This week’s Arlington Pet of the Week is Hank, a nine- or 10-year-old dog who likes chasing motorcycles.
Originally from Georgia, Hank now lives in Clarendon with his owner, Patty.
Hank has been a resident of Arlington for a little over a year. He’s adapted well enough to apartment life. He had two houses in Georgia before moving here … one in the city and one on a lake. (Lucky dog!) He had been rescued from the side of I-40 in Nashville by friends Andy and Melanie, who fostered him for a couple of weeks before my husband and I adopted him.
Andy and Melanie saw him trotting down the shoulder of the road, with skinny flanks and bright green chewing gum stuck onto his hind end. During their two weeks fostering him, they discovered he was a lovable, athletic and curious little guy. Given they’re from Nashville, they named him Hank Williams; I renamed him Highway Hank.
He has a problem with motorcycles, we learned a few months after adopting him: he chases them. We figure that’s how he made his way onto I-40. He probably chased one onto the freeway entrance ramp and it outran him.
Now he is a mellow old dude of maybe nine or ten. Very chill. Not a big fan of other medium-size to large male dogs, so the dog park is out of the question. Instead, Hank prefers people, and especially little children. And food. As a once-homeless young pup, he must have forever been on the hunt for chow. He still snorts around every corner of every door front and bus stop on our walks around Clarendon, hoping against hope for chicken bones or goldfish that have spilled out of kids’ strollers.
Expressive eyes and a happy spirit make him a target of many kind smiles and sweet comments and ear rubs.The snow is a joy for him. He happily bounces into it and across it and eats it. The salt on the sidewalks is quite another story. It is abrasive to his gnarly old pads. He’s quite happy with his socks and boots on, though … which always elicit the sweetest comments, especially from kids and old people.
I work from home and don’t know what I would do without him.
Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!
Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner six consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.
Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.