GORDON LIGHTFOOT | Culture
CAN’T SWITCH IT OFF
A Palmerston North father has admitted that the theme song from children’s television series Paw Patrol has taken up permanent residence in his brain.
Three-year-old Lucas Graham is currently obsessed with the animated rescue dogs, forcing his dad Mark to hear the “Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol, be there on the double” jingle an estimated 20 times a day. The 36-year-old said the song has now invaded his private thoughts, creating a kind of low-level torture he cannot escape.
“I’ll be sitting at my desk at work trying to write an email, and suddenly there it is. Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol, be there on the double,” Mark told reporters. “It’s like my inner voice has been replaced by animated dogs. I can’t even think my own thoughts anymore.”
The father says he has attempted to replace the song with more adult options, including Metallica and Dave Dobbyn, but the pups always win. “You think you’ve shaken it, and then Lucas asks if he can watch one more episode. The moment Ryder shows up on screen, it’s over. That hook is scientifically engineered to ruin parents.”
Mark’s wife Sarah sympathises but admits she secretly finds the whole thing funny. “He’ll be loading the dishwasher humming away without realising it. The other day he was mowing the lawns, and I could hear him muttering ‘whenever there’s a problem, round Adventure Bay’ under his breath.”
Experts say the Paw Patrol theme is part of a long tradition of children’s songs that infiltrate adult minds. “Parents become collateral damage,” said media analyst Claire Jensen. “The kids love it, but the tune is structured to sit on a loop in your head until you’re begging for silence.”
Mark remains upbeat despite his suffering. “At least it’s not Baby Shark. I’ll take Adventure Bay over that nightmare any day.”
More to come.
