About the Characters

Dr Benjamin Rat M.B.,B.S. D.R.A.N.Z.C.O.G. F.R.A.C.G.P., a rat

Ben is a thirty-something, Australian general practitioner, battling the odds to run a solo practice in the suburb of Templeton, in the city of Fornor, state of Flora. He set up shop seven years ago, prepared to do what it took to succeed against the long hours, on-call work, endless red tape and high overheads that came with the territory.  Recently, local competition from the nearby medical centre has been becoming tighter and tighter. He is becoming increasingly frazzled. For the moment, though, Ben remains good-natured and conscientious, carrying out a professional job to the best of his ability. He tries to make people better. He also gives money to street buskers and is kind to pets. Ben lives alone.

Gizelle Thompson, a Thompson's gazelle.

Zell has been working as the receptionist at Doc Rat's medical practice since its beginning, seven years ago. Through the hardest of times, she's stuck by him loyally, with devotion and a fiercely short temper. And while she can sometimes be a touch over-protective, she always tries to shield Ben from the slings and arrows of outrageous patients. And creditors. And lawyers. While trying to keep him on-time with his appointments and up-to-date with his paperwork (did I mention the short temper?)

Gizelle is married to Gazza and has no children.

Mary Scamper, a rabbit

If you need a good, straightforward, uncomplicated nurse, there's no one better than Mary. Her open and trusting nature is a great asset when folk in need are looking for comfort. She runs the treatment room with order and discipline.

Mary is particularly good with children - but as a rabbit, she'd have to be. Above all, as a nurse and a valuable part of the team, she really knows her stuff.

Mary and her husband Tom have four children, all of whom have left the burrow.

Phil Krubnuckle, a gorilla

Phil, the local pharmacist, is the proud owner of a successful small business that has been in operation for forty years. He didn't get where he is today without a very sharp sense of commerce. His memory can reach back to the good old days when he would turn a good living by mixing up squill of oxymel, until no-one could remember what it was used for (and then for about a year after that.) On the down side, he has stuck with his well-worn professional sales pitch for so long that he could be accused of being behind the times. But then, no one accuses a gorilla of anything.

Phil loves fishing and playing jazz saxophone, but otherwise, his private life is his own. Any argument?

About Jenner

Jenner has been an Australian newspaper and magazine cartoonist for over twenty years, drawing professionally and non-professionally in both the Australian and US scene in the small amount of time outside his duties as a full-time doctor. He is currently working in a city general practice, and has adopted the anonymous pen name Jenner as an ethical courtesy. Although a daily strip on the Internet is a new venture for him, his Doc Rat character has been appearing in medical and non-medical magazines for over a decade.