My Close Friend: Hayes Carll the Dog

Martina and I made the acquaintance of a stray dog a while back, and he decided that we were all going to be great friends. Considering that we already had two fine dogs at home, we were not in the market for any new ones, but this dog refused to take no for an answer. So I called up my buddy, who was living alone at the time, and asked him if he wanted a dog. He said he did, and the next thing you know, our new friend was in the front seat of the car.

Martina and I put up "Found Dog" signs and called the animal shelter, but nobody came looking for this fellow. A few days after we had given the dog to my buddy, I asked him what he had named his canine companion. "Hayes Carll," he said. I found that to be a peculiar name for a dog. "Hayes" would have worked. "Carll" would have worked better because it is easier to yell, but the dog was named Hayes Carll, after the Texas singer-songwriter.

Personality wise, I thought the name must have been inspired by the song "Wild as a Turkey," which includes lyrics like "I'm wild as a turkey / Higher than a Christmas moon / Empty as my wallet on a Sunday afternoon." Hayes Carll the Dog, after all, was sort of a goofy, happy-go-lucky kind of guy, so that made sense. But I soon learned the name was inspired by a Hayes Carll cover of a Tom Waits song, the inspirational line being "I wish that I could be a doo-oo-ooggg." I could understand that, too.

Nowadays, Hayes Carll plays a big role in our lives. Sometimes he comes over for Friday night jam sessions. Other times he stops by for dinner. Occasionally, he even stays with us for the entire weekend. Whenever he's here, Hayes Carll enjoys laying across my lap and letting me rub his belly. That is one of his favorite things. Hayes Carll, who is truly as wild as a turkey, has become a mighty close friend of ours.

Here is a picture of Hayes Carll the Dog. 

  

Here is a video of Hayes Carll the Human.