Dos Pueblos High School’s mascot, Charlie the Charger, has returned after seemingly disappearing during the 2024-25 school year. A new Charlie costume was ordered for this school year and is expected to arrive in December, replacing the current suit, which has been in use for more than 10 years—just in time for winter sports and basketball season.
According to Activities Director Scott Guttentag, the replacement costume will cost the school about $5,000. Guttentag described the old Charlie costume as more like “pajamas” and fitting loosely for all sizes. However, the newly ordered costume requires the person wearing it to be at least 5 feet, 7 inches tall due to safety precautions.
Charlie has long been a symbol of school pride at DPHS. Still, last year, Activities Director Scott Guttentag said students weren’t interested in continuing the mascot tradition because of the outdated costume.
“The students this year were, like, ‘Better to have some mascot than not,’” Guttentag said.
At the start of the school year, tryouts were held for students interested in taking on the role of Charlie. Jasper Meller (11) had a brief stint as mascot early in the year, but is no longer involved. The two students chosen to represent the mascot this year were Ty Perkins (12) and Eli Gutierrez (9). Perkins said he serves as the main Charlie, while Gutierrez is his “minion.”
“It gets hot in there at times, but it’s honestly worth it. I like making the kids happy because they just call me ‘a big blue horse,’” Perkins said. “I always laugh at that, it’s honestly … just cool, making people laugh and smile and stuff.”
The costume is currently more than 10 years old, while last year’s lost costume remains missing.
“If I got paid for it, I would do it every day,” Perkins said. “We’re in the old [suit], it’s not bad. It’s just like a rug, and it’s itchy in there.”
According to both Perkins and Gutierrez, becoming Charlie comes with responsibilities — the biggest being to keep the identity of the person in the costume hidden during events. To do this, the performer is not allowed to speak, and if they hear their real name called out, they have to ignore it. The reason is to ensure the performer inside doesn’t become a distraction, since the focus should be on Charlie.
“He’s a mascot, bro, like, joy, he brings the heat, you know,” Assistant Principal Ian Perry said.
Perkins, who portrays the mascot the majority of the time, describes Charlie’s persona as a “cool guy.” While Perkins’ favorite part of being the mascot is the “free food from the concession stand”, Perkins added that an equally rewarding component is making students happy. When Perkins is unable to attend events, it’s Gutierrez who fills in his place.
He said he enjoys going to games, particularly when people call Charlie the Charger’s name; he gets to look back and wave. Like Perkins, Gutierrez described being Charlie as “very fun,” and said he hopes to continue the role in the future.
“It does get really tiring, but overall it is very fun,” Gutierrez said.
Charlie the Charger will continue to be part of the school, bringing spirit and spreading smiles at DPHS.
Edit 11/18/25 Quote attribution
