Pets and Peeps: Goodbye, Buster. Hello, George

The people: Henry Parkman of the Clairemont neighborhood in Decatur.

Pet's name, nicknames, breed and age: George; Georgie. Mixed breed (but more refined on closer inspections), old yeller dog, looks like a Carolina Dog. About 7 years old.

How I met my pet: My wife and I were at the vet at the end of the life of our great Jack Russell Buster.  Our vet said, "This may not be the time, and you may not be interested, but I have a great dog here that needs a good home."  (He was rescued by an animal lover -- he had apparently climbed over his first owner's chain-link fence.) The vet said that she would take him, but she had too many.  We indeed were not looking for a new dog, much less a dog the size of George.  But we did look at him -- he had/has a great face, nice short fur, and was very nimble.  I picked him up and he licked my face.  That was over six years ago, and he's turned out to be the perfect dog for us.  We give Buster some credit for setting us up with George.

I love it when my pet does this: Stays close to me and does not run away when he's off leash.  When he's really enjoying a walk, he puts his head low, smiles, and his tail gets very curly. 

I wish my pet would stop doing this: Stopping to pee/mark so many times on our walks; licking the cat food bowl.

What my pet eats: Dry food/kibble -- IAMS chunks. 

What people say about my pet: He's handsome, has a nice face.  They speculate as to what kind of dog he is.

Most exciting moment with my pet: I noticed George being interested in something in the back yard, so I went to investigate.  He was "soft mouthing" a dead possum.  I put George in the house, then went back to dispose of the dead possum.  I grabbed the end of its tail, and the head turned and the "dead" possum snarled and hissed at me, then took off.

How my pet has enriched my life: He's always happy to see me and always gets excited (and vocalizes) when I'm about to take him for a walk.  He gets me out to walk in the neighborhood and improves my mood. 

If my pet could talk he or she might say: Feed me, take me for a walk, come play ball with me. 

Patch would like to know about your dog, cat, snake, lizard, monkey, llama -- whatever kind of pet you have. If you're interested in being profiled in Pets and Peeps, email Ralph.Ellis@Patch.com.

You can also read other Decatur Patch pet stories at the Pets Topic Page.