Matchbox Twenty Singer Rob Thomas Releasing New 'Guard Dog' Storybook & It's Too Cute

Rob Thomas, from Matchbox Twenty, and his wife Marisol have teamed up with cartoonist Patrick McDonnell to write the introduction for the story of the inspiring character Guard Dog, who was part of the MUTTS comic strip.

The Guard Dog character was first introduced in the MUTTS comic strip in 1995. The dog was originally set to be a villain but in an exclusive with People Magazine McDonnell realized the poor chained up pup was a tragic figure.

In the exclusive with People McDonnell explained, "I always knew someday I'd free him.I'm friendly with a lot of animal organizations and groups and they all encouraged me to keep him on the chain because they thought he had a mission to raise awareness about the sad plight of tethered dogs."

The article goes on to explain that Rob and Marisol Thomas were long term fans of the comic and ," As animal rights advocates and longtime fans of MUTTS, Thomas and Marisol's involvement was a no-brainer to McDonnell.

"Marisol was a Guard Dog fan and one of the readers who really was hoping someday he would go free, although she totally understood his mission to raise awareness," he recalls. "I asked if they would be so generous to maybe write the introduction — and they both agreed."

Both Rob and Marisol Thomas are the founders of Sidewalk Angels, a charity that help support no kill shelters and rescues.

The above post reads in part, "With introductions by @sidewalkangels founders Marisol Thomas and @robthomas, real-life rescue stories from readers, and resources to help combat the practice of tethering, this book offers hope to tackle the real-life animal neglect issues that affect millions of chained dogs worldwide.Timed for release on September 3, the book is now available for preorder at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, MUTTS.com, and other online retailers!"

About Sidewalk Angels

In 2020. Thomas spoke to People magazine about his own rescue pups and The Sidewalk Angels, "But then they both turned out to have special needs," he adds. "They both turned out to require medications multiple times a day, and eye drops, and eye visits, and they have cancer, and epilepsy, and heart disease. I'm really glad that we were the ones that found them because we love them and we don't mind taking care of them and we have the resources to be able to do that, which a lot of people don't. It goes back to the need for places like Humane Society and for Sidewalk Angels to try and bridge those gaps between what you can and cannot do to help the ones that you love."

What a wonderful charity and what a wonderful couple. If you'd like to order The Guard Dog story you can do so here.