Patrick McDonnell is a New York Times best-selling author and the recipient of multiple awards from the National Cartoonists Society for Oustanding Cartoonist of the Year and Newspaper Strip of the Year. A dedicated animal advocate and Genesis Award recipient, McDonnell regularly lends his talents to animal-protection groups and issues, including The Humane Society of the United States, where he serves on the national board of directors. McDonnell is also on the board of directors of the Charles M. Schulz Museum. He resides in New Jersey.

Patrick McDonnell has enjoyed an illustration and design career that stretches for decades. He's best known, however for Mutts, his widely read strip for which he earned the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year in 1999. Patrick regularly lends his talents to animal protection groups and issues, including the Humane Society of the United States and the state of New Jersey, which put Mutts characters on license plates to raise funds for low-cost spaying and neutering programs. Muttscomics.com, the strip's official Web site, has experienced great popularity since its launch in 2003.