Snoopy

Snoopy is a Peanuts character created by Charles M. Schulz. He first appeared in the comic strip on October 4, 1950, two days after Peanuts debuted, and quickly became the most popular character in the franchise.

Snoopy is Charlie Brown's pet beagle, though he rarely behaves like a typical dog. He sleeps on top of his doghouse rather than inside it, has a rich fantasy life in which he adopts elaborate personas (most famously a World War I flying ace battling the Red Baron), and considers himself far more sophisticated than his round-headed owner. His thoughts are conveyed to readers through thought balloons, as he never speaks aloud.

Snoopy's popularity eventually rivaled and sometimes overshadowed Charlie Brown himself. His image has been used on everything from MetLife insurance branding to NASA mission patches (the Apollo 10 lunar module was named Snoopy). He appears in virtually every Peanuts animated special and is one of the most merchandised fictional characters in history.