Rusty McCracken is the sound effects man (or foley guy, as he's usually called) at station WFIDO. He appears in the Dog City episode "Radio Daze," where it's revealed he's been with the station for 30 years and has never missed a day. The Scots-accented Scottie provides all of the sound effects for the radio serial It's a Dog's Life, a task which leaves him out of breath. While he's justly proud of his fine work, Rusty is embittered by the lack of credit afforded him (station owner Styles Silverbark doesn't even know who he is, and nobody appears to know his name until he reveals it).

As a result, McCracken stages "accidents" at the station. When even Ace Hart fails to give "credit where credit is due" for his criminal plot, McCracken runs amok, planting a bomb in the studio. He then battles outside with Ace, alternating between vivid sound effects and actual attacks with safes and a tank. Ace uses his own obsession with never missing a cue against him, and McCracken rushes back to the studio just in time for the explosion. A charred but unchastened soundman is then booked by Rosie O'Gravy.

Rusty McCracken is inspired by Eliot Shag's crusty Scottish terrier repairman, Mr. MacTaggart.