Courage the Cowardly Dog

Courage the Cowardly Dog (or simply Courage) is the protagonist and titular character in the series of the same name. He is a pink dog who was found by Muriel Bagge when he was abandoned soon after escaping a vet clinic in the town of Nowhere, Kansas.

Why He's Not a Stupid Dog

 * 1) Courage, as the show's title suggests (and as his name belies), is an extremely cowardly and anxious dog frightened easily by almost anything who has shown how much mental or moral strength he has to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.
 * 2) Despite his fears, whenever he or his owners are in the complete face of danger, he will stop at nothing to save them and can show resourceful ways of doing so.
 * 3) He has been presented as an almost entirely selfless character, working to benefit others with usually little to no regard for his own well-being and risking his own life dozens of times simply to assure his owner's safety.
 * 4) While Eustace always calls him a stupid dog, he's anything but stupid. In fact, he's actually the smartest and most self-aware of the Bagge family trio.
 * 5) His infamous scream which has helped him out in the past.
 * 6) Although his secondary owner, Eustace, is cruel to him, he is not offended by his harsh words and cruel tricks, especially compared to the more kindhearted Muriel.
 * 7) Marty Grabstein does a flawless job voicing him, even when he was speaking gibberish.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Though he is willing to risk his own life to protect Muriel at all costs, his irrationality sometimes causes others to doubt his intuition (although it isn't his fault).
 * 2) While his screams are funny and creative, they can be considered grotesque (or unpleasant) to some people. (which is also not his fault)

Trivia

 * Despite the show's title, Courage is actually the bravest character on the show.
 * Courage spoke English quite often in the first season, but from the second season onward, his dialogue became increasingly limited to gibberish, mumbling, and screams, only speaking occasionally or when he really had something to say.