One of the most amiable animals in the annals of animation is Goofy D. Dawg, Disney's anthropomorphic friend to Mickey and Pluto.  Like me, he's a dog who thinks he's a human.  Pluto was created to be a pet to Mickey, and like a real dog he has a limited repertoire of expressions to get his point across.  Goofy is cast as a good natured human-like animal, who's not that bright.  He's clumsy, with limited intelligence. Still he became a favorite in the pantheon of cartoon characters because of his warmth, his optimism, and his good works.  He's "everyman" as he faces the challenges of life and figures out a way to come out on top, all the while retaining his good nature.  "Gawrsh, I wish I could be more like Goofy sometimes, and not take myself so seriously.

Goofy had a great run as a Disney character.  He started out as "Dippy Dawg" in the early 1930's in "Mickey's Revue."
His name morphed to Dippy the Goof, Goofy Goof, Goofy D. Dawg amongst others as he developed as a character.
He finally became known as simply "Goofy" and enjoyed success on television, in movies and in comic books.  Not bad work for a "halfwit and a shiftless, good natured hick" which is how one of his creators described him.  Goofy even had a brief superhero career as "Super Goof."  I'm not sure if that was a complementary name?

I'm going to take the good points from Goofy's character and career, and try to apply them to my own life.  Is it because he lacks intelligence that Goofy is able to maintain his optimism in the face of challenge and adversity ?  Does one have to be goofy to lack guile, and act with love and sweetness in the world.  I hope not, I want to be an intelligent dog , but still be a little goofy.  Judging from the comments I get from my master, I'm doing a good job at the goofy side of the equation. If you're having a bad day, or feeling down, try acting goofy and see what happens.
Works for me!

Buffy
Highly Intelligent Goofy Standard Poodle