Dog Names Ending in f

Although McGruff is not a real dog, he is a powerful pup with an important message. He debuted in 1980 all over the radio, billboards, newspapers, and television from the Ad Council and the National Crime Prevention Council. Approximately 1500 police agencies also use McGruff costumes as part of their children’s outreach programs to help kids learn about crime prevention. The very first McGruff campaign included three television commercials as well as several radio advertisements along with posters and billboards in schools, libraries, supermarkets, malls, and in many other places. This first commercial “Stop a Crime,” aired in February of 1980 and featured McGruff the Crime Dog, who was voiced by Jack Keil, entering an unlocked house while giving the viewers tips on how to prevent crimes from happening to them. 

Jack Keil, who was a longtime ad executive with the Dancer Fitzgerald Sample Advertising Agency, created McGruff the Crime Dog by envisioning the pooch as a father or uncle figure to the children who was tough but lovable. Keil said that he got his inspiration from the 1970s detective show Columbo, who was played by Peter Falk. The endearing detective also wore a long trench coat like McGruff, and the dog even talked like Columbo with that “ruff” voice. Although they faced quite a bit of controversy over the government spending millions of dollars on a talking dog to fight crime, McGruff was very successful and reached over 50% of the adults in the United States in the first year. According to the FBI, violent crime decreased by 50% and property crime fell 48% between the years 1993 and 2015. 

His famous slogan “Take a bite out of crime” is known all over the world and there have even been cartoons featuring McGruff and a program called the McGruff House. The McGruff House was a program that had temporary safe houses for children in emergencies. It was started in 1982 in response to an abduction and murder of five children in Utah. Similar to the old “Block Houses,” McGruff Houses were homes and apartments whose owners were given a background checks before placing a sign in their window that says McGruff House. This lets children know that they could go to these homes at any time if they needed help. 

In addition to the McGruff Houses, in 1986, McGruff Trucks were designated as rolling McGruff Houses. This program vetted the companies, which were mainly utility companies, who volunteered to be mobile help stations for any child who felt like they needed help. These programs were discontinued in 2012 when budget cuts made it impossible for the upkeep of such services. However, McGruff is still seen on posters, television commercials, and in police and fire departments all over the United States.