Lynley Dodd: Writing the Pictures, Painting the Words is directed by Susan Leonard (The Casketeers) and premieres 5 July on The Spinoff. I just want to protect what I've done so far and keep it simple so far and not milk it, I wouldn't want to milk it.' 'It's been a lot of work over many years and one doesn't want to spoil it by cheapening or overusing. Over the years, Dodd has turned down many requests to put Hairy MacLary and his friends on the big screen, but she prefers to keep them on the page. 'In those days, when I was first doing Hairy, dogs weren't as disapproved of as they are now when they're off the leash.' Since the original Hairy MacLary book was first published in 1983, the rules have gotten a lot tighter for animals, she says. 'I took it home, I drew it and then I made soup out of it, it was quite good.'

I said 'I've got to try and put it in a book'. 'And he shouted 'you want to draw it! What for?'.

When he asked why, she said, 'trying to keep my voice low', that she wanted to draw it. I'll do that'.'ĭodd then returned to the butcher's shop and asked for their largest bone. I thought 'aha, you're going to have difficulty getting home if your friends find you'. 'I was down in Lower Hutt buying the weekly meat for the family… and I looked back across the road as I was about to stick the key in the ignition and there was a dog walking away from the butchers with a whole lot of meat in his jaws. Hairy MacLary Photo: Lynley Dodd / Penguin Books New Zealandĭodd had no idea she'd begun a series but when her publisher asked for a second book, an opportunistic dog from the Hutt gave her the idea for Hairy MacLary's Bone.

Lynley dodds