Is Goofy a Dog? Disney's Cow Cover-Up Revealed

The Cover-Up: Goofy Is Not a Dog

Are you a fan of Disney? If so, you have probably seen Goofy, the lovable but clumsy comic relief in Disney's cast of characters. But what is Goofy? Is Goofy a real dog?

The beloved character was born in 1932. His original name was Dippy Dawg, and in 1938 he appeared in a book titled The Story of Dippy the Goof. In 1939, he officially changed his name to "Goofy" after starring in the animated film Goofy and Wilbur. The name change was a genius marketing move for Goofy as he has become one of the most beloved Disney characters of all time and a member of Mickey Mouse's inner circle.

But What Animal Is Goofy?

Goofy has always been thought of as an anthropomorphic dog or a "dog with human features," according to Disney's Mouselinks. However, what the Disney establishment isn't telling you is that Goofy is really a cow. To be specific, an Aberdeen Angus cow, a fact that Disney would love to cover up, considering that Goofy's national origin is anything but American.

In 1939, with American nationalism at a historic high, Goofy's true heritage could have created a huge scandal for Disney—a scandal that would have finished Goofy's career just as it was starting to take off.

What Species Is He? The Physical Evidence

The physical evidence of Goofy's bovine heritage is obvious. His buck teeth are flat—a characteristic of a herbivore. His cow nose and flaring nostrils are larger than that of a dog (and more like that of a cow). And remember: He comes from a hornless breed of cattle, so it is not unusual that he does not have horns.

Goofy's Cow Heritage Revealed

Goofy's full name is Dipalwa Dawala. Born in Scotland, Dipalwa is the son of Egyptian immigrants and comes from a long line of hornless cattle called Aberdeen Angus cattle.

Dipalwa came from a meager beginning and was discovered by Disney talent scouts during a livestock sale in Scotland. The talent scouts noticed his raucous laugh and clumsy charm and convinced him to travel with them to America to be a part of a comedy team headed by up-and-coming cartoon comic, Mickey Mouse.

Once back at Disney headquarters, Dipalwa underwent extensive training. The Disney team worked with Goofy on English but could not entirely eliminate his accent. To solve the "problem," Disney trained him to adopt his trademark voice to cover up hints of his heritage.

The Days of Dippy Dawg

The Disney marketing team saw that the American public thought of dogs as lovable and thought of cows as food. Looking to induce laughs and not appetites, the Disney team decided that they would market him as a dog and shorten his name to Dippy Dawg.

Although Dippy gained some fans with his debut book The Story of Dippy the Goof, the response was underwhelming. The lack of interest left the Disney team split on Goofy's future.

They decided to try one last time by changing Dippy's name to Goofy and gave him a starring role in the 1939 film Goofy and Wilbur. Goofy was a hit. After starring in his own series of "how to" films such as How to Be a Rock Star" and The Art of Skiing, this star seemed to be on the rise.

The Dark Years: Goofy's True Identity Concealed

Goofy's career hung in the balance in the 1950s with the birth of his son, Max. While Goofy's screen persona was that of a dog, he could not deny his bovine heritage. One day after filming, he met his true love, Clarabelle Cow. Clarabelle was an actress on the rise at Disney but saw Goofy for what he was: a handsome Angus bull stud. Goofy was enamored with his new girlfriend, and at the height of their romance, their son Max was born.

The Disney team was outraged. The Walt Disney company was on a roll producing hit movies and planning to open a theme park in the '60s. They could ill afford to have a scandal that not only revealed that Goofy had a calf out of wedlock, but one that also revealed his true identity. If the truth was exposed, the public's trust would be violated and the lines to buy tickets to the Disney blockbusters would dwindle.

Goofy was quickly cast with his son and a dog-wife in the short series Mr. Geef. After the failure of Mr. Geef, Goofy was taken out of feature films and reduced to an actor in film shorts. Once a headliner, Goofy films were now only being seen during previews and intermissions. Although his merchandise sales remained strong, Goofy decided to take more of a production role with the Disney team and spend time with his young family.

