dogcow

plural dogcows

1. humorouscomputingA creature resembling a dog and a cow, used as a placeholder image in early Macintosh operating systems.

   As all Mac wizards know, "moof" is the preferred statement for dogcows.

   1990, Microtimes, volume 7, page 174

   2 more examples

   Although all dogcows look the same, this is probably the very one that appeared in that stack, in which case his name is Clarus.

   1994, Sharon Zardetto Aker, The Mac almanac, page 469

   Mac creators dropped the dogcow in later OS versions, but online petitions and press coverage designed to "bring back the dogcow" have made Apple executives aware of the tremendous cult following of this hybrid icon.

   2002, Erin Jansen, Vincent James, NetLingo: The Internet Dictionary, page 138