ODIE
...that's Odie, Garfield's faithful friend and whipping dog, in a nutshell. Odie, who first appeared in the comics on August 8, 1978, never thinks, sometimes barks, and always drools. In fact, he drools so much his fleas have flood insurance. Odie was originally owned by Jon's roommate, Lyman. Lyman left the strip in 1983, but Odie remained, much to Garfield's dismay.
And dumb? It took Odie three years just to learn how to breathe. His IQ is so low, you can't test it; you have to dig for it. In fact, Odie is so dumb, he gives the show Two Stupid Dogs a good name. Of course, he was bred to be a working dog--specifically, a paperweight or a doorstop. Odie is a totally mindless free spirit--he loves everyone and vise versa. According to Garfield, Odie falls in a close battle of I.Q. The winner? A rock. That's right, Garfield feels that Odie is indeed dumber than a rock, which very well might be true. Along with Garfield's constant name-calling, Odie puts up with abuse by Garfield every day, ranging from being punted off the side of the table, to being glued to the wall, to being filled up with helium for a certain walk. This has been proven in this classic strip from July 1, 1986.
Over the years, Odie has been kicked off the kitchen table by Garfield about a thousand times. You'd think Odie would learn not to stand at the edge of the table. Oh well, that's what makes Odie Odie. When questioned further about this recurring situation, Jim Davis explains why Garfield just can't resist booting the poor puppy... "Odie is just so kick-offable."
Odie is Garfield's best friend, and the two have a lot of fun together. Whether it's making fun of Jon, going camping (Odie enjoys this more than Garfield), or reuniting the Amazing Juggling Garbanzo Brothers, they'll do it and work together all the way. Odie has been ignored, insulted and abused by Garfield a countless number of times. Garfield takes an inane pleasure in using Odie as either the victim or scapegoat in his "pranks," as explained in this strip from May 10, 2000.
According to Jim Davis, the name Odie is really an inside joke. He chose the name because it connoted stupidity, at least to him. In the early 1970s, he wrote a radio commercial for a local automobile dealership featuring Odie, the village idiot. He liked the name, so he used it again. Why reinvent the fool?
Odie's physical apperance has changed just about as much as Garfield's, if not more. When he was first introduced, Odie was a lot skinier. Also, back then, Odie had black ears, but Jim Davis was told to change the color, because Snoopy from the "Peanuts" comic strip has black ears too. So, the ears were turned brown (the strip is in black and white 6 out of 7 days, meaning it will still be black, right? WRONG! Odie's ears have to be white Monday through Saturday). Over the years, Odie's eyes and legs have gotten bigger, along with his tongue.