Good People, Good Pups: Desus Nice on Life with Boston Terriers

Desus Nice is a New Yorker through and through — but he has a special place in his heart for Boston Terriers.

We caught up with the comedian, Bodega Boys podcast host, and New York Times bestselling author to learn more about his life with Rocco (RIP), Mac, and Charlie the cat.

Good Dog: So I'm super curious as a fellow New Yorker, what drew you to Boston Terriers being that they are, of course, so emblematic of our rival city? 

Desus Nice: Yes, I get that all the time. Way back in the day, me and my ex-girlfriend were looking to get a dog and we ordered the book French Bulldogs for Dummies. We open a package and it’s Boston Terriers for Dummies. And we're like, what the hell? I knew nothing about Boston Terriers, but we kept it and read it.

I had no intentions of ever getting a Boston Terrier. And then one day I just happened to be on Craigslist and someone was like, “I can't have this Boston Terrier anymore.” And that's how I picked up my first dog, Rocco. And he was one of the best dogs ever. Totally changed my life. Just an amazing little dog. 

Good Dog: RIP Rocco. We all love and miss him.

Desus Nice: RIP to the king. We had so many good memories. I had to get him tattooed on my wrist.

Good Dog: It’s great. I absolutely love it. What was Rocco's personality like?

Desus Nice: Rocco was very stoic. He was super comfortable around crowds. I remember walking him around the Bronx and, you know, with little kids, they never ask permission to touch him. So if I’d walk past the school, there’d be like 15 kids petting him. And he would just look up at me like, "Hey, I'm cool if you're cool with it."

He was just super cool. He would love going on long walks. There was one time I was three months behind on my rent, so I had to avoid my landlord when he was taking out the trash in the morning. So if I came back to my building and my landlord was out there, I would say, "Rocco, let's go on a long walk!" And I lived on something like 233rd street in the Bronx, and we'd walk all the way up to 242nd street and then walk back. And that was like, an hour-long walk and Rocco was fine with it. He just loved the long walk. He loved cuddling on the couch and going behind my knee and just chilling.

The thing about Bostons is they have such unique personalities. When I compare him to my new dog, Mac, it's like night and day. 

Rocco with Charlie as a kitten. (Credit: Desus Nice)

Good Dog: They're super different? 

Desus Nice: They're very different because Mac does not like people. Mac is kind of anti-social, which it’s weird because Mac has met all these celebrities. Mac met Don Cheadle, he met AOC, he met so many famous people and now he's like, "All right, I'm good. I don't want to meet anyone else."

Obviously people try to pet him but he just barks at them like, "Leave me alone." But if you're in the apartment with him, after like two minutes, he's your best friend. He’ll sit on your lap or bring the ball to you — he's fantastic.

Good Dog: Truly an introverted legend. As a fellow cat parent who’s getting a dog very soon, I’m curious how your cat, Charlie, and Mac were introduced. 

Desus Nice: You know, I was terrified at first, actually. I hesitated on getting Mac for almost six months. Shout-out to Sean Casey in Brooklyn — it’s this animal rescue that lets you walk dogs on the weekends. I brought home this puppy I was fostering from them and Charlie lost it. He was terrible, just chasing the puppy around, not playing with it, trying to swat at it. And I was just like, “Wow, if I bring a dog in here, I could be possibly setting myself up for 12 years of a dog and a cat constantly fighting.”

So I went online and read how to introduce a dog into a cat. I set up the bathroom, put newspapers all over — did everything. So then I was like, “All right, we're gonna leave the dog in here. We're gonna introduce them to each other and let him smell each other through the door over the course of a few weeks, five minutes here and there, small interactions,” all that. I was all ready to go.

But when I came in with Mac and put him on the floor, Charlie came over, sniffed him twice, then looked at me like, “Yeah, he’s good.” 

Charlie and Mac immediately became best friends. They curl up together when they sleep. They play-fight all the time. Sometimes Mac will be sleeping and you'll see Charlie come all the way out of the bedroom just to smack Mack in the face and run away. Mac will look at me like, “Why did he do that?” and I’m like, “That’s just what he does, he’s a cat.”

Charlie and Mac having a snooze. (Credit: Desus Nice)

Good Dog: I’ve heard Bostons can have pretty big appetites. What’s the craziest thing Mac has ever eaten?

Desus Nice: He loves to eat. He once ate a whole sealed container of blueberries from Whole Foods. I don’t know how he got in it. He must have jumped on the table and grabbed it.

One time he ate all of Charlie’s food. Charlie has an automatic feeder so he learned the time when Charlie’s food would come down and he would jump up there before Charlie could get there. When I came home, Charlie was super pissed and I couldn't figure out why. And then I saw it happen again. I was like, “Wow, okay, we have to raise this higher because Charlie is going to murder you.”

Mac’s eaten books. He’s destroyed one pair of sneakers, but that was totally my fault. And it’s very endearing because he could have destroyed any pair of sneakers in his room. He went for my favorite pair because they smelled the most like my sneakers I wear all the time. He passed over some very expensive sneakers so I had to give him a treat like, “Thank you, I would have had to get rid of you if you ate those.”

Mac enjoying brunch al fresco. (Credit: Desus Nice)

Good Dog: Do you have a favorite show that you like to watch with Mac? Like, I’ve raised my cats on trash. We watch 90 Day Fiance and all the spin-offs together.

Desus Nice: Yes. There's this terrible game show called America Says on the Game Show Network. It's very popular with old people. Because of the coronavirus, there's no sports. So I watch this as if it's the Yankees or like games that matter. It’s always two teams, like Midwestern school teachers versus the Glee Club. So they're like, “When I think of Batman, this comes to mind…” and if I know the answer, I'll be like, “OH!” and clap my hands. it’s terrifying to the animals. Every time they hear the music for the show they get a little nervous. That’s their scary show.

If I watch Golden Girls or anything that runs like several episodes back to back they're like, “Okay, he's probably gonna fall asleep.”

Good Dog: I’ve been watching the reboot of Unsolved Mysteries and I swear my cats run out of the room every time the theme song comes on. They just know it’s gonna be spooky.

Desus Nice: Oh yeah, that theme has been scary forever. Forever.

Good Dog: So here’s a question I’ll mentally mull over for the next few weeks — and I’m only asking it because a lot of Boston Terrier owners have mentioned it. Does your dog fart a lot?

Desus Nice: You do not need to be embarrassed. It’s not even a lot, it's the intensity when he does. You look down like, “How does something so potent come out of something so small?”

It’s one of those things you have to acknowledge. You have to talk to the dog and say, “I smelled that. I feed you the same food every day. How is it changing?”

Also he loves to wait til he’s passing directly by your face to hit you with it. It’s just like, “Whoa, bro, why would you do that? Why? I thought we were friends, you know?” And then it gets to the point where you're kind of careful with snacks you give them.

But let's be honest, when they look up at you with those eyes, they’re getting whatever’s in the bag.

About Good Dog

Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public and make it simple for people to get dogs from good sources and for reputable breeders, shelters and rescues to put their dogs in good homes.