In the 1990s, Goofy was back on the small screen with the introduction of The Goof Troop TV series. Goofy was delighted. He was able to spend time with his son and co-star, Max, and did not have to hide their relationship. Goofy, Max, and Clarabelle were allowed to be together on set. Things finally seemed to be getting easier for the Angus cow family. There was even talk of giving Clarabelle the role of Goofy's dog-wife, Cuddles.

The entire family was going to be on screen again until Clarabelle was suddenly stricken with mad cow disease. Clarabelle's illness forced the cancellation of Goof Troop so that Goofy could spend time with his ailing companion. Despite the great risk to his own health, Goofy spent day and night with his love, Clarabelle. It was said that Goofy was often up at all hours of the night chewing cud and waiting for Clarabelle's fever to break.

Scroll to Continue

8 Reasons Why From Should Be Your Next Binge-Watch

World Songs

In Another Dimension...

Miraculously, after weeks in bed, Clarabelle recovered but not before their son Max was stricken with the terrible disease. In 2000, Max lost his battle with mad cow disease on a farm in Northern Scotland. Goofy was devastated and most feared he would never return to acting again.

The Comeback

In 2006, Goofy and Clarabelle were offered roles on the new series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Clarabelle was cast as a cow, but Goofy was still playing the half-dog half-human character he made famous over a 70-year career.

Goofy and Clarabelle live happily in the Florida panhandle during shooting but return home to Scotland in the off-season. You can see Goofy and Clarabelle in the mornings on Disney Junior. The Disney Channel also re-runs his classic "How to" shorts between episodes of the Disney Junior programs.

One Giant Conspiracy?

Goofy's love interest in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is Clarabelle Cow. The on-screen chemistry is obvious. Disney often couples characters of the opposite sex with the same species: both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck follow this pattern. So why would the writers at Disney have Goofy and Clarabelle Cow coupled up? Could it be an attempt to reward the cattle couple for their years of loyalty to the Disney brand?

Is this just a conspiracy theory or an extensive cover-up in the Disney corporation reaching all the way to the top? Has the lovable mouse been the mastermind behind the cattle controversy? Is Goofy a dog? You be the judge.

References

• Breeds of Livestock - Angus Cattle
  

Comments

Tony Fischer (author) from Southeastern Michigan on July 20, 2021:

I think the word you are looking for is...satire

chris on June 27, 2020:

the animators at Disney said he is a dog. His hat is made of 3 dog related items. the base is a bowl, the middle is a collar and the top is a bone.

My boi this is wrong on June 12, 2020:

Uh how is he a cow well you say cow a lot so you’re gonna change his gender too and his species

the on June 03, 2020:

All cows are woman. Unless you’re saying goofy is a woman, goofy is a dog.

Howdyyourwromg on May 04, 2020:

You post this just for click bait when obviously it is a dog. You wasted mine and your time.

Disney Magic Cast Member on April 28, 2020:

I worked at Disney for an internship and this post is a joke

not blind on April 27, 2020:

Clarabell and goofy look nothing alike in any way shape or form but good job creating a hoax. lol

00 on April 27, 2020:

goofy is a dog and human.

SaiMorphX on March 06, 2020:

There are many story characters "inspired" by something, but completely changed to be something else! His features have always been of a dog long ears and that button nose. even when they put him with a cow, the cow has nostrils as part of the mouth roof, not the button.

His origins might have absolutely been a cow. Disney made him a Dog! it super cool knowing what his origins where, but saying he is a cow is just... i'll be nice... He's a dog, inspired by a cow!

Franz73 on February 11, 2020:

LOL, no way

Long, stooping ears

THAT NOSE

SusypoteeteMarshall on January 26, 2020:

yeah goofy is A DOG. Proof that he isn;t a bull considering even if he was part of the bovine family he wouldnt be a cow considering those are reserved for FEMALES he would be a bull. And also long ears that are definately NOT cattle ears.

