"Goofy was created as a human character, as opposed to Pluto, who was a pet, so he walked upright and had a speaking voice"
This was taken from the site below
http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/characterstandard/goofy/goofy.html ...so I'm assuming he was intended to be a dog.
Anyone remember the show
Goof Troop There was his son
Then there was his neighbor who hated him, Pete. Who is supposed to be some sort of "humanized" bulldog maybe.