Poochie? That you?

Who ever knew that Poochie had a gig hawking Ball Park Franks before his oh so brief stint on The Simpsons?

For those out there uninitiated, Poochie was Homer’s brainchild to help shore up The Itchy & Scratchy Show‘s faltering ratings, in a meta commentary on dying series introducing hip youngsters in a vain attempt to draw eyeballs. This ad is from 1991, and the ill-fated Poochie made his Simpsons debut in 1997, so this isn’t Ball Park trying to steal a bit of his glow — if there was such a thing. Nor is it what he was up to after he “died on the way back to his home planet.” But, slightly lighter coloring aside, that’s unmistakably our insufferable, rapping canine. The sunglasses. The skateboard. The ballcap. The insouciant demeanor. Hell, even the fanny pack fits right in with his trademark douchebaggery. Poochie Begins. Dawn of Poochie.

So fire up your time machine and go back to get your Ball Park Franks tchotchkes. As Poochie would say: “Catch you on the flip side, dudemesters! Not!“