He was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Winters.
In 1939, he visited the Manhattan
Beach post office on one of his morning walks and immediately felt as if
he now had a purpose. They invited him to walk with the postal carriers
and made such a fuss over him that he spent the rest of his life as their
mascot and faithful canine employee. His last day of work was Friday, August
27, 1954. He was old and feeble and had heart damage from past heart attacks.
Mrs. Winters drove him home from work. He barely made it up the steps to
the house. The following day, he was taken to the hospital. He passed away
on Monday, August 30, 1954 at 2:30 p.m.
About Old George
. . .
Back in 1939, the dog catcher nabbed Old George for vagrancy. He was found snoozing in front of a Hermosa Beach liquor store. He did not have identification and he remained unclaimed. He thought for sure his dog days were numbered until Mrs. Winters came along and adopted him. She took him home to Manhattan Beach. He was young, frisky and he just couldn't stay home all day and do nothing. Each morning, he would leave the yard and visit the downtown merchants. They gave him tasty snacks. He was especially fond of donuts. One day, he wandered into the post office at 1004 Manhattan Avenue. They say he put his paws on the counter and applied for a job. He won the hearts of all and began walking with the mail carriers on their routes. He had found his purpose and he did a fine job protecting the mail carrier and the mail. In fact, once back to the post office after the morning mail was delivered, he looked forward to announcing the arrival of the Pacific Electric bus that delivered the mail. It was such fun to bark and run out onto the sidewalk. Unfortunately, he didn't stay on the sidewalk in his excitement and was hit twice by automobiles and twice by the Pacific Electric bus. After that, they would close the front door just before 2:00 p.m. so he couldn't get out. They gave him an indoor job which he grew accustomed to. He especially enjoyed sleeping on the mailbags and sleeping on the warm cement in front of the post office building. Sometimes he slept in the doorway and the customers had to step over him but he didn't mind. The post office building became too small for the amount of mail arriving and departing. Tracts of new housing were being built, the population was increasing and they needed more space to process the mail. The opportunity to move into a new building just a few blocks away at 1142 Manhattan Avenue was accepted. The grand opening in the new building was January 21, 1950. Old George easily made the location change. As long as his beloved mailbags were available for a snooze, he was content.
It is not known exactly how Old George was but he was probably two years old when he was adopted in 1939. As he aged, health problems developed such as cancer on one leg, arthritis, and heart problems. Dr. Sandy Sundstrom at the South Bay Dog & Cat Hospital took care of him and never charged a fee. He was very fond of the dog. Mrs. Winters now drove him back and forth to work because the dog could barely make it up a hill.
In 1953, after a series of frequent heart attacks, several of the postal employees belonging to the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club placed his paw prints into a slab of cement in front of the post office building. John Moon, a Daily Breeze newspaper photographer was present. He took a picture and wrote a story that day. It was the story of Old George. The caption on the photograph read, as long as the sidewalk lasts . . .
Mrs. Maxine Bopp of Redondo Beach, who had read the 1953 story by John Moon, told her neighbor about the dog. Mrs. Morris enjoyed painting portraits of animals. The paw prints outside of the post office were a nice gesture but a portrait displayed inside the post office would make everyone aware that they were standing inside the Manhattan Beach Post Office where the dog used to work. The two women drove to the post office to see the dog. He was asleep in the middle of the doorway and they had to step over him. He didn't move. They say his coloring varied due to the dirt from the mailbags. She decided upon an orange/brown color and completed the portrait.
Old George had worked for the post office for two years before Mrs. Winters adopted another dog to keep her company during the day. The two dogs were the best of friends. Corky passed away in June 1954 and Old George passed in August 1954. They are both buried next to each other at the Pet Haven Cemetery in Gardena.
In 1978, the post office moved into the new Civic Annex building at 15th Street and Valley Drive taking the portrait with them. In 1986, the post office gave the painting to the Manhattan Beach Historical Society where it will remain. The Society recently had the oil portrait refurbished by John Post, John Post Gallery.
When
the Manhattan Beach Historical Society discovered that the paw prints had
been lost during the Streetscape project, the Society decided to replace
the prints with a living dog's prints. We wish to thank everyone who was
involved with the "Old GeorgeDog
Look-A-Like Contest." The contest was held on July 13, 2002. A dog
name Sarge won the contest
as looking the most like Old
George. Sarge had
been rescued from the pound just two months earlier by Terri Price. Thanks
to all of the dog owners who stepped forward with their dogs to help us
in our quest to continue the memory of a deceased dog.
Bonnie
Beckerson, President
Manhattan Beach Historical Society
July 13, 2002
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