Dennis The Menace (UK Comics) - Characters - Pets

Pets

Gnasher is a black dog (an "Abyssinian wire-haired tripehound") who first appeared in issue 1363, dated 31 August 1968. He has extremely strong teeth that can leave teethmarks in seemingly anything, and enjoys chasing postmen. His name comes from the British slang for teeth (gnashers), which in turn comes from the French ganache meaning "jowl", a word also used in chocolate manufacture.

Since 1986, Gnasher has had a son, Gnipper, who appears with him in the separate strip (Gnasher and Gnipper). Gnipper is not owned by Dennis the Menace. He first appeared in issue 2286, dated 10 May 1986 after a story arc in which Gnasher went missing, this story arc was reprinted in the Dennis the Menace Annual 1990 as a 16-page story entitled Who's Gnicked Gnasher. Gnipper's name is a pun since 'to nip' something means to give something a small bite, while 'nipper' is a slang term for a young child. Gnasher also has several daughters: Gnatasha, Gnaomi, Gnanette, Gnorah and Gnancy, although these are rarely seen. Gnatasha had her own strip in The Beezer and Topper, and appeared in the Beezer Book 1994. Gnasher also used to have another strip, Gnasher's Tale, which began in 1977 and continued for nine years until the title was changed to Gnasher and Gnipper following Gnipper's introduction.

Rasher is a pig, first seen in issue 1920, dated 5 May 1979. He loves to eat swill and was rescued by Dennis. Rasher also has children: Oink, Snort, Grunt, Squeal, and Squeak. He used to have his own strip called Rasher, which started in 1984 and appeared regularly for four years before making sporadic appearances until 1995. He was believed to have been dropped after the strip was revamped in 2009, but he made a surprise return to the strip in 2011.

Dennis has been seen with his pet spider called Dasher (named "Sidney" in the animated series). He first appeared in about 1987, as a tool to scare Softy Walter, and was the mascot of the Beano website when it launched in 1997. Originally, the spider was all black, but when it reappeared in 1997, it was red and black, matching Dennis's jersey. He reappeared in the 2011 Halloween issue.