DAHLONEGA, Ga. -- The gas station-dwelling dog known as Nugget has been removed from her longtime home at the Golden Pantry following a complaint by the City of Dahlonega, reported The Dahlonega Nugget. She has not, however, been taken to an animal shelter.
Instead, animal control officers from the Lumpkin County sheriff's office quickly arranged for an adoptive home for the popular mixed breed after city manager Bill Lewis filed the "animal at large" complaint, said the report. He told the newspaper that he filed the complaint in response to a local citizen who [image-nocss] complained of a double standard after his own dog was cited.
The dog took up residence at the station and convenience store several years ago and has since become an adopted pet for many locals who marveled at her uncanny knack at navigating city crosswalks more efficiently than most humans.
Nugget has more than 2,000 friends on Facebook. (The Facebook page (click here) says Nugget "works at Golden Pantry.")
Following Nugget's removal Thursday morning, a flood of calls came in to the paper from concerned and upset citizens, it said.
"She's the heart and soul of this town," one person told the paper. "She's our mascot."
"She was adopted by this town many years ago," Kathy Mize, who works at the Golden Pantry, told the paper in February (click here). "Everybody loves her."
Nugget is also known for keeping a strict schedule as she visits the local eateries of Subway, Wagon Wheel and Just Off the Square Cafe. There she makes a habit of waiting for an exiting customers to throw her some scraps. "You can almost set a clock to her," another observer told the paper.
In 2009, Cody the chocolate Labrador retriever became a web celebrity after the Clearwater, Fla., Department of Health removed the dog from a Clearwater BP gas station and c-store, citing an ordinance against animals being present in a food establishment. Cody often wore a BP shirt with a "Cody" name tag and greeted customers.(Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage.)
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