Barkley's owner

[MartyMuppets]

Can any of you tell me which character was supposed to be the original owner of the big white and orange dog named Barkley?

 

[mikebennidict]

there wasn't any.

 

[MartyMuppets]

So Barkley just sort of appeared with no official explanation then I take it?

 

[mikebennidict]

I kind of remember the first time he appeared. either Gordon or Bob playing with the kids and all of a sudden they see this large dog. That's all I can remember.

 

[MartyMuppets]

Thank you Mikebennidict. Can anybody else out there remember seeing this more clearly?

 

[ISNorden]

I remember the episode in which Woof-Woof (Barkley's original name) appeared: Gordon and the kids meet a stray on the street, with no ID except a damaged name tag ("I see a 'W' here, but the rest is worn off...") Gordon, Oscar the Grouch, and some other characters made vain attempts to guess the dog's name. Eventually, Maria (at least I think it was her) called "Here, Woof-Woof"; the dog charged at her, barking loudly.

Barkley got his new name in a later episode; I remember only that several characters argued about whether to change it. (Does anybody else know more about the story?)

As far as an original owner, Mike is right; Woof-Woof/Barkley seems to be everybody's dog until Linda adopts him permanently. If I missed any other owners in-between, I'd like to know...

 

[Gonzo14]

Didn't Barkley go with Big Bird to China in Big Bird in China?

 

[Dantecat]

Yes he did.

 

[MartyMuppets]

Thank you for telling me about this my friends. It's very interesting. I do vaguely recall the naming of him where some wanted his first name (I couldn't remember) and others liked Barkely.
In the end he cast the winning vote by going to the group who were calling "Here Barkley"

 

[MuppetDude]

He was originally owned by everybody, but eventually he became Linda's dog.