Retro Rumson Dog Daze of Spring — Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect

Sometimes when spring has sprung and the sun is gone for a day, you have to search doggedly for that sign that the blooms haven’t gone bust.

And sometimes that literally means a doggone look-out on high for any sign of the sun peering out from the clouds. Dog stay, not gone, in this case.

Yes, back in the 1970s RFH yearbook photographer George Day caught the look-out dog doing his job — or whatever the dog was really doing — perched atop a building on West River Road in Rumson next to the old Texaco gas station. It’s still a gas station.

What that carefully perched, sitting and staying pooch is looking at across the street is not much. Ain’t no sunshine, just a house in view where Brennan’s now sits. And every good Rumsonite knows that beyond that building lies Barnacle Bill’s, the river and plenty of river rats. The sun always inevitably shines there — on river time and good times.

We’re pretty sure the dog, on such a dog day afternoon, or something like that, was capable of summoning some sun. Face it, that dog is in a pretty precarious position. So balancing duties was likely a piece of dog treat cake compared to balancing himself up on the edge of that roof.

How long did that dog sit there? Seems like if one move was made, including standing, it might just be curtains for the look-out cavalry.

And we’re wondering what happened to “You can trust your car to the man who wears the star … ” doggone it?! Oh, right. The jingle didn’t talk about trusting your dog to him. Whose dog was that, anyway?

The dog is long gone. But the gas station, under a different name, is still there. And how about those cars? Anyone spy theirs. We’re sure the dog got an eyeful, but cannot report back.

Sun down. Until tomorrow. You never know who’s gonna be on the look-out and from which iconic spot they’ll be looking for us all to see decades later …

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