Skidboot 'The Smartest Dog In The World' (16 page)

Skidboot traveling celebrity status.

David snaps a quick photo of Skidboot photographer Robert Ritchie and Skidboot.

Skidboot relaxing in one of his favorite places.

State Fair of Texas 2001.

Skidboot, David and Barbara backstage.

David and Skidboot pose for yet another photo.

Skidboot races figure eights around barrels.

Best of friends, best of times.

Skidboot celebrity headshot photo.

Performing for their younger fans.

Skidboot's paw marked in concrete.

CHAPTER THIRTY

From Disaster to Jay Leno

Jay Leno didn't know rodeos. He didn't know about trick dogs from Quinlan, Texas, at least not until one of his assistants viewed the PAX special and raved about it. "Jay," he said, "you have to see this dog!" Leno saw the clip and invited them on—not once, but twice, generating rapt audience reaction. Both times proved stressful for David, but in different ways.

The Tonight Show
at Studio 11 in Burbank, California, follows an established format, with opening credits, then the announcer, after which comes the first segment, usually a ten-minute monologue by Leno—a potpourri of current event one-liners and brief comedy sketches. The second segment might be a full comedy sketch, or a mini-documentary by a "Tonight Show correspondent." Soon, the first guest appears, the interview divided into two segments. Then comes an interview with the second guest, followed by a musical performance or a brief teaser of stand-up comedy.

For the first time, Barbara would be going along on this venue—the Jay Leno Show!—and the excitement was palpable. Since it was enroute, they scheduled a quick luncheon appearance at the Lion's Club in Sherman, Texas just before catching their flight at Dallas/Fort Worth airport. The Leno crew had confirmed them in first class, and David couldn't wait to see the three of them eating juicy steaks and sipping champagne. Two Hartwigs and a dog. For the thousandth time, he felt the blessings. It seemed like too much. And, it was.

They'd bought a 1978 camper on wheels, a boxy little 28-foot motor home for future side trips, riding around the countryside, camping, performing at rodeos. But for now, they threw their bags in, slammed the doors shut, and—like a blast from a youthful past—squealed away from Quinlan toward the adventure of their lives.
This will be fun,
Barbara said to David.
Yes, fun,
David replied. They would drive the Sam Rayburn Freeway and turn onto the Buck Owens Freeway, arriving in Sherman with just enough time to perform, to munch wilted chicken strips and pocket the $150 fee, and then roar away to DFW airport.

A typical Texas town, Sherman distinguished itself by once having Jesse James and his outlaw band rampage through town, after which, James was apparently so impressed that he returned to spend part of his honeymoon there. Tornadoes, freight trains and riots have ripped through Sherman, and on Halloween, it's known for a hidden house of horror, tucked away off Taylor Street, next door to a snow cone stand, within sight of Fairview Park and the old Anderson Slaughterhouse. Time and history have left the town just as the Hartwigs found it—a sleepy, uneventful destination, although not for long.

After the performance, with only a few hours until takeoff, David turned the starter and heard an empty "click."

"No way!" He panicked, stomping the pedal, then stopped, afraid of flooding the tank. Again he tried, with the hollow "clicks" sounding like the end of their Los Angeles fantasy, the dying gasp of a broken dream. David tried to call a cab, but Sherman lay too far north of the airport to have regular taxi routes. Somehow, he and Barbara managed to push the camper—
how? David wondered later, did two humans and a dog shoulder a 4,000-pound camper out of the gas lane?
As they waited for the only cab that responded, David dialed the Leno people.
They are going to cross us off the list.

But no. Veterans of misfires, screw ups, no shows and missed flights, the Leno coordinator had seen it all before, had dealt with hysterical voices pleading over faraway phones and soothed them with, "don't worry, be happy, we'll get you a new flight, easiest thing in the world…"