GEORGE CLOONEY NASHERSON
2005-12/31/2019
Our beloved George Clooney died tragically on New Years eve during a fire in our apartment (that began likely from a stove malfunction) in Brooklyn, NY. He was adopted from Sean Casey Animal Rescue in Brooklyn on October 23, 2010- and guessed, at that time, to be about 5 years old. The shelter called him “Windsor” due to the neighboring Windsor Terrace neighborhood and having been rescued as a stray in Prospect Park. George Clooney was the most handsome dog that has ever lived. This is scientifically and mathematically true and everyone who ever met him would agree.
He quickly adjusted to life in Brooklyn with his 2 cat siblings, Papas Fritas and Luna, and his human, Katie. They lived happily together until halfway through 2015, when a new human was brought into the family. The day George officially decided Stephen was our person, was after a long walk to Prospect Park. George loved all the swans and ducks in the lake and that day he seemed to think it was a good idea to jump into the swamp-like lake. Steve sprung into action and swiftly pulled our dopey dog out. The date was October 25, 2015. Steve’s probationary period was over, and he was now officially our person. George fully approved of his newest human and preferred to sleep predominantly on his side of the bed (aka steal all his legroom).
George was trained as a Good Dog Foundation therapy dog. He volunteered at Caton Park, a local nursing home, making weekly visits and was much loved by many of the residents. He would also often go to work with his social working clinic-therapizing human, and would attend therapy sessions. He had a special knack for making people (young & old) talk about their feelings and helping them feel better, and this made his human’s therapizing job very easy. George also got FBI clearance (well, his human did) and worked briefly in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, helping with a parenting program for female inmates. He was not the biggest fan of the loud noises in the jail. George was not a jail dog. But he loved spending time with the ladies in the program. After his time at the jail, he retired from his Good Dog Foundation work.
George loved living in Brooklyn. Some of his particular favorites included: finding chicken bones on the street, hunting for never ending street snacks, tricking his humans into thinking he was going to the bathroom & instead sneaking street snackies into his mouth, eating trash (in hopes of finding something yummy or disgusting. He was not particularly discerning between delicious and disgusting street things).... You get the point, George loved street snacks. You can take the boy off the street, but you can’t take the street out of the boy.
George had many friends, of both the furry and human type. He loved his 2 cats and was sad when they both passed away within 3 months of each other last year. 3 days after his brother Papi left us, we brought home a new “cat,” Lulu. George was initially quite suspect of this new cat. Despite all her many cat-like behaviors, it was not the sort of cat George had grown accustomed to. However, George was patient, and learned to love his younger sister. He was often her pillow on car rides (which she was scared of). George would roll down the back windows (all on his own), and tried to teach her how fun car rides could be (i.e. sticking his head out the window). He was tolerant of her incessant drool in the car, often escaping a car ride looking like he just came out of a swamp.
In October 2019 we rescued him a real cat, Warren. He seemed very happy to have a new kitty again, and enjoyed his days at home alone with her (while Lulu was at daycare).
George loved Montauk, horses, hanging out & meeting new friends at local bars, his land and house in the Catskills, and making dinosaur noises. He was forgiving of fancy sweaters, reindeer antlers and costumes that his humans thought looked very cute on him. Despite his resting-sad-face, he was always happy- wagging his tail whenever you’d enter the room, and trotting so jollily on walks his ears would happily bounce along. He was carefree, unless you doubted his handsomeness or dominance. He would then turn into the pitbull/rottweiler mix street dog that he was: No one messed with George Clooney. In his younger years, he was a great hiking and running partner, and helped get many miles in during marathon training. In his older years, he enjoyed being pushed around the neighborhood in his throne on wheels (properly named Amal).
He was the best dog.
He is predeceased by his siblings Papas-Fritas and Luna Bella Peterson, and his good friend Mr. Pinto Bean. As well as a brief roommate and friend (a kitty Katie rescued and rehomed), Mr. Mistoffelees/Simba. He is survived by his humans, Katie & Stephen Nasherson and his sisters, Lulu and Warren; his grandmother, Sharon and his best friend Dexter Peterson (as well as Dexter’s brother, Jerry Garcia). George is also leaving behind many human friends. His best human friend is a very tall guy named Dylan. George loved that Dylan would crawl inside his dog crate (this was impressive given George’s human friend’s height of 6’5”), and always played with him and gave him yummy people food treats that his parents wouldn’t give him. George also loved children and enjoyed spending time with some special little humans: Simone, Kai, Oliver, Quinn, Conner and Willow.
His humans are trying to rebuild, but without George it sometimes feels impossible. But we will try to do right by him every single day. This spring we will bury his ashes and plant a tree in his memory and honor, along with his beloved kitties, at our home in Tannersville, NY. George absolutely loved it there.
Donations can be made in his honor to:
Sean Casey Animal Rescue (the amazing Brooklyn-based rescue group where we adopted George & Lulu)
