*Every member of the Georgetown community knows Jack the Bulldog as our favorite furry mascot and ruthless box-destroyer. But what goes on in Jack’s life behind the scenes? Jonathan Masserano (COL ’10) and Maggie Lonergan (COL ’10) are heads of the Jack Crew – a group of students responsible for walking Jack and escorting him to various events on campus. The Hoya sat down with Jonathan and Maggie to discuss the responsibilities and benefits of being a caretaker for Jack. *

**Taking care of the school dog is a big responsibility. How did you get involved? **

aggie: I started [the] summer after my freshman [year]. I was on campus working for housing and I saw that Fr. [Christopher] Steck [S.J.] had put up some flyers about walking Jack for the summer. I’ve always liked dogs, so I thought it would be a fun thing to do.

Jonathan: I just applied through the [Georgetown] Web site. I filled out the application at the end of freshman year and starting walking Jack the fall of my sophomore year.

**How many people make up the Jack Crew?**

: There are 20 walkers, plus us two. There’s also a list of substitute walkers.

**What is the application process for becoming part of the Crew?**

J: There’s an application online – it’s about a semester-long waitlist. The application pretty much just asks how you show school spirit. Then, before you start walking, you have to go through a training session where you sing the fight song for Fr. Steck and show that you’re not afraid to stick your hand in Jack’s mouth. You have to do that to save him in case he starts choking.

: And that’s actually really important, because choking is a common thing [for] bulldogs.

**What is Jack’s typical daily schedule? **

: Sleeping a lot!

J: Yeah, he gets walked a lot, too. He gets walked three times a day by the Jack Crew and at least two times by Fr. Steck.

: We walk him at noon, 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Fr. Steck walks him to the Jesuit Residence in the morning and again before he goes to sleep.

**Are there any serious or bizarre rules you have to follow as his caretakers?**

: Well, walkers definitely have to show up to walk Jack. It sounds weird because you figure it wouldn’t be that big of a responsibility, but it’s a big deal if walkers don’t show up. He’s very well trained, so he doesn’t go to the bathroom inside or anything. The walks are the only times he gets to go out and they’re about four hours apart. People have actually been kicked off the Jack Crew for not showing up to their walk time.

J: There are certain special rules at events, too.

: Yeah, like don’t feed him.

J: Also, don’t let him attack traffic cones. Jack likes to attack orange traffic cones and do inappropriate things to them, so some people find it entertaining.

**What is the funniest thing Jack has ever done? **

: One time I was walking Jack on Prospect Street by Village A. It was right after a storm and a lot of branches had fallen down. We were on the sidewalk with those little poles along the side. He picked up this tree branch that must have been six feet long and was just walking down and he got stuck at one point, because it wasn’t wide enough to fit the stick through.

J: One day someone was driving a golf cart out of the Jesuit Residence, and he chased after it and jumped in. He’s also really funny in the snow, chasing snowballs and stuff.

**Does Jack have any strange habits, or particular likes or dislikes?**

J: There are the orange cones. He likes those. He hates the flags on Copley Lawn, he barks at them every time we walk by.

: He likes boxes, any kind of boxes.

J: He likes drinking out of water bottles, too. When we are at the games and are trying to get him to look at the camera, you would think we would be holding a treat in front of him or something. But we hold the water bottle.

**What’s your favorite part about taking care of Jack?**

J: I really like getting to go to the basketball games. We get to run out with the team at the beginning, and then the box trick is fun. And also, at halftime we get to take him around the concourse area and fans like to take pictures with him. The little kids are always funny.

: I like overnight dog-sitting. Especially on the weekends, he just runs around the hallways. I’ll play tricks with him on the elevators, going to different floors and stuff. He’s really playful.

**What’s your favorite memory as part of the Crew?**

: Before we were the heads of the Jack Crew, a local news channel was doing a special on Jack. I got to be in charge of driving Jack around campus in the golf cart. That was pretty cool.

J: I always like driving him around in the golf cart, but one time when my family was visiting, all of us got to ride around with him. Everyone was pointing and waving, it was fun. We felt pretty important. Also, when we got to the Duke game this year, Obama’s Secret Service agents were checking out the car, and they were all excited to see Jack. They were like, “Is that the mascot? Wow! We’re checking out the mascot’s car, this is so exciting!” I wish I had a camera.

**How has this role shaped your Georgetown experience as a whole?**

: It’s definitely [been] much busier than I expected.