Breed: Dalmatian
Date of birth: 06/10/2015
Gender: Male
Neck circumference: 38cm
Chest circumference: 78cm
Base of neck to base of tail: 61cm
Height to shoulder: 65cm
Weight: 24kg

General Description

Some dogs walk into a room. Alfie arrives. Bright white and scattered with inky spots, he carries one bold black patch across his face that gives him a look no casting director forgets in a hurry. Heads turn wherever he goes and by the set of his chin he knows exactly why. Beneath all that swagger sits a soft, slightly eccentric character who adores the people he trusts and will happily fold twenty-four kilograms of himself onto a lap if nobody stops him.

The Dalmatian takes its name from Dalmatia on the Adriatic coast though the breed made its reputation on British roads, trotting for miles beneath the axles of horse-drawn carriages as a guard, a companion to the horses and a piece of moving decoration for the household that owned it. That same job carried the breed into fire stations across Britain and America, where spotted dogs cleared a path ahead of the engines and became mascots long after the horses were retired. Puppies arrive pure white and their markings develop over the following weeks, so no two are patterned alike. In popular culture the breed owes its fame to Dodie Smith, whose 1956 novel gave the world a spotted family that Disney turned into an animated classic five years later then revived in live action for the nineties. Patched dogs like Alfie hold a particular place in that story, which makes his face instantly readable to a British audience.

His CV bears this out. He has fronted campaigns for Mini Boden, George at Asda, Made.com, PetFusion, PitPat and Cesar by Twinings, appeared in Good Housekeeping and shot alongside Taron Egerton for Shortlist Magazine. Four music videos sit on the list too, among them work with Mae Muller, Headie One, Lethal Bizzle and Ivorian Doll. On set he is confident with strangers, unfazed by other animals and untroubled by noise or commotion. Nothing on record bothers him and he has no allergies or dietary restrictions. He is at his happiest on shorter, focused bookings where he can do what he has always done best, which is look magnificent and hold the shot.

That striking face lends itself to productions with real visual ambition. Alfie speaks on cue, will howl to a noise prompt and drops silent the instant he is asked for quiet, giving directors a full range of vocal beats to cut against a scene. He lowers his head, lies flat or rolls onto his side and stays there for as long as the take demands, which serves any storyline needing a dog to sleep through the drama, mourn a departure or feign collapse. Period pieces are an obvious avenue given the breed’s carriage-dog heritage, as are anything set around fire stations, country estates or vintage motoring.

There is plenty of physical work in him as well. He clears obstacles, springs on the spot, jumps in and out of a car boot on command and slips confidently into and out of confined spaces, so chase sequences and comic set pieces are well within reach. He catches an item cleanly then releases it where instructed, useful for scripts turning on an object passing between characters. He fetches nothing he has not been asked to fetch, will play tug for a scuffle scene and returns from a genuine distance even with activity going on around him. Working off lead comes naturally, freeing crews to block wider shots without a handler in frame, and his motion capture experience opens the door to animated features and games that want authentic canine movement behind the render.

Monochrome is a gift to art directors. Alfie’s coat reads cleanly against saturated colour, graphic backdrops and stripped-back interiors alike, which is why homeware, furniture and design-led lifestyle brands have booked him repeatedly. He settles into a pose and keeps it, redirects his gaze to a mark, a product or a person on request and looks up or across on a single word, so a photographer can build a whole gallery without breaking the rhythm of the shoot. Studio lighting and flash are entirely routine to him. He will sit on a platform or balance on an object where a composition needs height and he stays willing through the long afternoons that catalogue work demands.

Clothing is his real delight. He genuinely enjoys dressing up and models coats, jumpers, hats, accessories and even glasses without a hint of protest, making him a natural for pet fashion labels, childrenswear campaigns wanting a family dog in shot and eyewear or accessory brands after something witty. A GoPro harness sits comfortably on him for first-person and behind-the-scenes content. Grooming brands will find him easy company since he tolerates handling by unfamiliar stylists and stands beautifully for the camera afterwards. He spins on request, lifts a paw, taps an item with his nose or paw and follows a target stick, all of which gives creative teams the small directed movements that bring an e-commerce sequence to life. Add in how well he travels, plus his easy manner during meet-and-greets, and he is equally suited to launch events, in-store appearances and exhibition stands where a photogenic dog draws a crowd all by himself.