Roll Camera!

The other day as I was walking Gary, a passerby called out 'Hey Rex!' Naturally I took this as a compliment; after all, 'Inspector Rex' is my favourite TV show. Every Wednesday we hunker down after dinner and follow the exploits of this indomitable and savvy police dog as as he solves yet another perplexing crime on the mean streets of Vienna.

As a German Shepherd he of course has it all over his human crime fighters. But not only is Rex a sleuth of the first order, he's also a funny character, forever playing tricks on his hapless colleagues, especially when a ham roll is on offer.

Rex though is just one in a long line of German Shepherd movie stars. It all started with Rin Tin Tin, who starred in many films and radio shows throughout the 1920-30s and beyond. In his prime, Rin Tin Tin was getting 10,000 fan mails a week! He has even been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. How good is that!

Then there was the movie K-9 and, in more recent years, the film 'I am Legend' starring Will Smith.

There have been other doggy movie stars of course, like Lassie (Collie), Benji (mutt), Beethoven (St Bernard), Hooch (French Mastiff) and most recently, Marley the Labrador. But usually these movies play on the cuteness or incorrigibility of the dog involved. Few, except for maybe Lassie, focus on their intelligence. That figures.

By the way, Rex's real name is Reginald von Ravenhorst and he is a trained police dog as well as a consummate actor. One smart woofer.