How did dogs enter into your life and what was your first dog?

Actually, I've always had cats (Persians, Siamese, Chartreux). I remember there used to be a Chow Chow near where I lived when I was a kid, and that became one of my favourite breeds. A lot later, when I was grown up, my wife wanted to adopt ... guess what? ... a Chow Chow. Unfortunately it died after a long illness. 11 years ago, we adopted our first Yorkshire Terrier, Mosquito, soon to be joined by Whisky. Mosquito and Whisky are figures you'll find in the Yoko Tsuno comic books, Mosquito under his proper name and Whisky under a pseudonym, Rasputin (the dog belonging to Countess Olga). Then came Newton, our Scottish Terrier, a dog also featuring in one of Yoko's adventures.

I pay great attention to my dogs, and to dogs in general. I've read a lot about dogs and I like to find out as much as I can so that I can take the best decisions possible with regard to their health and well-being. I know for example that Scottish Terriers have difficulties, on account of certain breeding aberrations, giving birth naturally. When I adopted Newton, I made sure that he came from a breeder where bitches gave birth by natural means.

Mosquito & Whisky

What do you get from your four-legged friends?

Each of them has his own personality, his particular habits, and sometimes even his own rules. On account of his size, amongst other things Newton has to have his own territory to run around and sleep in. Mosquito and Whisky sleep next to me, but they're not allowed into my office. In the evenings, I take my dogs out for a final walk before going to bed. It's a bit like our own private habit, a ritual winding us down before a good night's sleep.

Newton

Why did you have dogs (your dogs ☺) enter into Yoko's life?

Having Rosée (the little girl of whom Yoko is the guardian) enter into Yoko's life and bringing dogs into her adventures can be seen as an authentic touch of tenderness, a breath of fresh air in her tales. The fact that the dogs are actually "my" dogs allows me to portray them as they really are, each with his own character. This makes them much more real. Whether in the shape of a child or a dog, what enters Yoko's life is love, making everything much more human. But there is no anthropomorphism in my comics – you won’t find the dogs thinking or speaking.

For more details on Roger Leloup and Yoko Tsuno, see:
http://www.dupuis.com/catalogue/UK/au/115/leloup.html
http://www.dupuis.com/catalogue/UK/s/142/yoko_tsuno.html