On getting George

As many of you know, I had a dog Chester Burnette for many years. At a certain point, we acquired Hubert Sumlin, who, appropriately enough, *adored* Chester Burnette.  Several years later, in mid-December, Chester died. Hubert immediately sank into an inconsolable grief. He wouldn't eat, wouldn't play, wouldn't do anything but lie on the couch and look miserable. I tried tempting him with the best dog food, with home-made gravy on his food, with the red ball, with anything. Within days, he was sick with grief. At about the third visit to the vet, the vet said that either we needed to get a new dog or we needed to put him on doggy Prozac (which might or might not work), but Hubert was going to die if we didn't do something.This was around December 30. The next day Jacob (who was six) and I were running errands near Town Lake Animal Control (aka "the pound"). I decided that he and I would "just look" at the dogs they had.

We went in, and I explained to the person at the front desk that we were really good with big dogs (who are very hard to place). We specifically wanted a Dane-mix. She gave us a list of Dane mixes, and we proceeded to look at dogs in 6x3 enclosures with concrete floors. It went better than you might expect for the first three or four dogs, with our discussing their advantages and disadvantages in a fairly distanced way. We could imagine this dog, who was attractive insofar as... but who might be a problem in that... Then Jacob and George saw each other.

Really, it was like the scene in West Side Story when Tony and Maria see each other and the whole world stops. George was on our list of "Dane-mix" but the dog had no Dane in him, and I knew that. With one ear up and one down, and neither of them even remotely appropriately sized for his head, and paws even more outsized for his body, this dog just grabbed Jacob's heart and wrapped it in his goofy ears. That was that.

So, still trying to maintain some semblance of objectivity, as though I was not going to take this dog home, I asked various questions of the staff, and indicated we were interested. Yeah. Interested. They took us to the front area, where we could play with the dog. Jacob and George (not yet named George) took to playing with each other, and the woman said, "Would you like to take this dog home?" and I said, "It's either that or I leave my son here."

She asked if we had proof that our dog at home had the necessary vaccinations, and I explained we hadn't brought any of that paperwork. (She was very kind at that point, and did not treat me like an idiot.) It turned out there was some urgency to the situation, as George was scheduled to be euthanized immediately. He had been there a month, with no takers. Because he was so big, he was taken for older than he was, and the fact that he still fell over his own feet (normal at 12 weeks) meant that prospective owners assumed he was retarded. I told her she could try calling our vet, but they were almost certainly closed. She knew the number of the back room, essentially, and decided to try.

I watched as she called. Someone answered, and the woman explained the question. She looked disappointed, and told me that the person who answered had politely explained that she was just a tech there to take care of animals who were being boarded and couldn't answer any questions about records. I said, "Tell her it's for Hubert." The TLAC person said, "I'm supposed to tell you that this would be for Hubert." Then she said, "Oh! Okay! Sure, I can wait!...Okay. Great! Okay! Yes, I promise! Yes, really!" and such.

A little flustered, she turned to me and said, "She says I have to give you a dog."

As George, Jacob, and I got into the car, Jacob asked me how one named a dog. I said, "Well, I generally name them after beings I really admire." Jacob thought for a bit, mused about naming him Scooby Doo, and then said, "George Washington."

We still have the "behavioral evaluation" they did of George at TLAC. It says: "Friendly & confident pup. High level of arousal. Very wiggly, jumps up a lot, somewhat mouthy, pushy & assertive w? body & paws. Resisted teeth exam, but forgiving."

I still maintain that is a perfect description of Jacob.

Hubert did five figure eights in the back yard when we brought George home. Jim was surprised, but took it all in stride.