VASANT NELSON on January 21, 2020:

Chi, the reason why Goofy can walk and talk and Pluto can't is because he's an anthropomorphic dog, and Pluto isn't. Kind of like how Pete's a big cat but there are also pet cats in the show.

Eric420 on January 20, 2020:

Goofy is a dinosaur from our imagination and when he's tall

He's what we call a dinosaur sensation

Matt93 on January 13, 2020:

@Chi

Pluto being a dog cannot speak but goofy can because he is anthromorphic meaning human and dog like

Chi on December 24, 2019:

But there for if he’s a dog why can’t Pluto the dog talk or walk?? Riddle me that

Goofy is a dog on December 16, 2019:

GOOFY IS A DOG! Also why would it matter if he loved Clarabelle who was a cow and he was a dog if they’re all species of anthropomorphic animals. People ship nick and Judy from zootopia and they aren’t the same species. Overall I refuse to believe that goofy is anything other than a dog.

Karsen on October 03, 2019:

So wait if max died how did we get the goofy movies?! Please explain!!!

Soccerstar on July 11, 2019:

Goofy is a donkey. Think about it

please ansewer on April 03, 2019:

SteveCarras

5 weeks ago

He's a type of a freakin' dog. (just like Pluto but with obvious differneces above and we all know where to find the differences..) (I'm nearly 60 and have grown up in Walt the person Disney's era, him hosting that long running TV show-on NBC by the time I was born but initially on ABC-with the characters really ingrained..)

profile image

sriki

7 weeks ago

hahaha this article was a good read

profile image

Rene

8 weeks ago

Cows arent males

profile image

Sandra

2 months ago

So how did his son come about???

profile image

Iseethruyou

2 months ago

Clearly a social experiment to see if anyone has any critical thinking skills anymore, and if they just swallow what ever they read! And you wonder why there's so much fake news!

profile image

Goofy is a dog

2 months ago

He's already admitted the article was satire if you read the comments.

profile image

You're an Idiot

2 months ago

Do you have nothing better to do with your time? Group he's always been a dog turn off cuz you're bored is a cow? Go back to Mama's basement.

profile image

lakersground

2 months ago

fake news. click bait

profile image

Izzy

2 months ago

Goofy is a dog!!!?

profile image

Cassandra

2 months ago

Why Max had to die!!?!??

profile image

PamilaKD

2 months ago

Goofy is a funny-animal cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog with a Southern drawl, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora

profile image

Nana

2 months ago

If Goofy is a cow, why, why would they have originally named him Dippity Dawg. Does "Dawg" mean cow. I thought it was another way of writting the word Dog. Also, why does Goofy have a long snout, whiskers on the tip like a dog and long droppy ears. To me he has always looked like a dog, no resemblance to a cow at all.

profile image

Anonymous

2 months ago

Someone posted this article on Facebook and brought me here, just to quell the heated comments the author wrote in the comments 5 years ago that this was a satirical piece of FICTION for an experiment. Don't take this article seriously.

profile image

John

2 months ago

This page is one of the first to come up when googling "is goofy a dog". Which is pretty scary really as people i know try to use this to claim goofy is a cow. Which is utterly ridiculous. If anything goofy would be a bull and as such would have horns like a bull. He also wouldn't have dog whiskers, long droopy dog ears, or a dog nose. So conspiracy this is not. Ambiguity there is not. Stop spreading mis-truths.

profile image

Kait

3 months ago

Goofy is a dog. Y'all can't tell me nothin' about goofy. How does he have a dogs nose if he's a cow?! Pssh . Passionate about disney over here and I'm not afraid to take somebody down for talking some bs about goofy being a cow

profile image

Some Weenie

3 months ago

“Disney often couples characters with the opposite sex of the same species. Mickey and Mini, Donald and Daisy both follow this pattern. So why would the writers at Disney have Goofy and Clarabelle coupled up?”

