Did you ever get your McGruff the Crime Dog Mask

In the 1980s, McGruff the Crime Dog was a force to be reckoned with. He made appearances in countless PSAs and if you were in school during this period you were probably shown videos featuring this tough-talking dog or if you were very lucky had McGruff make an appearance. He never made an in-person appearance in my schools, but I was a big fan.

Big enough that when this PSA hit the airwaves toward the later part of the decade, I sent away for the mask. Then I waited. Sadly, it never arrived, and I eventually ran out of enthusiasm for the mask (even though I loved running home to check the mail for free stuff). I can only assume that my mask was stolen in an ironic twist and that some mail thief’s kid received it and wore it around the house mockingly.

Although perhaps I was just late to the game and was a victim of the fine print, which naturally I did not see until over 25 years later… “Quantities May Be Limited”

Oh, well. Reading up on McGruff a little, I got a real kick out of some of the top names that were submitted when they had a “name this character” contest.

The most common entry was “Sherlock Bones.” Other entries included “J. Edgar Dog,” “Sarg-dog,” and “Keystone cop Dog.” The winner, McGruff the Crime Dog, was submitted by a New Orleans police officer. Officer McGruff’s full name is Fred McGruff. In some of McGruff’s advertisements, he appears with his nephew Scruff McGruff.

While I really like the name McGruff, “Sherlock Bones” is probably the greatest name I have ever heard and will most likely be the name of whatever dog/child I get in the future.