Q&A: George

We interrupt your regularly scheduled lack of programming to bring you this very special announcement: MSF house is pleased to report that the position of "Understudy to Mr. Mac" has finally been filled, after an exhaustive search covering most if not all of the dirt patch in front of Barclays bank. We sat down with the newest member of our Busia team for a brief interview and photoshoot this afternoon:

Meet George. George, who can count himself lucky for, among other things, the fact that I was not granted naming rights--"PC", "Cheese", and "Tosh" (wait for it...) were all just begging to be used--came to us last week from another family here in town who simply couldn't afford to give him the home he needed. He's been working very hard so far to establish his own brand of mischief, and we were lucky to break into his busy schedule for a few minutes to ask a few questions.

Savannahgrams: So George--can we call you Georgie? G-dog? Cheese? No?--so George, first we wanted to know...um, hang on, you know what George, we're actually going to need you to back off just a tad...

George: What? What? Sorry. Nervous. Back. Back. Here? Here? Here.

Savannahgrams: ...yeah, still a little close.

Mac: Pfft. Rookie.

George: Wait! Wait! Back. Got it.

Savannahgrams: ...um, yes, great, thank you George. So as we were saying, the first thing we've gotta ask is: how're you settling in to the new digs?

George: Oh yeah you know it's great. Greatgreatgreat. I've really been trying to make a good first impression, you know, working the cute li'l puppy angle pretty hard. All in the eyes, you know. Like this.

Savannahgrams: *Sniff* Yeah, um *sniff* we can see how that might appeal to, uh, some people, you know, somewhere. What other techniques are you using to make yourself stand out in a new environment?

George: Well, I think face time is definitely important, you know, the more I see of everybody, the better. The hardest part about that is getting into the house though--the folks inside, they've got this weird thing where they keep the doors shut on me, like, ALL THE TIME. So you have to think outside the box a bit.

Savannahgrams: Yeah, that one time you managed to hide on the living room couch through an entire dinner with no one noticing was pretty impressive. How do you plan to follow that up?

George: Well, you know, I'm having to get more creative every time, you know, just pushing the boundaries. I'm thinking my next attempt will probably involve an unattended mobile phone, some chicken wire, and OH MY GOSH IS THAT A CHEW TOY??

Savannahgrams: Um, no George, that's actually our camera case. If you don't mind, can we just...here...no, let me get that...really, it's ok, it's not food...

George: Hunggghhh? Hawwy, wy wow wi hiyya hu--

Savannahgrams: --yeah, all right, we'll come back to you. Mac, coming over to you, can you tell us a little bit about how you feel, having a new partner around?

Mac: Well, at first I was pretty skeptical, of course, you know, he's coming in with his weird smells and his black coat and I was actually kinda scared, you know? Like, threatened. No, legit scared. I mean, he's like scary fierce with those little teeth of his.

Savannahgrams: Yeah, Mac, you'll forgive us for not just taking your word on what might be considered "scary fierce", but we do, in fact, have evidence of George's masticating escapades. Let's go to the tape:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Mac: ...yeah. Not pretty. And just think, that coulda been me, right? But then I figured, hey, he's just a kid, I've got to be strong and take him under my paw, you know? If I'm, you know, nice to him or whatever, maybe he won't, you know, eat me or anything. And I'll be honest, there's just so much to teach him: the quickest route for running laps around the house, the best hiding places in case of frog attacks, what's food and what's garbage...

Savannahgrams: Yeah, that last one sounds like an important difference.

Mac: Sorry, difference?

Savannahgrams: Never mind. So let's go back to George now. George, what do you have to say about all this chewing business?

George: Hunggh?

Savannahgrams: I see.

George: Sorry, I'll stop.

Savannahgrams: Sure you will.

George: I will! Promise.

Savannahgrams: Will not.

George: Will too.

Savannahgrams: I'll bet you a whole day's worth of indoor couch time that you can't leave that ball alone for more than an hour.

George: Fine, and you know what? I won't touch the frisbee either. Bring it on.

Savannahgrams: Fine. See if we care.

George: Fine.

Savannahgrams: Fine.

George and Savannahgrams: ...

Savannahgrams: I dare you to bite it.

George: OKAY! Wait...

Savannahgrams: All righty, thanks so much George-ito! We'll be sure to check in with you over the next few months, once we've finished up these pesky medical school applications. We've got a lot of stories we'll want your expert opinion on: trips to Malawi, Turkana, and Masai Mara...on-the-ground opinions about the East African famine and drought...fun games to play with Kenyan kids...important life lessons...some fashion advice, naturally...and--sorry, uh, George?

George: What? It just rolled closer on its own, I swear.