<Tr> <Th> Genre (s) </Th> <Td> Humour, Gag - a-day </Td> </Tr> <P> Footrot Flats is a comic strip by New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball . It ran from 1976 to 1994 in newspapers, though unpublished strips continued to appear in book form until 2000 . Altogether there are 27 numbered books (collecting the newspaper strips, with additional material), a further 8 books collecting the Sunday newspaper strips, and 5 smaller' pocket' books of original material, plus various related publications . There was also a stage musical, an animated feature film called Footrot Flats: the Dog's Tail Tale, and even a theme park in Auckland, New Zealand . The strip reached its peak of popularity in the mid-1980s, with the books selling millions of copies in Australasia . </P> <P> The comic's protagonist is a border collie sheepdog, called "Dog", owned by Wal Footrot, who runs a sheep and cattle farm called Footrot Flats near the fictional rural town of Raupo in New Zealand . The comic depicts the trials and tribulations of Wal, the Dog and other characters, human and animal, that come into their lives . The Dog's thoughts are voiced in thought bubbles, though he is clearly "just a dog", unlike the heavily anthropomorphised creatures of some other comics or animation . The humour draws on the foibles of the characters, which many farmers found easy to recognise around them . There was much "humour in adversity", making fun of the daily struggle that permeates farming life . The depictions of the animals are quite realistic and detailed, with a dose of comic anthropomorphism superimposed without spoiling the farming realism . </P> <P> Footrot Flats was initially rejected for syndication by both The New Zealand Herald and The Auckland Star . It was first accepted in 1976 by Mike Robson, editor of Wellington's The Evening Post . The strip appeared in hundreds of newspapers in Australasia and also gained an international following, especially in Denmark . </P>

What is the dogs name in footrot flats