Bertie the “buffoon”

By Katie Johnson

Eight-year-old Bertie is “chubby, gorgeous and a mummy’s boy” according to his owner Helen. 

Named after the P.G. Wodehouse character Bertie Wooster, the rambunctious French bulldog lives up to his literary reputation of being a lovable goofball.   

“The character is a bit of a buffoon, so I thought the name was fitting,” Helen said as Bertie ran around her legs at Flagstaff Gardens in June.   

Helen and Bertie moved to the CBD from New Zealand in 2015. And although Bertie sometimes misses the beautiful beaches of Wellington, he’s grown to love the sloping hills of Flagstaff Gardens. 

“He’s always doing zoomies. I take him here to throw his frisbee a few times a week and he loves it,” Helen said.  

As a program coordinator at RMIT, Helen would usually be teaching in-person classes on the history of video games. 

But for the past few months, coronavirus restrictions have allowed her to spend quality time with Bertie all day long while lecturing online. 

“Right now, he’s living his absolute best life, he gets 24/7 company and cuddles,” Helen said. 

“I don’t know how he’s going to cope when I go back into work.” •