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Michael Stavrides out with his huge Pyrenean mountain dog Rufus |
Rufus, ‘the beast of Baker Street’, is one very popular pooch!
6ft dog has celeb fans and gets post from across globe
POSTMEN beware! Towering over 6ft on his hind legs and tipping the scales at almost 11 stone, Rufus, also known as “the beast of Baker Street”, commands trepidation everywhere he goes.
And Michael Stavrides, 50, who has owned the four-year-old Pyrenean mountain dog since he was a puppy, reckons he’s Britain’s most photographed pooch – stopping for snappers on average 20 times a day on his walk to work down Marylebone High Street.
In fact, Rufus is so famous he has his own fan club, receiving postcards from as far away as Spain and America, as well as winning a few volunteer walkers and celebrity admirers including Noel Gallagher, Matt Lucas and Barbara Windsor.
“I honestly think he’s Britain’s most photographed pet – certainly more than any dog in crufts,” said Michael. “Everywhere we go, we get stopped by people wanting to pet him and take pictures. We’ve missed trains because of all the fuss people make. Noel Gallagher calls him the ‘old fella’.
“People have driven all the way into Marylebone, put money in the meter and come to visit us just to get a picture of him. He adores the attention and children love him, but because he walks so slowly anyway, it means it takes hours to get anywhere.”
So cumbersome is Rufus that the 200-metre walk from Baker Street Tube station to Michael’s gallery – the Fine Art Gallery in Devonshire Street – can take half an hour. And when the canine commuter is feeling paricuarly lazy on his rush-hour journey in from Pinner, he sprawls across the floor in what can turn into a major environmental hazard.
“When he lies down on the Tube, people have to jump over him to get out,” said Michael. “It can be quite funny. He barely opens his eyes, even with all the commotion, and the doors opening and closing right next to his head.”
Michael paid £750 for Rufus from a breeder four years ago, but has been offered upwards of £4,000 for the Waitrose-reared dog. But Cruella de Vil copycats should note that while for the main Rufus is a gentle giant, he wouldn’t be so placid.
Michael added: “I do worry about dog nappers but I don’t reckon they’d be able to move him.
“He’s not scared of much, apart from little handbag dogs when they have a yap at him.”
Plans are afoot for Rufus to do some charity work at Great Ormond Street children’s hospital and maybe even make a television appearance, but with a life expectancy of 14, Rufus is set to become a Marylebone legend for some time. |
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