Dog Man: Mothering Heights

“Dog Man was drinking out of the toilet again…and the lid fell down…and hurt his fingers.”

The duality of Dog Man’s psyche is illustrated in his dog-like habit of drinking from the toilet bowl. Humor stems from Dog Man retaining dog-like habits despite his participation in the human world as a police officer. Furthermore, his ridiculous injury is a far cry from what readers might have imagined with him being injured “in the line of duty,” as Chief originally thought he heard. Dav Pilkey’s use of satire to humorous effect is clear in this misunderstanding.

“At last! My evil plan is complete!”

Grampa conforms to the literary trope of the scheming villain who determinedly hatches evil plans to take over or destroy the world. He is a satirical version of comic book villains, such as the Penguin or the Joker from Batman. In many ways, Pilkey’s work conforms more closely to the conventions of a comic book than those of a traditional illustrated children’s novel.

“But Grampa! I gotta warn you: I reprogrammed the Cupcake Exit…so you can’t use it to escape!!! IT’S VERY DANGEROUS.”

Grampa ignores Big Jim’s warnings, which increase in urgency as Grampa nears the exit. Tension builds toward the hilarious moment when Grampa is punched in the face by the giant, spring-loaded fist in a glove; the reader expects something like this based on Grampa’s stubbornness and his dismissal of Big Jim’s warnings.

“Now any time you get in trouble…just press the button on top…and all of your wildest dreams will come true!!!”

Li’l Petey and 80-HD design the Cone of Destiny for Dog Man, which transforms the distressing period while Dog Man is in the cone into an empowering and exciting time. Their gift is a testament to the power of loving and concerned friends who band together to help each other; The Power of Love referred to here is platonic love. Furthermore, The Value of Creativity is also signaled as an important theme; Li’l Petey and 80-HD solve Dog Man’s problem with a highly creative and inventive solution. As is typical of Pilkey’s style, these inventions are not limited by the confines of scientific laws or practicality, but instead, they are outlandish and wondrous.

“Dear Nurse Lady, Roses are red, Violets are blue, You are a Nurse Lady, And I like you.”

Chief writes a love letter to Nurse Lady that conforms to the trope of a love poem through its rhyme scheme and through the clichéd introduction: “Roses are red, violets are blue.” As is typical of Pilkey’s style, this progresses into a silly and satirical version of a love letter, one that is humorously simple and reads like fifth-graders wrote it, which is the author’s intent.

“‘Okay, Robot…here’s your battery! Don’t tell Grampa…but I borrowed it from his alarm clock!’ ‘HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH MY STUFF?!!? ER—I mean…Beep-Boop. Greetings, carbon-based feline.’”

Dramatic irony is used to comedic effect, in that the reader knows that Grampa is inside the cardboard robot, and he makes this obvious when he snaps at Big Jim about stealing his battery. Big Jim is characterized as endearingly stupid in his failure to recognize that it is obviously Grampa in disguise.

“She’s doing a news story about former villains who have transformed their lives.”

The reader is reminded of Petey’s past as a villain. His reformation as a character is referenced through the news story. His actual reformation is shown in how his frustration and anger at Li’l Petey and Molly turn to love and gentleness.

“‘Can Molly come over and play? ‘NO!’ ‘Aw, pleeease? We’ll be good this time!!!’ ‘I SAID NO!!! I don’t want any DISTRACTIONS today! Sarah is going to be here soon! Besides, that Molly kid is a little STRANGE if you ask me!!!’ ‘I am?’ ‘WHY didn’t you tell me that she was already here???’”

Petey talks about Molly’s strangeness, not realizing that she is there; Li’l Petey asks if she can come to play when she has, in fact, already arrived despite the fact that Petey doesn’t want any distractions on his important day. Petey’s frustration here foreshadows his loss of control over the day, which is hijacked by the loud and naughty antics of Li’l Petey and Molly and then by the Sippy Cups.

“Mayor’s NEW rose garden KEEP OUT (especially Dog Man).”

The humorous duality of Dog Man’s personality is represented in the Mayor’s sign, which sits adjacent to his rose garden. Although Dog Man participates in human society as a police officer, he also retains the dog-like tendencies from his dog-head, leading him to dig up Mayor’s roses.

“IF YOU’RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT POOP YOUR PANTS.”

Petey has just begun his interview when Li’l Petey and Molly arrive brandishing a toilet plunger and toilet cleaner and singing this adapted version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” The juxtaposition of Petey’s neat tie and cardigan and the serious beginning of his interview with the children’s song is humorous. Toilet humor is a recurring motif throughout Pilkey’s works, which are aimed at an audience of middle-grade readers. Silliness as Joyful and Important is presented as an important theme; Petey tries to present his household as a mature and calm place, but children are inherently silly and somewhat chaotic, as demonstrated by their untimely appearance and inappropriate song.

“HEY, LOOK!!! THERE THEY ARE!!! ER, I mean, Beep-Boop. I have detected the items we were searching for.”

Dramatic irony continues to function in a humorous way in the very obvious fact that Grampa is masquerading as Big Jim’s cardboard robot. Grampa occasionally forgets to maintain his facade, as illustrated by his excited yelling about having seen the Cannery Grow and Living Spray at Petey’s house. His attempts to then backtrack and appear more robot-like—“beep-boop”—are humorous.

