Republidogs and Democats is a political comic created by an American family of six.

We aim to explore American politics, current events and life through the fun—and hopefully unifying—perspective of anthropomorphic and neighborly cats and dogs living in an alternate reality version of the United States. It combines a central cast of fictional characters with non-literal depictions of politicians and other public figures from the real world. The core set of fictional characters are a cat family and a dog family that live next door to each other in a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Let’s introduce you to them and show you some of the original concept art by our then 11-year-old artist…

The Pawlucks

Clover and Jasper Pawluck married young after meeting on a cruise with mutual friends in Mexico. They were together for 12 years before recently divorcing. They had two children together, Catsby and Kit, and are doing their best to cordially and cooperatively co-parent their boys.

clover Pawluck

Age: 33

Three words that describe Clover: connective, passionate, inspiring

Education: BA in Political Science from Reed College. Washington D.C. Teacher credential.

Professional Experience: Beloved high school political science teacher

Likes: Being busy, volunteering, teaching kids, reading, traveling, fairness

Dislikes: close-mindedness, watching TV

Catsby Pawluck

Age: 11

Three words that describe Catsby: friendly, cool, sporty

School: 6th grader

Hobbies: yarnball, skateboarding, electric guitar, making videos with friends

Likes: watching movies, fitting in, sleeping in, positive feedback,

Dislikes: change

Kit Pawluck (nickname: “Kit Cat”)

Age: 7

Three words that describe Kit Cat: creative, carefree, playful

School: 2nd grader

Hobbies: playing anything, building things with tools, engineering toys

Likes: pop, popcorn and popsicles ideally at the same time

Dislikes: nothing

Jasper Pawluck

Age: 35

Three words that describe Jasper: dynamic, sporadic, charming

Education: BS in Public Relations from the University of Texas

Professional Experience: currently works as a lobbyist for green energy companies. Has worked for several political campaigns.

Likes: anything with wheels (cycling, fast cars, motorcycles, etc.), golf, nice things, playing with his boys

Dislikes: wasting time

The Shepherds

Roscoe and Winnie Shepherd met while going to college in Chicago. They got married and settled down first in Missouri where they had three children: Trixie, Sassy and Nico. After 15 wonderful years in “Jeff City”, Missouri, they moved to Washington, D.C. where they live today.

winnie Shepherd

Age: 42

Three words that describe Winnie: polished, sharp, caring

Education: Masters in Public Policy (summa cum laude) and BA in History both from the University of Chicago.

Professional Experience: After working for several years on the staff of the Missouri Governor’s Mansion, Winnie received a job offer to join the usher staff of the White House helping and supporting the President and first family.

Likes: Gardening. Rubbing shoulders with interesting people.

Dislikes: Being late. Disrespectfulness. Bad grammar.

Roscoe Shepherd

Age: 38

Three words that describe Roscoe: Hospitable, charismatic, warm

Education: B.A. in Culinary Arts from Kendall College and a Masters of Divinity from the University of Chicago

Professional Experience: 12 years as a Christian Pastor primarily in a church he founded in Jefferson City. The church thrived for many years before a decline that became permanent when he had to close the church during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teenage founder of “Roscoe’s Tacos” food truck.

Likes: A good joke. A good meal. All people.

Dislikes: Fast food. Anyone being hungry.

Trixie Shepherd

Age: 14

Three words that describe Trixie: mature, introspective, nurturing

School: 9th grader, first year of high school

Hobbies: board games (especially Chess), recycling advocacy, swimming

Likes: Saving planet earth, ice cream, babysitting, reading biographies

Dislikes: Sticking out in a crowd, bullying

Sassy Shepherd

Age: 11

Three words that describe Sassy: ambitious, precocious, patriotic

School: 6th grader

Hobbies: Reading the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times every day. Filling notebooks with BIG ideas

Likes: Politics, debate, talking with people older than her, museums

Dislikes: laziness, vegetables

Nico Shepherd (nickname: “Snickers”)