The Renegades have no official status. Their movements and activities are virtually unrestricted. They don't get any credit when they succeed and everybody denies knowing anything about them when they fall. Red Dog could have had a pro football career as a barefoot placekicker if a defensive lineman hadn't ground his cleats into the big Samoan's obtruding toe. The lineman ended up with a broken helmet and a concussion. Red Dog was suspended for excessive roughness. He later worked briefly as a stuntman in 'B' movies until he was recruited by G.I.Joe Command.
"The other Renegades think that Red Dog is a handy gun to have along on missions. If they encounter an obstacle of any kind; barricade, tank-trap or phalanx of armed guards, they simply point Red Dog in the appropriate direction, let him go, and wait for the dust to settle."
Red Dog is one of the Renegades, a black-ops squad of paroled prisoners assembled by Sgt. Slaughter and first appearing in G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987). First released as a Hasbro carded action figure in 1987.
Red Dog did not appear by name in the Sunbow or DiC cartoon series synopses. Original Hasbro file-card lore and Marvel ARAH comics appearances are the primary characterization sources.