Pictured here are Mr. Bubba Sue (left) and Steve Hathcock (right) loaded up inside Hathcock’s Jeep Wrangler. At the time, Hathcock ran a side business pulling stuck vehicles out of the sand, and on this day in 1992, tha’ts exactly what the two were set off to do.
By STEVE HATHCOCK
Mr. Bubba Sue, the golden lab, started life as “Zeke.” He was a runt and, as a result, the last of a litter of Golden Retrievers adopted. I first met him when he was close to five months old.
I was co-owner of a print shop then, and one of our employees, Judy McRoberts, adopted him. She would bring him to the shop so he would not be left home alone. “Zeke” was a good-natured dog who smiled a lot. McRoberts quickly renamed him “Bubba.”
Then, one day, McRoberts’s husband inherited a big pile of money, and the couple decided to do some traveling. She asked if we could take care of him while she vacationed.
The vacation turned into a lengthy absence as the couple toured the country. During one of the couple’s infrequent returns to the Island, McRoberts asked if Bubba could live with me permanently. I enthusiastically replied, “Yes,” before she completed the question.
Bubba was an intelligent dog and would learn lessons the first time around. For example, one day, before he became my roommate, McRoberts tied him to a gas grill while she went inside to grab something to drink. About that time, Bubba saw a cat and decided to chase it. Of course, as soon as Bubba hit the end of the leash, that ol’ grill joined the parade.
The sudden heaviness of the leash and the ensuing clanging made Bubba jump straight into the air. And when he landed, he turned tail and ran! Even though Bubba could run faster than the wind, he could not lose that grill.
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