Did you know Betty Boop started out as a dog?

If there's one character a lot of us remember from childhood, it's Betty Boop. Whether it's her laugh, her appearances in other cartoons, or her look, Betty Boop is an icon.

The one thing you might not realize is that Betty almost wasn't a person. If you couldn't tell by the title, Betty Boop began as a dog. If you're ready to fact check me, I don't blame you as I would be too since she's clearly human.

According to the Betty Boop website though, this is true: "Betty was created as the love interest for one of Fleischer’s popular animated characters, Bimbo, a dog, who was the star of his own Talkartoon series. Betty’s first film appearance in “Dizzy Dishes” (8/9/30) was brief, and appropriately… she looked a little bit like a dog! She was unnamed, had jowls, big teeth, and dog ears. Still, anyone would recognize the Betty we know today." As mentioned, Betty has such an iconic look that she'd be recognizable anywhere.

It's kind of hard to believe that such an iconic character started off with some canine ambitions as Betty Boop would eventually go on to have her own dog.

Betty Boop eventually got her own dog!

Moving onto the other FAQ shared on the Betty Boop website, someone asked what Betty's dog's name is and the answer is Pudgy. Sadly, the pup’s last appearance was in 1939 yet we still wanted to share it as that's such a fun fact. Pudgy is the cutest little pup and the ultimate companion to Betty Boop if you've watched any of her old clips.

Betty Boop wasn't the only cartoon featuring a pup sidekick, though. Boop was created by Fleischer Studios and if you head to their website, you can see some of the history. What I found most interesting was that there was a whole section dedicated to dogs. For those who don't know, this studio was behind Betty Boop and Koko the Clown. They also animated Popeye and Superman which would go on to be huge successes.

While Pudgy was the studio's most popular dog, you might also recognize Bimbo as he made appearances on Betty Boop as well. Bimbo was actually the name of the Fleischer's dog which is such a cool touch and something that proves some dogs can live forever. All in all, these facts were too fun not to share with my fellow dog and animation lovers.