It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Dog Names

The 2005 sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is known for its black comedy theme and characters that have strong, distinct personalities. The premise of the series focuses on The Gang, a group of five eccentric friends who all have a hand in the operations of Paddy’s Pub, a dilapidated Irish bar. One of the members of The Gang, and a primary character in the show, is Ronald MacDonald, or simply known as Mac. He is childhood friends with Charlie Kelly, another member of The Gang. He is also a high school friend of Dennis Reynolds, who becomes his roommate later on.

Mac is one of the co-owners of Paddy’s and likes to refer to himself as the “Sheriff of Paddy’s”. He is also the most active owner of the bar and essentially manages it. One of the common scenes in the series involves Mac walking into the bar and announcing “I have some news” or something to that effect, which typically sets the tone for the episode’s plot. He also has a signature “puppy-dog look” that he makes whenever he feels ashamed or says something embarrassing.

For the series’ first six seasons, the full name of Mac was kept a secret as a running joke. However, in the episode The High School Reunion from season seven, his real name was revealed to be Ronald MacDonald but he does not use it because of its similarity with the spokesman from the McDonald’s fast food chain. He frequently asserts in the series that he prefers to be called just “Mac”.

During the series’ run, bits and pieces of Mac’s family life are often revealed. One of the constants in Mac’s life is the MacDonald family dog, named Poppins. His breed is unclear and not much is known about the pooch. However, it is implied that he is “invincible” since he is more than 20 years old in dog years. Furthermore, Poppins almost always leaves the Mac household and disappears for months at a time but always finds his way home.

Poppins does not always appear in episodes, although he is frequently mentioned in a few. His most prominent appearance is in the sixth season’s sixth episode, entitled Mac’s Mom Burns Her House Down. In this episode, Charlie shows up with Poppins, originally owned by Mac’s mom. Poppins continues to appear as the episode goes on. In one scene, Frank discovers a cold Poppins, who is presumed dead after drinking Dee’s juice. Frank and Dennis thought he was dead and decide to dispose of the dog’s corpse. However, Mac looks for Poppins’ body in the trash and finds him to be alive and well.