If you follow Internet memes closely, you might be familiar with such characters as Advice Dog, Courage Wolf and Socially Awkward Penguin. Each post is the same: the animal in the centre of a coloured background offering pithy comments about everyday life.

Since September, Saskatoon has had its very own meme character: Saskatoon Dog. The posts follow a familiar setup-joke routine but they are about such local concerns as traffic on 8th Street, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and why all Saskatoon bands seem to feature the same five dudes.

All the posts on the site, saskatoondog.com, are submitted by readers and the site is anonymously curated. We contacted the owners of the site via email to ask about the project.

The Sheaf: Who Are You?

Saskatoon Dog: We are a motley crew of Saskatoon citizens who are looking for some lulz.

Sheaf: How did the site start?

SD: The genesis of the site went something like this: Spontaneous idea at around 2 p.m. on a Sunday, beers to discuss its feasibility at 3 p.m., and it was on the web by 4 p.m. There wasn’t a tremendous amount of thought — it was mostly born out of the idea to have some fun and see where it goes.

Sheaf: Where did the Saskatoon Dog character come from?

SD: The Saskatoon Dog character came about after several intimate minutes searching Google Images for “Saskatchewan Animals.” The animal that we found may or may not be a prairie dog, but the facial expression was the primary reason it was chosen.

Sheaf: Are you university students? U of S students?

SD: Are, were and always will be.

Sheaf: What is the theme of the site? Is it to vent?

SD: Essentially Saskatoon Dog is about highlighting the absurdity of living in a burgeoning prairie metropolis. Saskatoon is a growing city that occupies a unique space in the world, with its own set of eccentricities. It deserves to be examined in all lights. Meme humour is perfect for this city; it’s always fun to see people rally around a common set of local themes, or use it as a platform to raise awareness about certain issues.

Sheaf: How many submissions do you get?

SD: About a baker’s dozen a week. We’re always on the lookout for new submissions about anything in city though, so if you have a zinger feel free to submit it at saskatoondog.com/submit.

Sheaf: What’s your favourite submission?

SD: That’s a tough one. We have had some fantastic submissions in the last while, but a quick rip through the archives reveals these three as standouts:

• Starving children in Africa / Wear watermelon as hat

• I’m not racist / I went to Folkfest

• Big night out at Earl’s / Wear new Lululemon pants

Sheaf: What do you look for in a good Saskatoon Dog post? 

SD: Sometimes a great post is all in the comedic timing, or simply in the way the post is phrased. However, if we were to pick some common denominators that make a post popular it would be things like:

• Fresh & topical.

• Funny.

• Irreverence or absurdity.

• Pointing out contrasts or opposites.

• Things only locals get it. The more “hyperlocal” a post can get the better.

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Graphic: memegenerator.net