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hey’ve been a familiar sight in town, zipping along the streets of Oriental these past five years. The big furry lion of a dog. The cowboy hat. The bicycle.

The dog is Chunk. The cowboy hat and bike are — from top to bottom — Carl Jones.

Carl and Chunk on one of their last rides through town.

You won’t be seeing that team much longer.

In a few days, Chunk’s owners, Carl, and his wife, Sharon Noennig are packing up their home in Oriental and pointing the moving van and truck towards Arizona. As they head out of town, we get around to our long-overdue tribute to Chunk – Mr. July.

He is also — and this was important for the judges — the first POTM— and first dog we’ve ever heard of — to practice the art of “catch and release squirrelling.”

No squirrels would cooperate with the reporting and photo requirements of this story, so a stand-in was used.

Carl says it all started back in Chillicothe, Ohio — the last place they moved from — when the young Chunk caught up with his first squirrel. In the ensuing skirmish, dog and quarry became a blur and then a shocked-looking Chunk dropped the furry-tailed vermin. The squirrel ran away — seemingly not much worse for wear — up the closest tree.

In the months that followed that first catch-and-release, Chunk perfected his technique. He’d “engage” the squirrels, let them go and then, as they ran away, he would stick his nose under their bodies and flip them off their feet. He would, Carl says, do this repeatedly, perhaps aided by a squirrel disoriented by the circumstance, if not by his luck.

Chunk poses with a plush toy, to simulate what it would be like if he actually bit a squirrel.

The nose-roll became Chunk’s trademark move. (For those who want to Try This At Home: A primer on how to train your dog in “catch and release squirrelling follows.)

Chuck and Sharon and Chunk at Croakerfest. Chunk was festooned with flags and faux firecracker decorations. But like most dogs here, he isn’t a fan of them when they go off.

Sharon suggests that Chunk’s behavior of tussling, but not going in for the kill is wired in his genes. His lineage, she thinks, is, “½ chow and ½ something very friendly.”

There were no papers that came with Chunk. Carl says they first spotted him “chewing on a frozen deer carcass lying on the side of the road.” A few days later, Sharon coaxed the puppy — just a few months old — into the breezeway of their Ohio home. In time, he began eating food the couple offered him. And then he was adopted by their cat “Boo”.

The young cat and dog roughhoused. But the cat, which had also come in from the wild, always got the upper hand by pouncing on him. (This may explain why Chunk released that first squirrel that clawed him; perhaps he thought it was a wild cat.)

When Chunk and Carl and Sharon moved to Oriental, the dog tried to add bicycle-style squirrel catch-and-release to his repertoire as he ran alongside Carl’s bike. Problem was, the leash got tangled in the spokes. A deal seems to have been struck. Carl gave up on the leash and Chunk showed restraint in chasing squirrels not in his own yard.

How do you cool off when you’re wearing a thick coat of Chow? Plunk down in the water of the Oriental Town Beach.

Chunk is heading west.

Perhaps it’s because he found other distractions while in Oriental. For one, the beach, always a popular stop on his walks. And Carl says that Chunk would take a walk every hour on the hour if he could.

Soon, Chunk will not be walking the streets of Oriental anymore. He — along with Carl and Sharon — is off to a new home outside of Tucson, Arizona.

Chunk’s Bio

Celebrity Pet Most Resembles: Johnny Depp

What he likes best about Oriental: Disoriented squirrels, mail-order dog food, the Croaker Festival Parade

What he dislikes most about Oriental: Gunfire, fireworks, rabbits (too fast) and squirrels with sharp teeth
Favorite Music: Easy-listening: Pavarotti, Russell Watson
Favorite Foods: Town and Country chicken breasts
Favorite Cartoon Character: Natasha in “Rocky and Bullwinkle”
Favorite Hang-outs: Public boat ramp, public beach
Number of squirrels released: Classified

Read more about Chunk, Squirrel Catch-And-Release Dog ›
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More About Chunk & The Squirrel Nose Roll

When TownDock.net correspondent Bernie Harberts paid a visit to Chunk in researching this story, Chunk’s human, Carl Jones, allowed that most dogs are not naturally inclined toward freeing a squirrel that they catch. He offered to show how to train a dog in the finer points of the squirrel nose-roll. As a bonus to Pet of the Month, and as a cheerio to Carl and Sharon, we present what we are reasonably sure is a world-exclusive:

Training A Catch-and-Release Squirrel Dog

“I like to use a 6-foot boat rod,” Carl said when he met with TownDock.net in his driveway. Mounted on his rod was a Penn Long Beach fishing reel rigged with 30 lb “squid line”. For bait, he used a “Plush Puppies” stuffed toy walrus tied to the end of the line. (Other brown creatures may be substituted in a pinch but hooks should be removed from actual fishing lures if they are used.)

Carl Jones, who it should be said, was on his way to a more formal function when a TownDock.net staffer called, shows the tools of the trade in training a dog to nose-roll a squirrel.

”For most dogs, I like a 25-pound drag setting”, he said, referring to how much pressure needs to be applied to the reel before the clutch slips. For smaller or infirm dogs, 10 pounds is enough.

Carl suggested leaving the clicker, the sounding mechanism inside the reel, engaged. That way, “if a healthy dog grabs the bait while I’m not looking, I’ll hear and won’t loose 50 to 100 feet of line.”

That, at least, was the theory.

With his gear assembled, Carl thrust his rod and reel into a nearby tree and climbed up behind. Once nestled in the crown, he lowered the stuffed walrus toy “bait” and called Chunk.

Into the tree to suspend the stuffed animal to simulate a squirrel to be nosed.

The dog appeared, sniffed the bait and left. Chunk, it seems, found the stand-in arrangement unsporting. “Sometimes it helps to use real bait.” Carl noted as he lowered himself back to the lawn.

No sale.

A subsequent attempt to get the dog to pounce on the squirrel, at “a squirrel bait station disguised as a bird feeder” also failed. When TownDock.net staff suggested a bait change, perhaps to a stuffed mouse or dragon, Carl threw in the towel.

“Some dogs”, Carl noted, “only go for live squirrels.”

Chunk. Mr. July, and sole practitioner of the humane nose-roll squirrel catch-and-release.

Chunk and Carl Jones are off to Arizona.

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.