Meet Fergus! The real life Scottish Terrier who inspired me to create my cartoon character!

Oh my goodness, I just noticed yesterday that I haven’t officially introduced our Scottish Terrier Fergus on this blog! The inspiration and muse for cartoon Fergus! Argh! Fergus pointed it out himself and said he wants more exposure on the web (it seems like he’s been watching too many YouTube tutorials recently). Anyway! Introducing the one and only Fergus! Starting off with some puppy pictures I took in the first two weeks after he had moved in with us. He moved in in February 2021 when we just had a cold snap in Germany and it dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius. I spontaneously sewed him a coat to keep him warm, tartan of course:

Georgie was both delighted and highly confused by the little guy and just sat there and looked at him, it was so adorable!

A Scottish Terrier may be a wee hard lad when he’s a grown-up, but puppy Fergus needed a lot of cuddles and warmth while we were out sledding with the kids!

Wherever Georgie went, he went! Georgie tolerated him for the most part. When it got too much for her she jumped on our bed where Fergus couldn’t follow.

Fergus always wants to play, this hasn’t changed. Georgie (who is now seven) is not too sure about all this action and takes the higher ground.

Scottish Terrier on the Road: Traveling Fergus!

Fast forward half a year: Fergus went with us to lovely Sweden!

He also went fishing! (Scotties are good at all kinds of things).

As for his character: At home he is the sweetest, cuddliest, most loyal dog you’ll ever meet. Unfortunately that love doesn’t extend to his fellow canines (Georgie being the only exception). He’s known at dog school to bark up a storm and put his fight face on when first arriving. A real furry cuddle fighter! But to our relief most humans think that’s hilarious and laugh it off, phew!

Here is a recent picture of grown-up Fergus. He’s a real man now! :p No seriously, small dogs grow up faster and our little guy stopped at around eight kilos. This is him having a great time on vacation at the German North Sea.

SOME FERGUS FUN FACTS

At home he loves sleeping on my lap, watching the birds in the garden and playing with Georgie. His favorite food may be haggis, but he’s never tried. I will have to talk to his lawyer. For now he’s happy with his kibble and some sugar free pancake pieces for treats. But he loves everything we eat, especially carrots and pizza (if he can snag a nibble)
When he sleeps on our bed (sometimes he wants to, sometimes he likes to be independent), he will sleep on my legs all night long if I let him
When we say hello to him after being gone he will howl and growl and bark in a really funny way because he is so overwhelmed he doesn’t know where to put all those emotions! Victory laps are part of the game too
He LOVES tennis balls. Loves them. Loves, loves, loves them. Did I mention he loves them?
Fergus will also growl and bark while rolling on his back right before he goes to sleep! No idea why, my hypothesis is that he’s fighting the Sandman

Fergus also loves giving kisses and lying on my head!

Cartoon Fergus

Over time his cartoon alter ego developed a life of his own. Cartoon Fergus is much more devilish and devious, whereas real life Fergus is a huge sweetie (at home in a dog-free zone, not counting Georgie). Cartoon Fergus always has a trick up his sleeve and a stupid idea under his beard. His partner in crime is usually Billabong (more on Billabong in my next blog post), whereas sweet Molly tries to keep everyone in check. Fergus’ character shines through most in my webcomics, you can find them here: https://www.hallomolly.de/webcomics/

This is a cartoon I made based on the myriad of nicknames we give him: