Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf remain Looney Tunes favorites, 65 years after they first debuted in Don’t Give Up the Sheep. The characters created by Chuck Jones start the day by punching into the same time-clock at a sheep pasture. Ralph’s job is to abduct the sheep (which he inevitably fails to do), and Sam foils Ralph’s attempts, usually with a single punch once he catches him. At the end of their shift, they punch out, chit chat pleasantly, then leave, presumably to come back the next day and do it all again.
Most of us have probably never noticed that Ralph is the doppelganger to another Looney Tunes favorite, Wile E. Coyote. There are, however, subtle differences between the two: Ralph has a red nose instead of Wille’s black one, Ralph’s eyes are usually white instead of Wile’s yellow; and, occasionally, Ralph has a fang protruding from his mouth. He does, however, share Wile’s persistent use of ACME products.
How many of us know that Sam is a purebred dog? According to Big Cartoon database, Sam is a Berger De Brie, or Briard.
The irony here is that white is the one color not allowed per the Briard standard.
Chuckle – lots of ironies when cartoonists and film makers work with different breeds….