Get Lo, the Chow Chow Elvis Presley Chartered a Learjet to Save

Some people take the dog to the neighborhood vet. Others find a specialist. And then there is Elvis Presley, who in 1975 chartered a private Learjet and flew his Chow Chow from Memphis to Boston for kidney dialysis. The story is real, recounted by his own partner of that era, and it is probably the most extravagant (and most moving) gesture a musician has ever made for a dog.

Who Get Lo was

Get Lo, sometimes written Getlow, was a Chow Chow who arrived at Graceland around 1974. His entrance into Elvis's life was, to put it gently, rocky. Linda Thompson, the singer's partner from 1972 to 1976, told the story years later. Elvis had just read an article claiming that Chow Chows could turn aggressive toward their owners at a worrying rate, and he nearly returned the puppy. Linda pushed to give the dog a chance, and Get Lo ended up living with them at Graceland.

What they did not know at the time was that Get Lo had a congenital kidney defect that would surface before his first birthday.

The night of the diagnosis

Early one morning, Get Lo began acting strangely. Linda Thompson called a veterinarian, who came to the house. The diagnosis was serious: acute kidney failure, with few local treatment options. This was 1975, and veterinary dialysis was practiced at only a handful of specialized clinics in the country, none of them in Memphis.

Within hours, Elvis made a decision few owners could afford: charter a Learjet to move the dog to a clinic in Boston. On board were Get Lo, Linda Thompson, a friend of hers, and the veterinarian. Elvis stayed in Memphis because of touring commitments, but he covered the travel, the treatment, and the stay.

The Chow Chow remained in Boston for about three months under specialized care. He held on. He improved partially. They brought him back to Graceland.

How the story ended

Despite the effort, Get Lo could not beat the illness. He died soon after returning, not yet a year and a half old. As Linda Thompson recalled, she and Elvis learned the news during a tour. They were flying back to Memphis when someone on the Graceland staff called. Elvis broke down crying mid-flight.

It is an image that clashes with the public mythology of the singer, the man who filled stadiums, the one with the pink Cadillac and the rhinestone jumpsuit. For exactly that reason, it says something true about how dogs reach the emotional life of the people who love them.

The rest of the Graceland pack

Get Lo was not alone. Elvis Presley's roster of dogs is probably one of the best documented in the history of rock. He is known to have kept, at least:

Sherlock, a Basset Hound who appears on the cover of Big Mama Thornton's Hound Dog record.
Brutus and Snoopy, two Great Danes given to Priscilla Presley in the 1960s. Brutus appeared as "Albert" in the film Live a Little, Love a Little (1968).
Edmund, a Pomeranian. Elvis's aunt grew so attached to him that the singer ended up giving the dog to her.
Baba, a Border Collie/Collie who appeared alongside Elvis in Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966).
Muffin, a Great Pyrenees.
And a handful of mixed-breed dogs with memorable names: Whoosh, Oswald, and Michael Edwards (the last named after Elvis's own character in It Happened at the World's Fair).

Elvis was also fond of giving dogs to the important women in his life. He gave his mother a dog named Sweet Pea, his teenage girlfriend Anita Wood a Toy Poodle named Little Bit, Priscilla a Toy Poodle named Honey, and Linda Thompson a Maltese named Foxhugh, reportedly the inspiration behind the song Old Shep.

The Chow Chow: Get Lo's breed

To understand why Get Lo was a particular choice, it helps to know the breed:

Origin: China, with more than two thousand years of documented history. The breed is believed to have served as both a hunting and a draft dog.
AKC group: Non-Sporting Group.
Look: the silhouette of a miniature lion, a dense coat (rough or smooth), a tail curled over the back, and the distinctive blue-black tongue, one of the few breeds (along with the Shar-Pei) to carry it.
Temperament: dignified, reserved, loyal to its family, and frankly suspicious of strangers. This is not a dog of indiscriminate hugs.
Care: demanding coat (frequent brushing, heavy seasonal shedding), heat sensitivity, and a predisposition to eye problems (entropion) and joint issues (hip dysplasia).
Lifespan: 9 to 12 years (AKC).

This is a dog you do not pick lightly. That Elvis was willing to charter a Learjet to treat one says as much about the singer as it does about the bond a Chow Chow forms when it is raised well.

What the story leaves behind

Get Lo lived a little over a year. In that year he shared a home with one of the largest musical icons of the 20th century, flew on a private Learjet, received medical care on par with a human patient, and was mourned in the middle of a flight back home. For a dog born into an anonymous litter, that is no small résumé.

What to take from it

Acute kidney failure in young dogs can be congenital and can surface suddenly; sudden lethargy or odd behavior warrants a same-day vet visit.
The Chow Chow's reserved temperament rewards early, patient socialization, not the article-driven fear that nearly cost Get Lo his home.
A dog's heavy, heat-trapping coat (the Chow Chow's included) calls for cool-weather exercise and consistent grooming.
A strong owner-dog bond does not depend on charter jets; it depends on attention, training, and showing up.