Disney's voice actor for the endearing character Goofy has clarified that, contrary to common belief, Goofy is not a dog.

Originally debuting in 1932 as 'Dippy Dawg' and renowned as one of Mickey Mouse's closest companions, Goofy is distinguished by his unique attire: a turtleneck, a vest, white gloves, and a hat. Throughout his nearly century-long presence, most have assumed Goofy to be canine.

However, this perception has been challenged by an authority on the character.

There was once speculation that Goofy might be a cow, linked to his occasional romantic involvement with Clarabelle Cow, who shares a similar build. But this theory has been debunked. As Snopes points out, many iconic cartoon duos, such as Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, are from different species.

Bill Farmer, the voice behind Goofy since 1987, addressed this topic in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment. Confronted with the question of whether Goofy is a dog, his immediate response was: "He is not a dog."

Farmer differentiates between Goofy and Pluto, Mickey's pet, who is a dog and lacks Goofy's human-like characteristics. He elaborates, "Pluto is a dog, but Goofy seems to be in the canine family in the same way that a wolf is not a dog, but they also are in the canine family. I think Canis Goofus is the technical Latin term for what Goofy is. He's just Goofy."

In his conversation with Yahoo Entertainment, Bill Farmer shared that Goofy was his childhood favorite and how his love for Disney influenced his career path.

Famer recalls, "I grew up doing voices. And I loved cartoons. I always practised the voices and became a stand-up comic impressionist for about five years before moving to L.A."

Initially, he auditioned for the role of Mickey Mouse at Disney, a character he felt he performed quite well. "I can't do Donald Duck very well. But Goofy was right in the wheelhouse. They liked that one, and since 1987 I've been the official voice," he says.

Farmer's significant role as Goofy began with the TV special 'Doggone Valentine'. However, it was on 'Goof Troop' that he truly made the character his own, portraying Goofy as a clumsy but lovable single father to his son, Max.

'Goof Troop' was so popular that it led to the 1995 spin-off film 'A Goofy Movie', where Farmer showcased his singing skills in the songs 'On the Open Road' and 'Nobody Else but You'.

Discussing the film with Yahoo, Farmer mentioned that his son was five when he started voicing Goofy for the movie, and he drew from his personal experiences as a father.

He notes how people still approach him about the relatable father-son dynamic between Goofy and Max. "So many people have told me that they didn't get along with my dad, but could understand their dad because of the way Max understood Goofy. They don't have to see eye to eye all the time, but they still love each other. I'm really grateful that people have kept it as one of their favorites and it still is after all this time."

He felt that this role offered a deeper, more heartfelt glimpse into Goofy's character than ever before.

Addressing another popular mystery about Max's mother, Farmer quips, "We don't know who [Max's] mother was. I have my own theories: I think Goofy was married to Jessica Rabbit before Roger."