Dog Man: Mothering Heights

In an earlier chapter, Molly is labeled as “strange” by Petey for her love of singing songs about diarrhea. Molly is further characterized as humorously strange in her unexpectedly violent destruction of the Sippy Cups, which are shredded on the ground once Molly has finished cutting them up with her Mecha Molly chainsaw arms. Sarah says, “Well, that was…violent,” to which Molly nonchalantly responds, “Thanks! Welp, good night, everybody” (198). Molly’s nonchalance is contrasted with the shocked and dazed expressions on the other characters’ faces in the wake of her violent destruction, which further characterizes Molly as an enigma.

Molly is once again unknowingly funny in Chapter 15 when she asks Petey if she can keep the meerkat robot. Petey says, “WELL, SURE, MOLLY! WHY NOT? AS YOU CAN SEE, I’VE JUST LOST EVERYTHING! SO PLEASE, HELP YOURSELF! TAKE MY LAST REMAINING MATERIAL POSSESSION” (204). His anger and devastation at the destruction of his house are characterized by capitalization, which denotes that Petey is yelling. Furthermore, his sarcasm is clear to the reader; he obviously feels that it is inappropriate of Molly to ask to have something from him when he has lost everything, but she replies, “Really? Awesome! Thanks, Wally!! See ya!” (205). The hilarity of Molly’s missing Petey’s obvious sarcasm is increased by the fact that she continues to call him “Wally” as she blithely takes his only possession.

The Power of Love is present in these chapters in terms of romantic love, platonic love between friends, and familial love. Chief continues to illustrate his devotion to Dog Man, such as when he asks Nurse Lady, “Would it be okay if he [Dog Man] came with us on our date tomorrow” (200). This request is hilarious and unexpected; the reader does not expect Chief to want to bring his best friend on his date. Big Jim is touched that Grampa calls him buddy, illustrating the love that exists between these characters (even though Grampa denies this to maintain his facade of indifference to others).

Petey remembers the unconditional love he received from his mom: “We didn’t have much money or food…but my mom was always hopeful” (155). The panel illustrations show Petey’s mom smiling at him lovingly while playing the ukulele to him. The ukulele becomes a symbol of Petey’s mother’s love for him, which buoys him through his challenging life even after her death. When Petey finds the ukulele in their destroyed home, it symbolizes how familial love continues and survives in spite of immense hardship. Petey plays it to Li’l Petey just as his mom used to play it for him, signifying the continuation of Petey’s mom’s love for Petey through Petey’s love for Li’l Petey. Furthermore, Petey and Li’l Petey recover in the wake of the destruction of their home—“We just lost everything”—with the acknowledgment, “We still have love…and love lasts forever, right, Papa?” (211). Li’l Petey’s comment is a callback to Petey’s mom’s comment in Chapter 11, where she says to a young Petey: “We still have love…and love lasts forever and ever” (155).

Despite the destruction of Petey and Li’l Petey’s home, the novel ends on a hopeful note; the reader is confident that Petey and Li’l Petey will rebuild their home and that their love will help to sustain them and keep them feeling positive and hopeful through this time, just as Petey’s mom’s love did in the Happy Home Shelter.