Gilligan is also the writer for the comic Poptropica, which debuted on June 9, 2014,[1][2] ended its run on November 11, 2015,[3] and is based on the video game of the same name.
Other semi-recurring characters are Tito (the garbage man), Sheldon (a pigeon with a pork pie hat), and Margo (the dog-walker).
The strip takes its name from the cafe where Poncho and his friends gather to compare notes (and complain) about life among the humans.
Poncho also holds a grudge against Carmen for coming between the sacred master/dog relationship he shares with Chazz and for forcing them to live with cats.
The broad themes of the strip deal with Poncho's misadventures, his unique views on cats, and his relationships and interactions with other characters in his society.
Main Characters: Minor Characters Some recurring themes in the strip include: Poncho's dislike of cats; the giant cat-catapult the dogs are trying to build to hurl all the Earth's cats into the Sun; his fear of the squirrels in the backyard; his weakness for the use of Havarti cheese as a bargaining tool; his longing to taste Zebra; his infatuation with Jackie Chan; Carmen's not-so-secret crush on Justin Timberlake; Chazz's embarrassment of having to hold an umbrella over Poncho while he does his business in rainy weather; his timid skunk friend "Stinky" who goes off with very little provocation; his attempts to please and improve the life of his friend Fish by taking him for walks or setting him up with on-line dates; his attempts to incur a positive karmic balance by helping the personality-impaired pigeon Sheldon; his emotional connection to his Plank Of Wood, a remnant from the porch he was born under many years ago; various body parts that resemble urges: such as the stomach for hunger or the brain for cleverness; Poncho's hatred of the mailman and medication for motion sickness; Poncho's loud and near-continuous shouts about needing his WALKIES!
Paul Gilligan self-published a fourth book in September 2011 called Poncho: Year One - a puppy's life.
[19][20] In April 2013, on a Twitter Q/A session, Gilligan responded to a question whether there will be a Pooch Cafe film: "Alas, Poncho's movie plans got scuttled by a certain director who I won't bother naming..."[21][22]