Rowf is a black labrador retriever from the novel entitled The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams (author).

Rowf was born in the laboratory where inhumane experiments were performed on him and his companion, Snitter. Snitter escapes with Rowf, only to find that living in the great outdoors is quite challenging. As a fox named the Tod teaches the two dogs to survive, they soon become fugitives from the army, as increasing reports of their hunting raise suspicions that they are rabid. Rowf is usually a downtrodden fellow, quite old and cynical, since he has had a hard life and never met a decent human. Also, as a result of the experimentation, he has gained an abnormal fear of water. But toward the end of his travels he starts to believe in something more. Rowf's travels were animated into an animated film by the same name.