The newest Dog Days of Dahlonega special section is on newsstands this week as part of The Dahlonega Nugget. This dog-friendly edition will help feed and shelter local animals in need as a portion of the proceeds from the section will go to the local TLC Humane Society. The following is one of the many feature stories in the section.
DOWNTOWN SHOP ENJOYS FOUR-LEGGED MASCOT
By David Zunker / The Nugget
You can call him Waffle.
Even though his official, American Kennel Club-registered, real name is Sir Waffle Dean McWaffleburg Wigglebum, this spunky, squirmy, loyal, crazy, smart, jealous, loveable, sweet, caring and always-hungry two-year-old Corgi, doesn’t stand on principle.
He’s got trace-able lineage, yes, just like the British Royals, who are known to love Corgis, and he is the pride and joy of a couple other Brits–Fiona and Katz Bagley who own the Crown & Bear, a charming retail establishment, located above the Picnic Café in downtown Dahlonega.
But he’s just Waffle to most who know him, and more are getting to know him all the time.
Waffle runs the stairs up to the Crown & Bear in seconds flat, despite famously-short Corgi legs, but he holds court, mostly on the street level in front of the store, and anywhere else around the Square these days.
He actually hosts meet-and-greets because, as mascot for the Crown & Bear, he’s becoming quite well known, not only locally, but regionally, nationally and, thanks to social media, even internationally.
His second birthday party in downtown Dahlonega last October drew a sizable crowd of local canines for ice cream and home-made dog treats.
Waffle has fans and followers. Not only is his caricature image featured prominently on socks for sale in the store, but he is prominent in Crown & Bear marketing efforts on Facebook, Instagram [@crownandbeardahlonega] and Tiktok, where he had, as of last Saturday, more than 1,000 fans.
Fiona says—perhaps jokingly—that his goal for next year about this time is a million fans or followers.
He is a semi-official “Bark Ranger” at the Georgia State Parks’ Gold Museum in the center of the Square.
Soon his likeness will be featured front and center, alongside images of the Gold Museum, the UNG gold steeple, a Dahlonega Christmas tree, a British Union Jack, and an American flag, on cute little tin containers of tea to be sold in the store. And there’s more to come—shoppers should be on the lookout soon for Waffle on totes and mugs.
Originally, Waffle was acquired simply as a companion for Katz, the 25-year old daughter of Fiona and Lance Bagley. Even though he has become the perfect partner for Katz, he also has become the defacto marketing manager for the store, often in demand and inescapably on call. It’s a good thing the Bagleys live just around the corner on Park Street, mere minutes from the shop, because customers, more and more frequently, ask where he is.
He’s a Corgi on call.
Fiona says Waffle loves people, although it may not look that way when Katz has to drag him past the Connie’s Ice Cream Shoppe, like a bag of cement, to get to the downstairs door of the Crown & Bear.
Waffle can’t help it there are sloppy consumers who spill ice cream on the sidewalk, and he sees it as his job to clean up anything that falls to the ground. Fiona says that Waffle eats anything and everything. In fact, if you drop something on the floor, she says, Waffle won’t even wait to see if it’s edible, a Corgi trait, that requires a good veterinarian. He’s even named after a food, another requirement of Corgis, says Katz.
His favorite places around the Square are anywhere he can lick the sidewalk, but in lieu of that, he especially likes blueberries.
The notion of long-term plans for Waffle causes Fiona and Katz to pause, but only for a moment. He may run for office, says Fiona, maybe for mayor, although he may not meet the qualifications.
There is, however, precedent for political aspirations in the family. Lance Bagley is a Dahlonega City Councilman. If not mayor, maybe mayor of a dog park, says Fiona.
As for love interests, currently Waffle has none.
He’s work focused, but Fiona says he’s subtly looking for love right now, but he’d prefer a dog no taller than he, which may be a tall order.
In the meantime, he will settle for adoration, which comes his way everytime he walks the Square or appears on Tiktok, running the stairs to the top of the Crown & Bear.