“‘Then why, Petey? Why did you turn to the dark side?’ ‘Well, I—’ ‘STINKLE STINKLE, LITTLE FART.’”

The serious tone of the interview is juxtaposed with the children’s interrupting with their toilet-humor song. Petey’s mounting frustration is contextualized by the children’s very bad timing, which—in a case of dramatic irony—the reader is aware of, but Molly and Li’l Petey are not.

“‘And don’t leave them lying around on the floor!! I’m tired of picking up after you two!!!’ ‘Boy, Wally sure is a GROUCH today!’ ‘I wonder why?”

Ironically, the children wonder why Petey is in a bad mood as they discard their cups on the floor—something he just asked them not to do. This incident illustrates how children can be unintentionally extremely irritating. Furthermore, Molly continues to exacerbate Petey’s irritation by calling him “Wally,” so it is funny that she does this again in this moment when the reader understands that Petey’s anger is mounting.

“‘I couldn’t find a home…and nobody would give me a second chance. Everywhere I went, people just saw the bad in me.’ ‘Get lost, ya criminal!’”

Pilkey illustrates The Power of Love through this exploration of what happens when people are treated with hatred and derision; Petey cannot have a fresh start, because he is mistrusted by the community. This rejection turns him back toward a life of crime. Through Petey’s story, Pilkey suggests that those who have done wrong deserve to be given a second chance.

“Let any one of ye who is without sin…be the first to kick me out.”

In this allusion to the biblical verse John 8:7, Petey refers to Jesus’s speech where he suggested that no one deserves to treat another person with scorn or judgment, as all have sinned. Humorously, Pilkey has created a satirical, modern version of Jesus’s speech, delivered by Petey the cat. Petey is literally and metaphorically kicked by the people, suggesting that people unfairly judged Petey for his past actions instead of allowing him to have a second chance.

“Aw don’t worry, Grampa! They’re so little and cute…what harm could they possibly do?”

The Sippy Cups’ transformation into giant and destructive monsters is foreshadowed in Big Jim’s reassurance that the sippy cups can’t cause any damage, because they are so small. The reader guesses that the Cannery Grow, which is always mentioned in association with the Living Spray, will be used to make the cups enormous. This happens immediately after Big Jim’s comment.

“We didn’t have much money or food…but my mom was always hopeful: ‘We still have love…and love lasts forever and ever.’”

Petey’s mom loved him unconditionally, which helped Petey to endure the challenges of his childhood and the abandonment of his father (Grampa). Petey recalls his mother’s love and is reminded that he feels the same love for Li’l Petey. The Power of Love is signaled as an important theme in Petey’s memories.

“My mother always forgave me…and she never gave up on me.”

Petey remembers that his mother never gave up on him and always forgave him despite his bad behavior. This is a pertinent reminder to Petey, who has spent the day being frustrated with Li’l Petey. Petey is loving and forgiving to Li’l Petey at the story’s conclusion, partly because of the reminder of the consistency of his mother’s love.

“I didn’t recognize it at first…but my mother’s love was there…staring me right in the face.”

Petey draws a parallel between the love that existed between him and his mother and the love that exists between him and his son, Li’l Petey. In this way, Petey’s mother’s love continues through Petey’s relationship with his son. This awareness encourages him to be patient and loving with Li’l Petey, even though Li’l Petey can test Petey’s patience.

“Scribble scribble scribble crumple crumple. ‘I’ll never get it right!’”

Through Chief, Pilkey suggests that love can be stressful and challenging; sound effects illustrate him writing and then crumpling many potential letters to Nurse Lady. His re-writing is shown by the sea of crumpled papers surrounding Chief. Chief’s despondency in this moment foreshadows his eventual success in bonding with Nurse Lady; they kiss in a later chapter.

“Let’s smooch it out, baby!!!”

Nurse Lady suggests that she and Chief should kiss, much to Chief’s delight. Their romantic relationship reaches a satisfying conclusion after much stress and deliberation on Chief’s part. Romantic love is one of the types of love that Pilkey suggests is valuable, and The Power of Love is a recurring theme in the story.

“Hey, look, there’s Dog Man! Would it be okay if he came with us on our date tomorrow?”

Chief does not sideline Dog Man in favor of his new romance, which illustrates the strength of their relationship. Through Dog Man and Chief’s friendship, which is a constant throughout the Dog Man series, Pilkey suggests that platonic love is extremely important.

“‘Can I keep this robo-suit?’ ‘WELL, SURE, MOLLY! WHY NOT? AS YOU CAN SEE, I’VE JUST LOST EVERYTHING! SO PLEASE, HELP YOURSELF! TAKE MY LAST REMAINING MATERIAL POSSESSION!!!’ ‘Really? Awesome! Thanks, Wally!!! See ya!!!’”

Molly asks to keep the meerkat robot suit, even though the Sippy Cups have destroyed Petey’s entire home and laboratory. Petey sarcastically yells that he has lost everything, so she should take his only possession; humorously, Molly does not detect the sarcasm and happily takes the suit and leaves.