Rufus is an Airedale Terrier who lives with Carolyn and Paul in Melbourne, Australia. He was bred by Anne and Ron Sorraghan of Oldiron Park - his sire is Justice and his dam is Jerry (Brislines Nice Catch), who comes all the way from the USA.
Rufus' kennel name is Oldiron Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (pronounced soul-shya). The naming theme for the litter was 'sporting heroes' so the Manchester United striker was an obvious (to us, anyway) choice. It may seem a little weird for two New Zealanders in Australia to name their puppy of American lineage after a Norwegian footballer who plays for an English team, but there you go (Paul was born in England so it all ties up in the end). Solskjaer is known as 'the baby-faced assassin' which is also strangely appropriate.
The Rufus bit was inspired by a native Australian creature called the Rufous Hare-Wallaby. Rufus looks a bit like a hare when his ears are pricked up and he bounces like a wallaby, so it seemed to fit. The official name for the Rufous Hare-Wallaby is Lagorchestes hirsutus hirsutus... make of that what you will.
Rufus is still very little so he hasn't really had many adventures to speak of yet, unless you include being headbutted by the friendly cat down the road, or picking fights with Magilla, the one-armed boxing gorilla. (OK, it's a stuffed gorilla, but it was still a pretty close match.)
02/01/2001
Rufus is now over five months old and has grown a *lot*. His fur is
gradually changing from black to tan, his baby teeth are falling out
faster than our hair, and in less than a month he'll be saying goodbye to
those dangly things between his back legs. Since he had all his shots a
few weeks ago he's been out and about visiting new places, including the
park down the road (where his friends include Arky the Airedale, Billy the
Borzoi and Murphy the three-legged border collie), some great beaches,
and - most fun of all - Flowerdale, the land of sticks and giant sandpits,
where his human friends Elise and Chris and canine babysitters Bannoy and
Pennywise live. And we've all been to a Multiple Airedale gathering or two
at the home of Dan and Tania Joyce (including a fantastic Christmas
lunch), where Rufus joined Reba and Gillian (resident dales) and Monty and
Maggie (visiting Sydneysiders) and even Jake the Great Dane puppy in romps
around the garden.