One-on-one with Mike Groshon

How did you become the guy in charge of General and Boo?

"When we got the dogs in 2003, the cadets were taking care of them. Their hearts were in the right place, but they were not always here to do it. I had a lab that rode around in my golf cart, and my boss said, 'Mike Groshon would be a great guy to take care of the dogs.' I actually turned it down three times, because I already had two dogs and a cat. But I changed my mind, and it was the best decision I've made in a long time. The dogs are so great, and they symbolize the college. Having a live animal that people can come touch and interact with means so much. At Florida, we probably had 2,000 Florida fans pet the dog, and that happens everywhere we go."

How are General and Boo different?

"In most cases, General is the calmer of the two. He is the friendlier of the two, by far. He is the people dog, the one who wants to be petted and wants to give everyone a kiss. Boo is the toy master. He loves toys, doesn't matter it it's a water bottle or a football. He doesn't care about people, only about what you can do for him as far as a toy is concerned."

How do opposing teams and their fans react to the dogs?

"The other teams want to meet the dogs just as much as the fans do. They understand that the game is the game, and the mascots are outside the game, part of the pageantry, just like the cheerleaders and the band. At Florida, we had five of their players finish their stretching and come up and pet the dogs. When Georgia Southern was here last season, one of their receivers went for a pass and slid all the way to the dog's house. I walked up to see if the kid was okay, and General runs right up there and puts his face in the kid's facemask, like 'How you doing?' And the kid says, 'Nice dog, nice dog.' He petted him one time and ran off."

General travels pretty well, doesn't he?

"Our dog house, which I built, was modeled on what Georgia does for Uga. We put an air conditioner in there, we have bags of ice. But when we went to Clemson, we found there was no air movement in Death Valley, and the heat factor was unbearable. That was the only time we had to take him out of a stadium because of the heat."

Who pays for the care and feeding of General and Boo?

"The school owns the dogs, but the school does not provide funds. We raise funds to support the dogs, and so with my truck, I came up with the idea of putting ads on the truck. Because I drive the truck to the away games, the sponsors get advertising in town and on the road. And all that money goes to the food, shampoos, health insurance policies for the dogs."

Health insurance?

"That's in case we have a problem on the road. I mean, Uga jumped from one bed to another one time and tore his shoulder, and they had to go see a vet while they were on the road. That can get expensive, so these two insurance policies take care of that."

How does General get along with the other mascots in the Southern Conference?

"Wofford has a terrier, and their terrier was afraid of the bulldogs, because they are so much bigger. But the terrier was a female dog, so there was not a problem. As long as it is another female dog, there's no problem. Now the one we do have a problem with is Furman's Paladin. General just does not like that horse."

Do the costumed mascots like to play with the dogs?

"General absolutely loves to wrestle with the costume mascots. The Gator down at Florida, he was sensational, one of the best ones we've had interaction with. The Western Carolina Catamount was awesome, he actually had the dog in his mouth and was acting like was eating the dog. At Georgia Southern, the Eagle would kick at General every time he came around. Well, when we later hosted the SoCon basketball tournament, General saw the Eagle at halftime and ran over and grabbed him by the foot. He still remembered that Eagle."

When you are not taking care of the dogs, what do you like to do?

"I used to surf a lot, but as I've gotten older, parts of the body hurt now. I love boating, and I have an old houseboat and a ski boat. I can still lie on the raft and get towed by the boat. I love the water and have a Sea Island One boat, but I haven't sailed it in years because of a bad hip."

Do you and General ever get tired of posing for pictures with cheerleaders in stadiums across the South?

"No, we do not. And most of the cadets, they want to hold the leash on the dogs for that reason. When we had the SoCon women's basketball tournament here, the first time they took the dogs out, the cadets came back with at least 24 names and numbers. They love that part of it."