Don’t Worry, Cartoon Dogs Still Have a Job, Kayleigh

I sadly know perhaps more than I’d wish about Paw Patrol. I have younger family and when we go on vacations, I’m forced into watching random cartoons. It’s like this is my comeuppance for making my entire family watch Moulin Rouge every single vacation since the time I was 10. And, luckily for the children in my family, I’m still going to continue to be punished for my childhood viewing ways, because Paw Patrol is very much still a show on Nickelodeon.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany went on a bit of a tangent about cancel culture (not a real thing) and pointed out that shows about cops are being canceled as a result of the “defund the police” movement. First, the shows that were canceled were shows following actual police doing actual things. Brooklyn 99 is still around, but more importantly, McEnany said that Paw Patrol was canceled. It was not.

Imagine, if you will, hearing the word “paw” and then the word “patrol” and thinking to yourself “yes, this show about cops.” Granted, I did know there is a police dog on said cartoon, but as far as I was aware, the show was just about a bunch of rescue dogs going on missions. This was what I’d gleaned from prior sort-of-viewings. It’s not centered around police dogs, and it’s not canceled.

To check my own ideas about the show, I FaceTimed with my 2 (almost 3) year-old cousin to ask him some questions.

Rachel Leishman: Ollie, is Paw Patrol about puppy police?

Sir Oliver: No. There a cop dog.

Rachel Leishman: Is there also a firefighter dog?

Sir Oliver: Okay (his way of saying yes)

Rachel Leishman: Is it still on the TV?

Sir Oliver: Okay.

So, in a brief interview with an actual two-year-old, I discovered that Paw Patrol is a) still on and b) does not focus on the police. If I could quickly interview a two-year-old, I would hope that the press secretary for the President of the United States could also quickly Google facts about a children’s television show she’s referencing. But alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In fact, one Twitter user very quickly explained the truth about Paw Patrol!

So, I’m sorry but the White House should talk to my two-year-old cousin about Paw Patrol (he also talked about his monster trucks and said it was thundering outside, which it is, so he’s a good source). I know this isn’t really funny at all and is actually terrifying—because the White House press secretary is openly lying about children’s television (amongst many other things) to stoke culture wars and people are taking it as fact. Yet I still can’t stop laughing over the fact that they’re lying about Paw Patrol.

Anyway, the actual Paw Patrol account fact-checked the White House.

(image: Nickelodeon)

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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