Romeo the dog has long been a much-loved feature of Peter Lewis cartoons in the Newcastle Herald.
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Lewis cartoons appeared daily in the Herald for 30 years. Nowadays, they appear in the Saturday edition.
Reader Sally Butler dropped us a line to say Romeo reminds her of characters in the cartoons of Les Lumsdon.
"Mr Lumsdon's cartoons featured a cat and an apple core. I was about eight or nine years old when I first saw them," Sally said.
"I might not have understood the cartoon topic, but I did always look for the cat and the apple core. They weren't as obvious as Lewis's dog.
"One day I couldn't find them. They weren't there! Was there a message in that?
"Dad, a former journalist with the Herald, found out for me. Mr Lumsdon had just forgotten to include them."
Funnily enough, we noticed Romeo wasn't in Lewis's cartoon last Saturday.
"I don't put the dog in on purpose when the message might have a dark side. If there's something involving death or destruction, I'll leave the dog out," Lewis said.
"The dog is there as a form of levity. He's also a filler for blank spots. If there's a part of the page that's a bit boring or empty, I'll throw the dog in. He's also useful to make an extra statement."
Lewis has been using Romeo in his cartoons since 1998.
"He's based on my real dog Romeo. He went to the great dog kennel in the sky about 16 years ago. He's continued to be used in the cartoons," he said.
"I was accused of being a bit twee and old fashioned when I brought the dog in [By who? The cartoon police!]"
When he first used the dog, no one seemed to notice.
"After two weeks of using the dog, nobody commented - not a soul," he said.
But Romeo soon became famous, with many readers fond of him.
He's a happy presence, especially when the news becomes a tad depressing.
As for former cartoonist Les Lumsdon, Lewis said he too spent 30 years at the Herald - from 1947 to 1977.
As for the Romeo-like characters in Lumsdon cartoons, Lewis said: "Casper the cat could be spotted pretty easily".
"The apple core was something you had to look for, along with the fish bone and a few other little things," he said.
Pet Project
Newcastle company Bestie Kitchen has appeared on the Hyundai Home Shopping channel in South Korea.
Filmed in Sydney, the one-hour segment showed pet parents how to make a fresh healthy meal and bake-at-home treats.
With Louie the pup helping out, presenters showed more than 3000 home shoppers in Korea how to use the "Australian-made, natural supplements".
The opportunity came to Bestie Kitchen through the NSW Going Global program and the government initiative Tradestart.
Sounds like the cat's pyjamas.
People Power
The Hunter Mariners came to mind this week as we followed news in Europe of the so-called "Super League".
The 12 biggest soccer clubs in Europe - the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United and Liverpool - announced the breakaway league on Monday.
But a massive fan revolt led to the plan crumbling within 48 hours.
We know a bloke who still won't watch rugby league because of the Super League debacle in Australia.
Shared funds open themselves to pork-barrelling.
Shared funds open themselves to pork-barrelling.