Louise Flind meets radio broadcaster and musician Mark Radcliffe, who lives in Knutsford with his wife Bella, and cavapoo Arlo, aged three
Arlo’s my third dog. After our last dog died, we had a little break, but on holiday in Cornwall I kept badgering the wife for another dog and showing her pictures of puppies and I showed her a picture of Arlo and he was so small – the size of someone’s hand – and that finally broke her.
Arlo was the only one that colour (sort of yellow) in a little of entirely black puppies. We phoned up that night from Cornwall and put a deposit on him. He came from Kendal, he’s a Lake District dog.
Arlo is really laid back, and he was never manic as a puppy so it took him a while to make his mind up to bond with us. He’s a very therapeutic dog to be with because he’s very zen.
We call him the Little Prince because he’s very pampered and doesn’t like to get his paws dirty. He’s a real town dog.
He loves the beach but he doesn’t like water and runs a mile from the waves coming in.
He’s my shadow. We go everywhere together so I never feel like I’m alone, not that I’m frightened of being on my own. The thing I’ve found hardest about losing dogs is not going on a walk without them but that they become the heartbeat of a house.
It frightens me to death sometimes because I think if I lost him, I don’t know what I’d do. Of course, when you buy a dog, you know you’re building in a time bomb of heartbreak and people say I can’t put myself through that again and yet for that grieving you’ve still got 15 years of pure joy.
I think I’d rather take the pain myself than leave a dog to shoulder it silently, which is why we’ve never had a second dog because the puppy gets used to having an older dog with it and then the older dog dies...
I’m his anchor on the world, I love that feeling. Sometimes I quite like it in a perverse way when we’re on the beach to run somewhere and for a moment he can’t see me and he’ll look around and I’ll shout at him and he’ll bound to me and it’s a relief that he’s found me again.
My wife thinks it’s annoying in the mornings because he’ll come and jump on her face licking and licking her but I think it’s adorable. He’s let out by our daughter Mimi on her way to work.
He slept in a crate for two-and-a-half years and then suddenly last year he went mad overnight, tearing up the bedding, making a racket, keeping us awake, barking, scratching, shouting and we thought it will pass and it never did. He’d decided it was time for a change, like a teenager saying I want my own room now. He still sleeps in the kitchen but on a fluffy brown bed on a comfy armchair with a toy mouse and a frog.
I’m really sad I can’t take him to the studio when I do a radio show. He’s been to a couple of gigs and sat with me while I play music in various pubs and places. I don’t know that any of our dogs have enjoyed my singing and guitar playing, probably in common with a lot of the audience.
We’re going to Rome, we’re going to drive and take him with us. He’ll have his own Instagram account, Arlo in Rome for 90 days. I find it difficult to plan too much without him.
I talk to him, he doesn’t talk much but he has that way of cocking his head as if he’s trying to work it out, which is very cute. In the evening he has a treat of little biscuits and he always knows when it’s time for those. He seems to understand quite a lot of words.
He sleeps on the chair in my office and sometimes goes under the desk. If I sit on my bed and read, he’ll jump up but then for some reason, he’ll go underneath the bed. Also, in the evenings when we’re watching TV in the snug, he’ll go under an ottoman in there.
He’s not fierce at all but I’ve seen him snap at a couple of people and another dog who try to invade his space under there – that’s his private domain.
When you offer Arlo a snack, he’ll sniff it and make sure it’s up to his standards. He doesn’t eat much and I know this is a bad thing but sometimes I sit in the kitchen while he eats.
I love living in Knutsford because I love that small-town life. Arlo is welcome in all of the cafés and everybody knows him even when we buy a paper at WHSmith and he runs behind the counter and gets a snack.
He’s much better looking than me.
There are times when he can be in charge definitely. He dictates the pace we go at, especially if we’re on a short walk in the town park – he’ll take his time.
My eldest daughter has two dogs and I stroke them and talk to them and Arlo seems to tolerate it but sometimes he’ll jump on my knee as if to say,' this is my Dad'.
I’ve got three daughters and three granddaughters – I had to have a male dog.
Facts about Arlo
He doesn’t bark very much but if he sees the postman he’ll bark, even if it’s not our postman.
We went to the dog trainer, Damian Riley in Wilmslow, for basic training
For walks we have the moor, which is five minutes’ walk away; Knutsford Heath is 10 minutes’ walk; then 15 minutes at the other end of the high street is Tatton Park.
Tatton Park is a favourite spot and Pickmere Lake – 10 minutes by car.
He does come off the lead but something completely primal sets in if he sees a squirrel
Our vets are Paul Adams and Rachel Caines at Knutsford Vets
Arlo is groomed by Katherine Moyser at K9 & Kat in Knutsford every eight weeks.
Our favourite cafés: Cranford Café and the Tea Room both in Knutsford.
If he wants to go out in the evening he spins around once then barks
He also spins around before he goes to the loo – sometimes 10 times
He knocks your hand with his paw if he wants more affection.
My daughter came up with the name Arlo and the lady’s son who he came from was called Arlo.
His favourite food is corned beef
