“A goofy layabout with a love for jokes, Barnaby B. Beagle is Welcome Home’s funniest neighbor. Always ready with a joke on hand or even just a silly observation, this big blue beagle always knows how to have fun, much to the dismay of some of Home’s grumpier residents.”
Barnaby B. Beagle was the resident jokester who left his life on the farm to move to Home, of which he joked as being “The Big City.” Illustrated books noted he was an orphaned puppy that was adopted by ‘The Chicken that Crossed the Road,’ (comedically named Miss Beagle) which proved as motivation for him to be a comedian. Similar sources, such as Barnaby’s Joke Kit in “The Welcome Home Wishbook,” noted Barnaby being able to perform a gaggle of tricks, such as juggling, balancing on a ball, and steadying large objects on the tip of his nose. Barnaby appears to be boisterous, hilarious, loyal, and lackadaisical.
Barnaby was often showcased with Wally, making him the second most present character within the franchise. A plethora of different pieces of media noted that Wally and Barnaby were best friends multiple times. (Examples included skits in which Wally would typically paint Barnaby in silly poses, or where Wally needed to learn something new.) They also shared similar characteristics, like hearts on the soles of their shoes and paws, of which only Barnaby had the latter.
When not present with Wally, many of Barnaby's segments were akin to stand-up, often being met with booing, clapping, or having things thrown at him by his fellow neighbors. Barnaby’s middle initial was often rotated in terms of what it stood for. Old scripts cited that he had claimed it stood for blue, bark, bite, and buddy. It is assumed these are all incorrect. Within commercials and illustrated material, Barnaby is depicted with a tobacco pipe, an item that was once available to purchase in older advertising. It is assumed Barnaby’s puppet was rotated between a live-hand puppet and a walk-around puppet, typically to keep him in frame with his much shorter neighbors and requiring two puppeteers.
