Patrick McDonnell’s  popular Mutts comic strip, which is currently syndicated in over 700 newspapers, will take on a new topical dimension starting on Monday, December 8th when Mooch the Cat and Earl the Dog start discussing the Obama family’s desire to adopt a dog from an animal shelter.  Approximately 7.5 million dogs and 16.2 million cats currently living in American homes have been adopted from shelters, and McDonnell, who is a major supporter of animal adoption, is hoping that this new storyline in his comic strip will spur even more interest in animal adoptions.

McDonnell has received three Genesis Awards from the Humane Society of the United States, and twice a year during the past decade he has created a special Mutts “Shelter Series” highlighting the efforts of the staff and volunteers at animal shelters who rescue and care for the more than six million animals living in shelters in the U.S.

One hundred of McDonnell’s “Shelter Series” strips have been collected and published by Andrews, McMeel in a Shelter Stories: Love Guaranteed, which also includes 70 candid photos of rescued dogs that have found great homes via adoption.