Disney doesn’t always do same-species couples, so I’m sorry to burst your bubble. Can’t think of one for Mickey’s group of pals? Take Mickey’s half-brother, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He’s, and let me not stress this enough, a rabbit who is married to a cat, Ortensia, and the two have had 420 children together. A cat and a rabbit.

I feel like this alone shows that Disney isn’t afraid to have that sort of character relationships. If they’re willing to have a rabbit-cat relationship, why not the possibility of a dog-cow relationship?

profile image

Will

3 months ago

Goofys original name was dippy dawg. Which makes him a "dawg" lol and he doesn't have flaring nostrils he has a small nose that looks wet. Just like a dog

profile image

WM96

3 months ago

WAIT!!!MAX IS STILL ALIVE..... he was in the their movie “An Extremely Goofy Movie” which was made in 2000 and he was on the show “house of mouse” as the Parking valet and that ended in 2004. SO MAX STILL LIVE PEOPLE

profile image

A C Ratone

5 months ago

A list of Twenty-Seven Disney theatrical cartoons where Horace Horsecollar (wikipedia) appeared with Clarabelle Cow:

The Plow Boy (1929)

The Barnyard Concert (1930)

The Shindig (1930)

Pioneer Days (1930)

The Birthday Party (1931)

Blue Rhythm (1931)

The Barnyard Broadcast (1931)

The Beach Party (1931)

Barnyard Olympics (1932)

Mickey's Revue (1932)

The Whoopee Party (1932)

Touchdown Mickey (1932)

Mickey's Mellerdrammer (1933)

Mickey's Gala Premiere (1933)

Camping Out (1934)

Orphan's Benefit (1934)

The Band Concert (1935)

On Ice (1935)

Mickey's Grand Opera (1936)

Orphan's Benefit (remake, 1941)

Mickey's Birthday Party (1942)

Symphony Hour (1942)

All Together (1942)

Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

The Prince and the Pauper (1990)

Get a Horse! (2013)

profile image

Ruby Marteney

10 months ago

pluto is a dog goofy is a cow it specifically says that get over it

profile image

The Dude

14 months ago

Dogs and cows have always had a close relationship. Goofy is an anthropomorphic dog. Pluto is a regular dog. Animators are creative and play with perspective. This is not complicated.

profile image

Goofy fan

14 months ago

What the.....if he a dog and a human at the same time?!

profile image

unknown

14 months ago

If goofy is not a dog, then what is he?

profile image

scarlett

15 months ago

I still don 't now wot goofy is he mat be a dog wolf or cow or diffrent animal

profile image

adam

16 months ago

based on the evidence you provided, I'd say he's a mix between a dog and a cow. cows have flared nostril in disney, goofy doesn't. he also used to have a tail. but the fact is they never say he's a dog, because he isn't. perhaps they are ashamed of his origins as a hybrid animal.

profile image

Fred

18 months ago

This is stupid. He has buck teeth and a big nose, because it's funny. He's paired with Clarabelle occaisonaly because of the ambiguousness of his species. (Although Clarabelle is more often paired with Horace Horsecollar.) And, furthermore he's a FICTIONAL CHARACTER. He was drawn, not discovered. He is whatever Disney wants him to be, and they want him to be a dog.

profile image

Lisa

21 months ago

Thank you for info

I think goofy should be with clarabell!

profile image

Marvin martian

23 months ago

I think goofy is a mixed animal hybrid crossbreed just like the animaniacs

profile image

Madison

2 years ago

Hi I I want to thank you for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and I really really love me and I hope you are right I can meet her one day and can you send her a picture something to me so I can so I can meat her

profile image

Bwonder

2 years ago

This is nothing but fanfiction

profile image

Spuz

2 years ago

Mootastic

profile image

Lisa

2 years ago

Dog for sure...at least till the cows come home!!! lol

profile image

Dawn

2 years ago

This is so great.. can I share it on fb, my friends need this to chew on.

profile image

kyla

2 years ago

It's funny because it's not true. LOL but nice try.

profile image

Laura

3 years ago

I'm pretty sure Goofy is a goat. Pretty much every other character has a first name letter that matches the first letter in its animal type. For example: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto Pup.

