This is silly. The debate is not about what Pluto is. Pluto is clearly a dog (and I should know).
The debate is about what GOOFY is.
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Goofy is a talking dog. Not a especially bright one. In a world where mice can talk and own pets, and ducks can speak, but with serious speech impediments, there is no reason why a dog should not be able to talk. On the other hand, it is unclear why Pluto can only bark, and cannot walk erect like Goofy.
Ducks, though hatched from eggs, in Disneyland have the same societal arrangements as mice. Both Mickey has a steady girlfriend, as does Mickey, but neither has married in over 50 years, and both are somehow raising nephews. Mickey has two seldom seen nephews, while Donald has three: Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and Disney makes little effort to let us know anything about their parentage. Strangely, the Duck family is far more elaborate than the Mouse family. Car Barks has published family trees in which Donald's relationships to other ducks, as well as mallards, geese, swans and I think terns and teals is shown. But the parentage of his nephews is left a mystery.
There has never been any reference by Disney to Goofy's family, other than his son.
I did find this:
http://goofy313g.free.fr/calisota_online/trees/mygooftree.htmlApparently Goofy's first name is Georges, which suggests that he is French, or perhaps French Canadian. I always though is was from some undefined American backwoods.