Biography

Tie me Kangaroo down, Sport!

I realise I've never explained why we have a Dalmatian named Rolf Harris. Given his age (Dal Rolf, not Oz Rolf), anyone out there with children born in the UK in the nineties will have a pretty good idea why the name was chosen. Rolf is obviously named after Rolf Harris, the sometime media darling, visual artist, and badboy of Heavy Rock.

I am in awe of this man since he managed to cause deep hurt and offence to one section of the music industry when he released a cover of 'Stairway to Heaven'. A section of that industry, I must stress, which normally treats offensivness as a saleable commodity (ironic tittering off).

If you're at all curious (it is an experience you'll never forget) this album "King Rolf" includes various of his rock covers at Amazon UK, or click this for his link at Amazon USA. Enjoy!

His song 'Two Little Boys', dating back to my own school days, was a favourite (allegedly) of Margaret Thatcher PM. Draw from that what you will. All of these laurels are overshadowed however by his crowning achievement in the nineties: BBC TV's "Animal Hospital".

Rolf Harris presented "Animal Hospital" (Amazon UK or Amazon USA). This was innovative children's television. Kids dislike being patronised (especially our eldest) as much as anyone else, and "Animal Hospital" showed children the realities of having responsibility for an animal, the benefits of caring for it, and the consequences of the lack of care. In the words of the man himself: "It succeeded because we weren't trying to sensationalise anything. We were showing everything as real-ly as we could. It was real people with real pets with real problems."

Our eldest daughter was a great fan of the show, and when Rolf (the Dalmatian) came along, and we asked her to suggest a name. Well, no contest, eh?

7:00pm, 26 September 2006

Nice Doggy

My wife has instructed me to write something nice about Rolf for a change, so I will. Actually, it's not such a difficult task. In fact, in the past, Rolf has been quite a hero.

My wife owns a budgerigar called Prince (no website yet), who was half-eaten by a wayward Cocker Spaniel. It's a long story and we're open to offers on the film rights, but I'll get to the gist fast. Rolf locked his jaws around the back of the spaniel's head until it let go of Prince, and then guarded Prince's crumpled body and administered first aid (vigorous licking) till help arrived. Prince has made a full recovery bar a tendency to fly in circles when he's aiming straight.

Rolf is ferociously loyal to his family; his pack, (he includes our other pets) but is supremely gentle with puppies, small children, and vulnerable animals.

We have a baby who is a few weeks old. Rolf is closely supervised when he and the baby are in the same space. All parents should be cautious even with the most placid of family pets. However, the way he responds when she cries - anxious that we attend her, often trying to groom her - the gentleness with which he approaches us when we are holding her, and his constant curiosity about her whereabouts in the house, make me believe that he would defend her more ferociously than he has defended my wife in the past.

For non-Dalmatian owners, understand that "ferociously" is used literally.

9:03pm, 22 September 2002

Rolf Harris: a dog's life

Rolf is seven and a half years old (as of Aug 02), and is often mistaken for a pup. My wife helped his mother give birth to him and his sibliings when she was a neighbour of a breeder. It surprised her to discover that Rolf "wasn't suitable for pedigree breeding" due to the black patch on his ear.

The breeder was happy to give Rolf to her, and they've been together every since. I came on the scene much later.

If you've ever had trouble with one of your partners ex's, and you never want to repeat the experience, you'll have a good idea of what it's like muscling in on a Dalmatian's action.

My Dalmatian... No, I'll start again.

11:00pm, 23 August 2002