You couldn鈥檛 blame Adrian Chamberlain if he was tempted to glance at his playful pooch Ollie and say, 鈥淭hat鈥檒l do, pug鈥� 鈥� a variation on James Cromwell鈥檚 classic line after his pig who thinks he鈥檚 a sheepdog wins a sheep-herding contest in Babe.
Chamberlain鈥檚 pug already has a book and movie deal, after all, while his owner toils in relative obscurity as a theatre critic.
Adventures With Ollie, the sa国际传媒 arts writer鈥檚 book based on his weekly column about his family鈥檚 exploits with their headstrong pug, now five years old, has just been published by Oolichan Books.
A sight gag in himself, the wacky dog that resembles a large butterball turkey with fur and a tongue hanging out isn鈥檛 just a local literary star. Now Ollie鈥檚 joining the ranks of Lassie and Marley after landing the role of canine companion to a retired RCMP officer in Hattie鈥檚 Heist, a short comedy being filmed here soon.
Although Tessie, a Yorkshire terrier, was cast as Hattie鈥檚 dog, Ollie 鈥� one of 65 dogs that auditioned 鈥� was runner-up.
鈥淚 actually wrote in a part for Ollie,鈥� said writer-producer Prudence Emery. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a budding romance, so who knows what will happen? I think Ollie and Tessie will make a visually interesting duo.鈥�
Adventures with Ollie began as a blog before becoming a weekly column that ran in the sa国际传媒 for two years. After reading a newspaper article about the popularity of books about dogs, Chamberlain proposed the idea to various publishers.
His collection of light-hearted vignettes details the family鈥檚 experiences with Ollie. They include tales about the perils of house-training 鈥� a task that took more than a year, not three months as the breeder had indicated; smuggling Ollie into summer cabins; and his wife鈥檚 habit of dressing Ollie up in peculiar costumes, like the weird green hoodie he wore to the casting call.
One story Chamberlain relates was about how Ollie left his mark on a beautiful new Turkish rug he bought for the living room.
鈥淥ne night, I was awakened well past midnight,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚 think there was a storm and the front door had blown open. I walked into the living room, all groggy. And I stepped on what looked like a cigarello. Only it was no cigarillo.鈥�
Another story related their pilgrimage in the rain for a close encounter with Cesar Millan, the celebrity dog whisperer.
鈥淭o be honest, I think the main appeal of these stories is the fact they鈥檙e about a dog,鈥� says Chamberlain, a fan of humourists such as David Sedaris and Larry David who prefers 鈥渇unny, weird stories鈥� to sentimental animal yarns. 鈥淧eople are just crazy about dogs. They鈥檙e like little furry human beings.鈥�
That certainly describes Ollie.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a bit dim, but very sociable,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 always think if a burglar came to our house, Ollie would try to make friends with him.鈥�
Chamberlain still gets feedback from readers who share their own dog tales, even if some get a false impression.
鈥淭hey think I鈥檓 a super nice 鈥�;dog guy,鈥� 鈥� he deadpans. 鈥淎ctually, I鈥檓 not that nice of a guy.鈥�
sa国际传媒 editor-in-chief Dave Obee said it didn鈥檛 take long for Ollie to strike a chord.
鈥淚t was amazing how quickly our readers adopted Ollie as if he was their own,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was amazing how Adrian made Ollie connect with all of Victoria.鈥�
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Adventures with Ollie is available at local bookstores, including Bolen Books and Munro鈥檚.
