Dog Man: Mothering Heights

Petey is a striped cat. His father is Grampa, a villain and a criminal, and his son is Li’l Petey, a silly and loving kitten. Petey is a dynamic character who evolves throughout the series more broadly, as well as evolving within Dog Man: Mothering Heights. Petey is a reformed villain. Through Petey, Dav Pilkey explores The Power of Love, as Petey was pulled back into a life of crime when his community only showed him hatred and refused to support his rehabilitation: “Everywhere I went, people just saw the bad in me” (123). On the other hand, Petey channels his memory of his mother’s unconditional love when he becomes a father to Li’l Petey and decides to turn away from his life as an evil criminal.

Petey’s redemption in the series more broadly is echoed in a smaller way in this work; Petey is irritable and angry with Li’l Petey’s frustrating, childlike antics at the beginning of the story, as is illustrated when he yells at Li’l Petey and Molly numerous times: “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO???” (114). At the novel’s conclusion, though, illustrations depict Petey holding Li’l Petey gently and lovingly and playing the