Gary the Snail is a fictional character in the Nickelodeon animated series series SpongeBob SquarePants, which first aired in July 1999. Gary is Spongebob's pet snail, although he meows like a cat.
He is smarter than SpongeBob, and can tie and wear shoes. He tries to get SpongeBob to do the right things, and SpongeBob somehow always understands exactly what Gary means when he meows. Gary doesn't like taking baths and sometimes sleeps a lot. He once followed Patrick Star because he wanted a cookie from Patrick's pocket, prompting fears from SpongeBob that Gary had abandoned him. He has his own bed, exercise wheel, and water and food bowls. In one episode, SpongeBob entered Gary in a snail race aganist Squidward Tentacles's pet snail and Patrick Star's pet rock; SpongeBob pushed Gary too hard and the pet rock won.
