The group Mabou Mines is named after a small town in Nova Scotia. The members are Lee Breuer, Ruth Maleczech, David Warrilow, JoAnne Akalaitis, Frederick Neumann, William Raymond and Terry O'Reilly. The Shaggy Dog Animation is the third piece by Lee Breuer in a series of animation plays that began in early 1970 with The Red Horse Animation; The B. Beaver Animation followed some years later.

The term “animation” is used both in its original definition “to make alive,” as well as in relation to the animated cartoon. In The Shaggy Dog Animation, the actors come “alive” primarily through being hooked up to the sound system. This means that they are not controlling the final sound output. Volume, amplification and distortion are controlled by an Eden Harmonizer. Thus the actors can refrain from projecting their voices. The employment of a puppet manipulated by several actors is another example of “making alive.”