Giant George (28 page)

But for all the excitement of George’s newfound media celebrity, and the thrill of seeing him on
film, in news coverage and in print, it was the incredible fans that amazed us the most, and who continue to blow us away today. There’s no getting away from it, dog lovers really are a great bunch of people. It doesn’t matter where in the world they live—and Giant George fans seem to live almost everywhere—they are one great big worldwide community. George’s YouTube videos had had over 2.5 million
hits by summer 2011; by any yardstick, that’s an awful lot of viewers. He also has over 75,000 fans on Facebook, 2,500 on Twitter, and the traffic on his website—incredibly—is still growing; he now sees around 5,000 visitors a day.

And these people don’t just visit to say hi to George, either. They talk to each other too; they share their stories and anecdotes, post pictures, swap tips and tell
their fellow fans about their own beloved pets. They also respond to all the updates we try to post daily—it’s a big job for the team to keep up with them all!

But George, being a superstar, doesn’t have to worry about logistics. Why should he? Heck, he has staff to do all that stuff,
doesn’t he? It sure feels like it. We’re all of us agreed on one thing: we have no time, these days, for any
other kind of hobby. Just keeping up with everything we need to keep up with—from running the media to shipping merchandise, to dealing with paperwork, to answering the thousands of e-mails—occupies more “happy hours” than we ever imagined.

I’m still busy remodeling houses and have finally finished work on ours now. Christie works way too hard, looking after her many clients, and still manages
to be the best mom a little girl could ever wish for. Our little girl, incidentally, is doing great, which doesn’t mean she’s different from any other toddler—she tests George’s patience on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, since she’s such an adventurous young lady, she sees him as one giant climbing mountain—one she’s determined to conquer. If anyone’s gonna saddle him, Annabel will. And our home
has become even busier as our son, Luke, arrived in May 2011.

As for George himself, well, a typical day goes something like this: get up, have the staff attend to his
toilette
and pedicure, breakfast on the patio, sign a few pawtographs, wait for the limo to take him off somewhere swanky for lunch with friends…

No, of
course
it doesn’t. Our Georgie is a
dog
! So he tends to spend his days doing
what dogs like doing best: he eats, plays and sleeps (oh, and he still does those poops!), and that’s pretty much all he
wants
to do.

Of course, he still enjoys plenty of public appearances too. Now that we’ve started figuring out ways he can use his fame to give something back to the community, he’s busy with a pretty
packed schedule. He visits all sorts of places, from schools and play centers
to nursing homes—anywhere where being himself is all that’s required. Oh, and he’s even strutted his stuff on the catwalk, with his mom, for a big charity fashion show fundraiser. Naturally, being George, he loves every single moment, especially when he gets to have his photograph taken, and even more when he gets to have his ears scratched.

But his appearance on
Oprah
wasn’t the last time George
flew across America. In September 2010, we got another call from Guinness, and a question: would the World’s Tallest Dog like to meet the World’s Smallest Dog? They were about to launch the 2011 version of their iconic records book, and wanted these two to provide the “face” of the launch.

The World’s Smallest Dog—Boo Boo—is a real doggie diva. She’s a diminutive four-inch-high long-haired Chihuahua,
and she was crowned back in 2007. She’s also a real pro, another star performer, and we knew she and George would get along famously. Once again, we were off on a high-altitude adventure—only this time we went to New York! And, happily, this time, it being fall, it wasn’t snowing. We had an incredible trip; George was lucky enough to meet Regis and Kelly, and he appeared on several national
morning shows as a feature story. George found the whole experience a blast—but he stays humble despite his time in front of the cameras!

So all in all, it’s a dog’s life, and we’re so lucky to share it. Not with the “Tallest Dog in the World Ever”—though that’s
great—but with our Georgie, who, first and last, is our much-cherished pet. And we’re lucky too that one of the calls that came in after
Guinness was from a publisher—first a publisher from London, and then one from New York, and they had a great idea. Would we like to tell the world a little more about our amazing dog?

Hell, yes! So here it is. Thanks for reading.

I’d like to thank Kerri Sharp at Simon & Schuster for taking on this project in the UK and Karen Murgolo at Grand Central for publishing the US edition. Also a huge thanks goes to Paul O’Rourke and Dana Murray, who make up Team Giant George, for all their efforts on this book.

D
AVE
N
ASSER
has a degree in Economics and a Master’s in Public Administration. He renovates houses and sells real estate in Tucson (
www.TucsonRealEstateSales.com
), where he lives with wife, Christie, two young children, and, of course, Giant George.

G
IANT
G
EORGE
is a beloved pet who lives in Tucson with Dave Nasser and his family. At almost four feet tall and seven feet long,
he has been named “The Tallest Dog in the World Ever” by Guinness World Records. He has appeared on
The Oprah Winfrey Show
,
LIVE! with Regis & Kelly
, and has his own global fan club.

Christie lying on the floor with GG in our apartment in Tucson. He was around eight weeks old at the time.

Christie sitting on the couch with GG when he was a puppy (about five months)—but growing fast!

GG goofing around in the new house.

Christie standing GG on his hind legs. He was still a puppy, about eight months old.

GG as a puppy in Huntington Beach, California. Notice the knots at his wrists. This is bone that is waiting to grow longer.

GG enjoying his first birthday.

This growing sure does take it out of you!