the other clothed Pound Puppies could walk on two legs, but some of the other dogs in the pound could not.  It was sort of like "Animal Farm."  Well, maybe not.

A special collection of miniature Pound Puppies Golden Books (and bookmarks) were available at Hardee's restaurants.

The original Pound Puppies include Louie (a chef), Howler, Bright Eyes, Cooler, the Nose, Barkerville and Scrounger.  Cooler's love interest, Violet, is curiously not shown with the cast here (from one of the books sold at Hardee's), but appeared on a great deal of merchandise.

Figurines of these characters were available in stores and by mail through offers on boxes of Post cereals (like Cocoa Pebbles).

Cooler and his gang were always having trouble with Dabney Nabbit, the dogcatcher.

The pups had a friend in veterinarian Doc Weston.

In addition to outwitting Dabney Nabbit, the dogs helped other pups find homes.

In addition to Golden Books, Hardee's also sold plush Pound Puppies and Pound Purries (the cat version of Pound Puppies).

Dabney Nabbit's pet is the villain CatGut.

CatGut was the only cat in the pound, as the Pound Purries toy line had not yet been created.

The Pound Puppies also had to watch out for vicious guard dogs, dobermans named Itchey and Snitchey.

Merchandise (PVC figurines) of Dabney Nabbit and the guard dogs is very rare.

Adopt a Pound Puppy, or these wabbits get taken out!

The Pound Puppies failed to save Old Yeller.

Hanna Barbera created a syndicated animated Pound Puppies special for the Fall of 1985.  The cast includes Dan Gilvezan (Cooler), Ron Palillo (Scrounger), Alan Oppenheimer (Barkerville), Gail Matthius (Violet), Don Messick (Louie, Itchy), Adrienne Alexander (Bright Eyes), Frank Welker (Howler, CatGut, Snichey), Joanne Worley (The Nose), and Henry Gibson (Nabbit).

The special (directed by Alan Zaslove and written by Tom Ruegger) closely follows characters and situations established by the toy line.  The female dog shown here is Violet, and I love that she is a droopy looking bloodhound and not a stereotypical fussy poodle.

When the Pound Puppies became a Hanna Barbera Saturday Morning TV series in 1986, the dog doo seemed to hit the fan.  Many characters were dropped or redesigned and the story changed.  CatGut got a new owner, Katrina Stoneheart (voiced by Pat Carroll, AKA Ursula from Disney's "The Little Mermaid").  Even more changes were made when the Saturday Morning show was renewed for a second season.

Before the Internet, things like this happened and kids were left to wonder what was going on, or if anyone else even noticed.  In 1988, I was happy to learn more about what happened from animator Will Finn (of "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast" fame) in an article in a magazine called Cartoon Quarterly.

Will Finn's quote here about the character of Bright Eyes is hilarious:  "Q-5 even re-designed one of last season's Pound Puppies because she wasn't cute enough!  Who's gonna help re-design you?  Besides, haven't they ever seen a Pound Puppy doll?  They're not supposed to be cute.  They look like a cross between a dead dog and a sack of Gold Medal flour."

Will Finn speaks the truth.  The Pound Puppies were so ugly they were cute, and that was part of their charm.

To add to the confusion, there have been many, many different versions of the Pound Puppies (and different names for them) all over the world.  The Pound Puppies are still around today, but sadly, they no longer look like a cross between a dead dog and a sack of Gold Medal flour.

Trick Or Treat, Smell The Halloween Decorations

With a witch air freshener, your can fill your home with the smell of a wretched old woman.

This Wizard brand witch air freshener has survived years of storage in hot attics without melting. This (wax?) figure is missing a sliver of her back, but considering she is from the early 1980s, that's not too shabby. She only has a tiny bit of fragrance left. This kind of air freshener used to be quite common, and there were other holiday pieces to "collect."

For some reason, my Halloween decorations have a very distinct "Halloween" aroma. I cannot explain this phenomenon. Accordingly, my Easter decorations have an "Easter" scent, and my Christmas decorations have a "Christmas" aroma.

Of course, my Halloween decorations include fast food toys. Among my favorites are a set of small, stuffed characters from Hardee's that can be squished into their plastic environments.


This Cat, Goblin and Ghost were created by Hallmark Cards and distributed in Hardee's kid's meals in 1989. There was also a Bat, but I did not get him. Yes, I frequently had the cat's eyes peering out of the pumpkin's eyes.

In 1991, McDonald's had a Happy Meal featuring the animated NBC Saturday Morning series, "Gravedale High." I actually got these at a flea market around the time they were first released.


This short-lived show starred Rick Moranis as a teacher at a high school populated by monsters. The vampire is Vinnie Stoker, a cool "Fonzie" type character, and with the turn of a knob, he swivels back into his coffin. Frankentyke sticks out his tongue when you push his arms. Cleofatra the mummy is a weeble-wobble style toy. Sid the Invisible Kid's hands and feet move when you push a lever on the back of his locker.

In 1984, a company called Mark 1 in Chicago released Scratch & Sniff Iron-ables. These have "3M Microfragrance Coatings."


This Werewolf and Frankenstein Monster still smell like---something. I could never pinpoint what the scent was supposed to be. I got these from a long-closed dime store chain called TG&Y. Mark 1 did a lot of great character artwork, including cards and stickers for Q*bert and other characters.

Scratch 'n sniff stuff was really big when I was a kid. The most popular item was easily stickers. The ones people remember the most were Stinky Stickers from Trend Enterprises.


This checklist is from a time when the line had 88 stickers. All sorts of holidays were represented, including Halloween. The Ghost had a coconut smell (of course!). The Witch had a Licorice Stick scent (I'm not a fan of licorice). The Skeleton allegedly smelled like "Bone" and the Bat smelled like "Cave." Um, what?!?!

I did not encounter all the stickers on this list. Click on the picture, then click again to zoom in. My "WTF?" list includes "Space," "Phone," "Crab," and "Rope."