K9 Celebrity Encounter

Real live animals who are used by businesses as mascots, in commercials or other advertising venues may be effective but there's one thing that cannot be forgotten. They are still animals. That fact came into play when I had a chance encounter with a beloved local animal celebrity the other day. 

This cute boarder collie is the mascot of a local TV station, WNKY NBC 40. He appears on the station's weather broadcasts, community service announcements, and makes public appearances to promote local business and community events. 

He is such a local media icon that in an area survey he's been named the favorite TV personality every year for at least the last 5 years. 

I have met and pet him many times, mostly at Hot Rods games. He once made an appearance at a job fair held at the Sitel call center when I worked there. 

I remember pointing out as a joke to my co-workers that there was a dog just sitting in our call center lobby making more money doing nothing than we were talking on the phone. 

Radar is a charming and sweet dog who is normally very gentle and personable. At the very least he's calm and passive. I've never seen him do anything the least bit aggressive; not even barking unless prompted by his handler.  

Here's the reason I've written all of that:

This past Monday I went to 325 Emmit Avenue in Bowling Green to apply for a job with a taxi cab company whose office is in that building. The WNKY TV studios are also part of that complex. 

While walking from the parking lot to the main entrance of the building I saw something that surprised me. Sitting on the lawn out in front of the steps, all by himself, was Radar the Weather Dog. 

I called to him trying to get him to come to me but he stayed sitting where he was. He looked at me but didn't move from that spot. I couldn't figure out why there wasn't anyone around to watch him and make sure he didn't run away. The area was totally open. No fence to keep the dog from just taking off. 

I went inside to the taxi company. No one was in the office so I left about 30 seconds later. 

When I exited the building and headed down the steps, Radar was still in the same place. One more time, I tried to cajole him over to me but he just only turned his head and looked at me. I concluded that, being a border collie, in his mind he was guarding the NBC 40 studios and he couldn't leave his post. 

I decided that no matter what I did I wasn't going to coax the TV mascot  to come visit with me. I turned away and walked to my car. When I got to my car I turned around saw Radar standing on the sidewalk not 20 feet away. He had followed me. 

At first I was kind of startled because I hadn't heard him follow me and couldn't rationalize that he could get that close so fast. It reminded me a bit of a scene from a scary movie. 

I decided that he finally wanted to be friendly. Once again I called him over to me but he didn't move. He was even with the front door of the TV station's offices. So I decided to walk toward him. When I did he started barking at me. I could tell from his body language that he saw me as a threat. 

The barking brought a female station employee outside and she calmed Radar down. I apologized to her for getting the dog upset. 

She told me that it was okay. She explained that what the dog was reacting to was my trying to get him to come across the wire that forms the perimeter of the invisible fence that keeps him "at home" in front of the studio. 

The girl explained that Radar knows his limits and that he knows testing them would give him a shock and hurt him. He sees anyone that tries to get him to go past the invisible fence wants to hurt him. By instinct he gets defensive.

Once I saw the wire for the electric fence (it really was truly invisible unless you knew it was there) I understood. 

I apologized again and walked inside the wire to try and get friendly with Radar again. I was very cautious and he was still somewhat tentative. But he did allow me to pet him. I told him he was a good dog and that I was sorry. 

I was so impressed that I saw someone so famous just sitting there by himself that I forgot something. For a few minutes I forgot that Radar is a dog with basic instincts that he's going to act on above all else. 

I still like him and he's a great dog. I only blame myself for what happened. He was just a dog being a dog. If I'm ever at the WNKY studios again and the same situation occurs I know what I'm going to do. I'll probably call the dog once and if he doesn't act friendly, I'll leave him alone. Lesson learned.