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H

e sings. It’s a howl, yes, but as howls go, it is suave. And if you were to put a dinner jacket on him, he couldn’t be much more debonair than he is now with that sleek tan-gray coat. For all his elegance and fine manners, and for that singing, Rhino is Mr. August, Pet of the Month.

Rhino. Mr. August, Pet of the Month at Georgie’s hair salon.

Rhino is a rescue dog, but Rich Wertin says it was Rhino who picked him.

About three years ago, Rich was living in Illinois, and decided he wanted a Weimaraner, a hunting breed originally from Germany. He found that in the entire US, there were exactly two Weimaraners needing a rescue to a new home. One was in far-away Idaho, and the other was in Indiana. His name was Rhino, he’d been found as a stray on the streets of Indianpolis, adopted out once and then returned to the pound and was staying with a “foster family” until a new home could be found.

Rhino in his familiar chair at Errands Plus.

But not any old home would do. The foster couple who had Rhino were, as Rich puts it, “very particular.” Rich had to fill out a 12-page questionnaire. What’s more, the foster family was adamant that Rhino decide who his new owners would be, and not the other way around. A dozen other people had tried and didn’t pass muster: when they came to visit, Rhino politely greeted them, then walked across the room and plopped down on a cushion and ignored them.

Rich was Number 13. He says he sat down on the couch in that Indianpolis house and that Rhino came over and laid his head in Rich’s lap. That sealed the deal.

Rhino with Rich Wertin.

At the time, Rhino was about 8 months old, his coat wasn’t in great shape and he was 25 pounds skinnier than his current 85 pounds.

There’s little risk of Rhino becoming skinny again. In early 2007, Rich opened his shop, Errands Plus, on Broad Street and Rhino came to work with him every day. “He’s like a Wal-Mart greeter,” Rich says. Many of those he greets reward him with a treat.

The greeter.

But it is next door at Georgie Powell’s hair salon where Rhino really works the room with his courtly manner. He’s part of the scene there. (And once returned to Rich with his nails painted a bright red.)

Rhino and some of Georgie’s customers.

A big day for Rhino is Thursday, when many of Georgie’s long-time customers come. He knows them well, Rich says and he knows “whether they keep their treats in their bag, or in their pockets.” Giving Rhino treats is such a part of the salon experience that one woman, who didn’t arrive with treats one day, “felt bad that others were giving and she wasn’t.” Rich says that “she went to the grocery store” after her hair was done, and came back with treats for Rhino.

On the next page, you get to hear a singing dog… >>>
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Sometimes, to get a treat from Georgie herself, Rhino has to sing. It is this crooning achievement that really distinguishes Mr. August.

Part of the warm up.

They have the routine down now. Rhino climbs in to the middle chair (and no, he will not abide having the hair dryer put over his head, thank you.) He offers a kiss. Then gives a big yawn.

And then, Georgie starts to sing “God Bless America” in the key of Bay. After a few bars, Rhino harmonizes.

Georgie Powell and Rhino sing “God Bless America.”

…. from the mountains, to the prairies….

To the oceans, white with foam… click the audio player below and get ready to hear Rhino (and Georgie):

Over at the Errands Plus side of the building, meanwhile, a jar of LivaSnaps sits on the counter next to a bell. In an update of the Pavlov experiment, the two are related. Rich holds the bell in one hand, a treat in the other. To get the treat, Rhino taps the bell with his nose.

Rhino rings a bell.

When not crooning or ringing bells, Rhino sits by the window and watches the traffic go by. Early on, he learned the sound of the UPS truck and its Milk-Bone bearing driver and would pine for it if it drove by without stopping. Rhino’s human friends point out the telltale nose marks at a certain Weirmaraner height on the window.

Rhino may hear a lot at Georgie’s but he won’t spread gossip. Mostly, he looks out the window and waits. He can hear the UPS truck long before he can see it.

Often, he tucks his body in to one of the chairs under the window facing North Street, his paws elegantly crossed. That chair, Rich says, “is his office.”

He can be territorial about it. When a customer recently sat in that seat, Rich says, Rhino sat right in front of her and stared witheringly until she vacated it.

Rhino in his “office”.

Away from work, Rhino loves to fetch. Frisbees. Balls. Emptied water bottles. Rich has combined two of Rhino’s loves in to one pasttime, when he tosses things off of a dock. Rhino gets a good long run down the dock and then goes flying in to the water to retrieve whatever has been thrown there. While his breed may be “upland bird dogs” who hunted quail and pheasant, Rhino is very much a water dog. Georgie says that he looks, “like a dolphin. He’s unbelievably fast.”

Thing is, once he’s in the Neuse — off of Wiggans Point or Lee Landing — , he’s reluctant to go back to land. Rich speaks of having to “pry him, physically drag him out of the water.”

And if you thought that all those treats might spoil a dog’s appetite, Rhino is pretty much an omnivore and, Rich’s mother Loretta Knowles notes, he loves vegetables. Tomatoes on the vine — Georgie has some growing nearby – are a favorite. Cukes. Peppers. Mushrooms. Anything but onions.

Most un-rhinoceros like paws.

While his vegetable eating may set him apart from most canines, he is like many of them who tremble when thunder and lightning crackle. He shakes so much at the sound of it, Rich says, that “his teeth will chatter.” He gets that say with anything that remotely recreates the noise. A vacuum cleaner. Luggage rolling across a floor. A clothes hamper on wheels. Trash cans in particular set him on edge, because of the thundrous clamor they make when rolled. Even when the trash can is stationary, even when his favorite toy — a stuffed duck — is nearby, Rhino is reluctant to go near it. He is at best, Rich says, “tiptoeish.”

Rhino – Mr. August.

Rhino’s Bio

Celebrity Pet Most Resembles: Patrick Stewart

Likes: The UPS Truck. Customers at Georgie’s, especially the Thursday crowd. Armpits.
Dislikes: Thunder and things that sound like it. Red nail polish.
Fetishes Licking lotion off hands. Nuzzling armpits.
Favorite Foods: Tossed salad, hold the onions. Cherry tomatoes on the vine. Apples&Cinnamon Oatmeal. Strawberry Yogurt.
Favorite Pedicure: Dremel Tool filing
Favorite whine: Key of Dog
Hang-outs: Errands Plus, Georgie’s during the work day.
Favorite Beaches: Wiggan’s Point, near Oriental. Lee Landing, near Reelsboro.
Hobbies: Expanding his repertoire.

Know a pet that is a standout? Send in some details and a photo to info@towndock.net. Tell why that pet deserves the coveted TownDock.net Pet of the Month Prize Package --- accolades, a pat on the head (snakes excluded) and a box of Milk Bones ( or snack suitable for the species). We regret that we cannot offer a college scholarship to Pet Of The Month winners. Animals caught near the HarborCam attempting to suck up to the judges will be disqualified.