Qmarpat profile image

Qmarpat

4 years ago from Northern,California

This is just too funny!!!!

profile image

cocoloca

4 years ago

awesome thanks great info

peachpurple profile image

peachy

4 years ago from Home Sweet Home

nice post, i think goofy is a dog, never thought he was a cow at all

profile image

Sergio

4 years ago

Nice!! Good one, thanks.

ryokowaren profile image

ryokowaren

4 years ago from USA

Good job on this article! It was a fun read. :)

profile image

dadofgoofy1fan

4 years ago

Great job on this research. Now i have so much to tell my 2 year old daughter who just happens to be over the moon for goofy. Im sure she will love him no matter what.

profile image

mammabear

4 years a

SteveCarras on February 25, 2019:

He's a type of a freakin' dog. (just like Pluto but with obvious differneces above and we all know where to find the differences..) (I'm nearly 60 and have grown up in Walt the person Disney's era, him hosting that long running TV show-on NBC by the time I was born but initially on ABC-with the characters really ingrained..)

sriki on February 09, 2019:

hahaha this article was a good read

Rene on February 02, 2019:

Cows arent males

Sandra on January 31, 2019:

So how did his son come about???

Iseethruyou on January 31, 2019:

Clearly a social experiment to see if anyone has any critical thinking skills anymore, and if they just swallow what ever they read! And you wonder why there's so much fake news!

Goofy is a dog on January 31, 2019:

He's already admitted the article was satire if you read the comments.

You're an Idiot on January 31, 2019:

Do you have nothing better to do with your time? Group he's always been a dog turn off cuz you're bored is a cow? Go back to Mama's basement.

lakersground on January 30, 2019:

fake news. click bait

Izzy on January 30, 2019:

Goofy is a dog!!!?

Cassandra on January 30, 2019:

Why Max had to die!!?!??

PamilaKD on January 30, 2019:

Goofy is a funny-animal cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog with a Southern drawl, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora

Nana on January 29, 2019:

If Goofy is a cow, why, why would they have originally named him Dippity Dawg. Does "Dawg" mean cow. I thought it was another way of writting the word Dog. Also, why does Goofy have a long snout, whiskers on the tip like a dog and long droppy ears. To me he has always looked like a dog, no resemblance to a cow at all.

Anonymous on January 27, 2019:

Someone posted this article on Facebook and brought me here, just to quell the heated comments the author wrote in the comments 5 years ago that this was a satirical piece of FICTION for an experiment. Don't take this article seriously.

John on January 16, 2019:

This page is one of the first to come up when googling "is goofy a dog". Which is pretty scary really as people i know try to use this to claim goofy is a cow. Which is utterly ridiculous. If anything goofy would be a bull and as such would have horns like a bull. He also wouldn't have dog whiskers, long droopy dog ears, or a dog nose. So conspiracy this is not. Ambiguity there is not. Stop spreading mis-truths.

Kait on December 24, 2018:

Goofy is a dog. Y'all can't tell me nothin' about goofy. How does he have a dogs nose if he's a cow?! Pssh . Passionate about disney over here and I'm not afraid to take somebody down for talking some bs about goofy being a cow

Some Weenie on December 19, 2018:

“Disney often couples characters with the opposite sex of the same species. Mickey and Mini, Donald and Daisy both follow this pattern. So why would the writers at Disney have Goofy and Clarabelle coupled up?”

Disney doesn’t always do same-species couples, so I’m sorry to burst your bubble. Can’t think of one for Mickey’s group of pals? Take Mickey’s half-brother, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He’s, and let me not stress this enough, a rabbit who is married to a cat, Ortensia, and the two have had 420 children together. A cat and a rabbit.

I feel like this alone shows that Disney isn’t afraid to have that sort of character relationships. If they’re willing to have a rabbit-cat relationship, why not the possibility of a dog-cow relationship?