Doc Rat
Doc Rat is a Furry Web Comic produced on weekdays by Jenner. Jenner is a pseudonym given to a practicing doctor in Australia.
The comic follows Dr. Benjamin "Ben" Rat and his family practice, with largely a Slice of Life theme. Events in the comic suggests it is located in the vicinity of Melbourne. It shows his interaction with his various patients. Since they are also different species of animals, this can be a source for much of its comedic fodder. There is also plenty of Australian humor, doctor humor, and dealings with Australia's Medicare universal healthcare system.
The main character is, obviously, a rat. The other main characters are Mary Scamper, his rabbit nurse, and Gizelle Thompson, his gazelle receptionist. There is also a rogue's gallery of regular patients which include koalas, numbats, kangaroos and a camel. Recently he married Danielle Hood, also a rat, who was previously his dentist and taekwondo instructor. Also listed is the local pharmacist, gorilla Phil Krubnuckle, though he's not featured as often.
Jenner created Doc Rat in the 1990s and drew one-offs in various Australian medical journals as requested. He created the organized web comic in 2006.
- Bad Liar: Ben's whiskers twitch when he lies. The bigger the lie, the more his whiskers twitch, as demonstrated here
- Bilingual Bonus: Flopsy the wolf's surname is Jaegermond, German for 'hunter's moon'.
- Camp Gay: Pat, a dog, one of his patients. Not only pretty flamboyant, but also very nosy.
- Carnivore Confusion: Not central but present on a few strips. Follows a less brutal variation of Kevin and Kell rules.
- Also, this strip.
- Apparently it's a cultural tradition.
- Cerebus Syndrome: Remember when the strip was just puns about medical conditions? That was quite a while ago.
- CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: In one arc in 2009, one of his patients, bear Wilbur Fuzz, has a heart attack in his office. Ben and Mary do CPR on him until paramedics arrive to defibrillate him.
- Depraved Dentist: After Ben and Danni are in a relationship, Danni is forced to stop being Ben's Dentist. So she sends him to her associate, Doctor Bell - who happens to be an Anglerfish! See here
- Interspecies Romance: Flopsy (wolf) and Jazmyn (rabbit), something of a big deal considering wolves normally eat rabbits and Flopsy ate Jaz's ex-husband.
- Webcomics Long Runners: Started June 2006, currently up to 1505 strips.
- Magic Genetics: Largely averted, until a rabbit and wolf apparently conceive. They regard it a miracle.
- Never Trust a Hair Tonic: Mr Pigg complains to the chemist that the tonic he'd purchased which promised to "add body to your hair" caused him to sprout hair everywhere. Turned out he'd read the label upside down; it actually said "adds hair to your body".
- Nobody Over 50 Is Gay: Averted by Julian.
- Nobody Poops: Averted here.
- Papa Wolf: Flopsy, literally two of his stepkids got eaten by a fox, he broke the offending vulpine's legs, then paid for his medical treatment.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: When the Black Saturday bushfires occured in 2009, Jenner incorporated them into the plot with one of his patients adopting an orphaned niece.
- Shout-Out:
- To Kevin and Kell here, as part of the Magic Genetics incident.
- Julian Sands's name may be a Shout-Out to Julian & Sandy, making it a Meaningful Name.
- Or it could be to the actor, which raises some... interesting questions.
- Species Surname: In some cases (e.g. Doc himself) but not all.
- Invisible to Gaydar: Julian Sands, a camel. When it's discovered he is gay, however, it causes all sorts of issues for him and for Ben.
- That Came Out Wrong: Ben and Danni's conversation at a restraint here. Hilarity Ensues.
