Character Descriptions
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Martha is the star of the show. She is outspoken, honest, loyal, kind, and very talkative! Although she is bilingual (speaking human and dog), she sees the world from a dog's point of view. She can also translate what most other animals are saying.
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Helen is Martha's 10–year–old companion and principal caregiver. Helen is quiet, but not a pushover. She's willing to try all sorts of things, especially with her friends, but when it comes to throwing herself into public situations, she's hesitant. She loves to draw and is a keen observer of people. Helen's last name is Lorraine.
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Skits is the other canine member of the Lorraine family. He's a goofy, overgrown puppy, and the adopted younger brother and sidekick of Martha. Eager and active, Skits looks up to Martha and always wants to help her out.
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Helen's Mom (Mariella) works part–time in a garden shop. She's busy and responsible and involved in the community. She's Latina and bilingual. Her brother Jorge lives in the same town with his daughter Carolina.
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Helen's Dad (Daniel or Danny) works as a bus driver. He's honest, warm, and helpful, though still capable of doing embarrassing parental things. He acts in community theater and likes to sing around the house.
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Baby Jake is Helen's little brother. He's a few months shy of 2. He loves Martha, and Martha loves trying to teach Jake to speak. When Mom is working, Jake stays at the home day care center run by Truman's mom.
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Lucille (Dad's Mom) is still trying to adjust to having a talking dog in the family. In her day, dogs didn't speak. However, anything that her granddaughter thinks is great, she thinks is great, too.
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Bernie (Dad's Dad) is a funny guy who thinks Martha is tops. He's Martha's great supporter behind the scenes and helps smooth over misunderstandings between Martha and Lucille.
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Carolina is Helen's cousin, the daughter of Mom's brother Jorge. She's a year older than Helen. Unlike Helen, she's very confident and more socially adept. She likes to point out how much older and more together she is than Helen.
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T.D. is Helen's best human friend. He tends to follow his passions. He's outgoing and friendly, willing to try most things. Whatever T.D. is involved in, he gives it 110%.
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O.G. is T.D.'s dad. He's a repairman in Granny Flo's factory. He's kind and a little dreamy. He makes inventions in his spare time. From time to time, Martha enlists O.G. (and T.D.) in her schemes.
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T.D.'s Mom (Janice) is the vice principal at T.D.'s school. But her full time job is making sure T.D. and her husband O.G. don't let their wild inventions and ideas get too out of control. Especially if it involves adding more clutter to their house.
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Uncle C.K. is T.D.'s uncle. He lives on a farm and loves when T.D. and his friends visit. Even though Martha had a little trouble learning the ropes, C.K. thinks she makes a great farm dog!
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C.D. is T.D.'s younger cousin. Like any four-year-old, he can be shy and even a little out of control at times. He really looks up to T.D. and is a huge doggie lover.
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Alice (Boxwood) is Helen's best female friend. She's fun and energetic, and although she's a really good athlete, she's also something of a klutz. She approaches life with enormous enthusiasm, and she secretly nurses the desire to be a ballet dancer.
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Ronald (Alice's brother) is in high school and is the thorn in Alice's side. He is sarcastic and a "know-it-all". He is extremely protective of his cat Nelson and his parrot. Ronald likes computers and gadgets, but his favorite activity is anything that involves annoying his sister and her friends.
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Mr. and Mrs. Boxwood are Alice and Ronald's parents. They are a wealthier family and they always have the latest and greatest when it comes to technology. They host fun themed parties and a haunted house at Halloween. They are also very active in Wagstaff City's community theater.
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Nelson is Ronald's cat. He's Martha's nemesis, always trying to get Martha blamed for his wrongdoings.
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Truman is Helen's neighbor. He's a couple years younger than Helen, and is often hanging around Martha's house to escape from all the babies at his house. His mom runs a home day care center. Truman is a really smart kid, and he's also a little fussy and fearful (whatever you do, don't tell him there's a bug in the room!). But mostly, he's curious and excited about knowledge.
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Truman's Mom runs a home child care center. When she's not running around all day chasing babies she gives all her attention to her baby, Truman.
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Mrs. Demson lives right down the street from Martha. The only problem is she hates dogs and blames them for everything. She is cranky and a bit short-tempered, but she can quickly turn on the charm if it means she'll get what she wants.
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Pablum and Weaselgraft are bumbling con men. They are always coming up with money-making schemes that never work, often focused on kidnapping "that talking dog" to see how they can profit from her unique talents.
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Kazuo runs the animal shelter. He has a kind heart and he lives his life to a heavy-metal soundtrack. He adopted Pops, a bulldog, after his owner abandoned him in a junkyard. Pops may look fierce, but he's loyal, affectionate, devoted, and can be a bit of a clown.
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Granny Flo owns the soup factory that makes Martha's alphabet soup (the founder was Granny Elsie). Granny Flo is motivated by money and she's often trying to figure out how to make more.
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Mrs. Clusky is Helen, T.D., and Alice's teacher. She encourages all of her students to utilize their talents, especially their creativity! Her teacup poodle Francois is spoiled and a little demanding. He doesn't get along very well with the other neighborhood dogs, Martha in particular.
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The Parkingtons are an older couple that lives in the neighborhood. Mrs. Parkington can be a little nosey. She and her husband inherited John, a neurotic Dalmatian. Since John can be an emotional mess (he has his own therapist), the Parkingtons are always running around trying to keep him happy.
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The Vet takes care of all of the Wagstaff City pets when they are sick or hurt. She loves to employ Martha as her assistant, because Martha can translate animals' barks and whimpers, allowing her to quickly get to the bottom of what ails them.
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Junkyard Joe owns the Wagstaff City junkyard and sells gently pre-used salvaged articles. He also educates people on recycling and how to reduce the amount of junk in landfills.
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The School Janitor doesn't like mess or dog hair and lives to keep Martha and her furry friends out of the school building.
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Courageous Collie Carlo is the star of Martha and Skits's favorite TV show. On TV his character is fearless and heroic, but in real life he is anything but courageous.
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Kitten is a cute, cuddly, playful...kitten. Alice and her family fostered her before she was adopted. Kitten and Martha became great buddies (in secret!). She is the only feline that Martha will happily socialize with.
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Jeffy is the zoo's only dancing elephant. He's modest and doesn't handle pressure very well, but he'll never let anyone down, especially when it comes to helping the zoo.
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Other Neighborhood Dogs include Bob, a mean dog; Burt, a pug and hyperactive snorter; Rinty, a German Shepherd; Cisco, a manly poodle; and the playful triplets, Streak, Butterscotch, & Mandarin.
