7 August

Portrait: Gus, The Edward G. Robinson Of Dogs

by Jon Katz
Portrait: The Edward G. Robinson Of Dogs

People tell me they think Gus is adorable, but they don’t live with him. He looks to me like Edward G. Robinson, or a Bat-dog about to fly off. He is not stuffed animal. He tortures Red, steal’s Fate’s bones, is inexhaustible, will eat anything not locked away, is willful and determined.

At the Mansion, he is just a doll, a cuddle bug. Around the house, he is a holy terror, I call him the Bat Dog, those ears swivel like radar receptors, they miss nothing. Today he was inside the pasture gate, and I was outside. He game over and stared at me until I let  him out, and then he jumped on me making that strange war-like sound he makes and tried to  grab my camera strap. This did not go well, but I managed to escape and he held still long enough for me to take his portrait.

I think he does look like Edward G. Robinson.

9 Comments

  1. Gus is a great dog. Rereading The Story of Rose. What a wonderful dog. Do you still have the ink well you found at the old foundation ?

  2. Will Gus grow into those ears,or will they get bigger, too? When I look closely at the, I am astonished at all the sound they must catch. And yes, he does look like E. Gus Robinson.! Can’t wait to meet him.

  3. I just love this photo!! Now each time I watch a movie on TCM classic movie channel with Edward G. Robinson I will be thinking of Gus!! Happy Birthday, Jon, and enjoy your day at the race track. You and Maria have such wonderful chemistry together. Thanks for sharing your special times together with all of your readers.

  4. I have Boston puppy who was into everything all day long…exhausting…he just hit the 4 month old mark and he’s like a different dog…much calmer…maybe Gus will do the same…

  5. Oh, hysterical! I just realized a couple of days ago while dog sitting for Sammy, my daughter’s Boston Terrier, that Sammy looks just like a canine Edward G. Robinson when he’s smiling. (“Now do it my way, see?”) And now I found your site here while searching for images of Edward G. Robinson to find a good one to send to my daughter!

  6. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Jon! I’m sure you and Maria will make it a great day! Gus is a charmer, and, yes, he does look like Edward G. Robinson. You and Maria have 3 extraordinary dogs with different personalities that have worked out their relationships to each other, just as you believed they would. Love the photos and hearing about them. Thanx for sharing!

  7. Jon, your post inspired me to do a little research on Edward G. Robinson. Turns out he was a very cool guy. He was a Romanian-born Jew who spoke out against Fascism and Nazism in the 30s and 40s and made substantial financial contributions to philanthropic causes. Apparently he was quoted as saying,”I know I’m not much on face value, but when it comes to stage value, I’ll deliver for you.” Could this apply to Gus as well? 🙂

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