Service Animal Blues
October 10th, 2023 Barry Posted in Ableism, Nadine Scholtes collaborations | No Comments »
This cartoon is drawn by the wonderful Nadine Scholtes!
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels.
PANEL 1
We’re looking at three characters on a train.
The first character is a attractive man in his 20s or 30s, wearing jeans and a button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves. There’s a suitcase on the floor next to him.
He’s smiling and leaning down to talk to the second character, a very handsome dog – specifically, a black and white bi-colored Australian Shepherd. The dog is wearing a red harness which includes a sign on the front saying “service dog.” The dog is looking straight ahead with a serious expression.
The third character is the dog’s human, sitting (we know she belongs to the dog because she’s got the loop of the dog’s leash around one wrist). She’s dressed in desaturated red pants with a short of puffy fringe on the cuffs, a pink front-button blouse, and is holding a purse in her lap. Most importantly, she’s asleep; her head is leaning against a wall, and she’s drooling a bit.
MAN: Aww, who’s a good dog?
DOG (thought): Dude! C’mon! I’m at work!
PANEL 2
A close-up of the dog, who is leaning its head to one side, away from the man’s hand. The dog has an annoyed expression.
DOG (thought): I’ve got responsibilities here. Don’t distract me!
DOG (thought): Do I come up and pat your head at your job?
PANEL 3
The man’s hand is now firmly petting the dog on the top of its head. The dog closes its eyes and endures.
DOG (thought): You’re lucky I’m a professional, or I’d so growl at you right now.
DOG (thought): But I will be writing a very sternly worded letter to the editor!
PANEL 4
The setting has switched to a newspaper office. Two people – a 30 or 40ish bald man struggling to hold a bunch of papers, and a 50 or 60sh woman in a brown business outfit – are standing in front of an partly open door with a sign that says “editor.” The woman is holding a letter open in front of her, with the torn-open envelope in the same hand, and is looking at it with bewilderment.
MAN: What’s that?
WOMAN: It’s… A piece of paper covered in paw prints?
