Beano Studios teams up with animal charity Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in bespoke comic strip
Fans can help find Gnasher on Beano.com
One of Beano’s most loved and cheeky characters, Gnasher, disappears in the latest issue of the iconic British comic.
The bespoke storyline which runs across two issues from August 29th to September 5th, has been created to announce the new partnership between Beano Studios and animal welfare charity Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
The unique collaboration was created following new insights from Beano Studios’ consulting team of ‘Trendspotters’. The group of 9-12 year olds who share the latest crazes, trends and opinions from the playground, have continually highlighted in the 350+ hours of research that animal care and responsible pet ownership are important issues to kid’s today.
The comic reveals an offer in the Beanotown newspaper of free sausages for every dog that goes to their local vet to get microchipped. Gnasher already microchipped, is intent on destroying the adverts and goes on the run in a bid to keep the meaty treats to himself, leading Dennis on a mission to find his missing best friend.
Fans are invited to take part in the search for Gnasher on Beano.com, which features exclusive content to help solve the mystery with Dennis and his friends as to where Gnasher is. This includes an interactive game to ‘Crack the Code’ with one lucky winner receiving a Nintendo Switch.
Eager to be reunited, Dennis has designed posters appealing for the return of the infamous Abyssinian Wire-Haired Tripe Hound, which were spotted this week by dog walkers and passers-by in Battersea Park, London. The posters are also available to download from Beano.com for readers to help Dennis in his ongoing search.
The storyline aims to raise awareness of the need to microchip pets. In 2017, nearly a fifth (18%) of dogs arriving at Battersea were not microchipped, making it difficult to reunite them with their owner.
Mike Stirling, Editorial Director at Beano Studios said: “As one of the nation’s most loved dogs, I’d like to issue a plea for people across the country to help us find Gnasher. Whilst it appears that Gnasher may have a dastardly plan to scoff all of the sausages, we’d like to get him back safely to his partner-in-crime, Dennis. Thankfully, we had Gnasher microchipped following his last disappearing act and we are hugely grateful to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home for keeping a watchful eye out for our mischievous hound!”
Ali Taylor, Head of Canine Behaviour & Training, at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home said: “Luckily Gnasher is microchipped so when we track him down we should be able to reunite him with Dennis. However, many dogs arriving at our centre as strays, are not so fortunate.
Microchips are key in identifying stray dogs and locating their owner. We have our suspicions that we’ll be seeing Gnasher soon, but until then, we hope Beano fans will help join Dennis in his efforts to find him”
“Gnasher Goes Missing: Part One” comic strip can be seen in this week’s Beano and is available to buy on Wednesday 29th August 2018.
The comic strip will conclude in the following issue and will be available to buy on Wednesday 5th September 2018.
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For more information, please contact: Georgina Vincent gv@taylorherring.com / 0208 206 5151
Notes to Editors:
About Beano Studios
Beano Studios creates hilarious, rebellious entertainment worldwide. The Studio produces diverse entertainment across multiple destinations; including TV, digital content, theatrical projects, consumer products, collaborations, the legendary comic and annual.
2017 saw the launch of Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed on CBBC and internationally, the launch and rapid growth of an award-winning digital network centred around beano.com as well as continued growth for the comic.
Keep up to date with Beano:
Twitter: @BeanoOfficial
Instagram: @Beano_Official
Facebook: @BeanoOfficial
About Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Battersea is here for every dog and cat, and has been since 1860. Since it was founded over 150 years ago, Battersea has rescued, reunited and rehomed over 3.1 million dogs and cats.
We believe that every dog and cat deserves the best. That’s why we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need.
Battersea’s Lost Dogs & Cats Line has been running for 20 years and helped reunite over 1000 lost dogs and cats in 2017. This free service for pet owners is funded with generous support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
For further information on Battersea, please visit www.battersea.org.uk. Follow Battersea on Twitter @battersea_ or facebook.com/Battersea