Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ John Rush on animal rescue, football and vegan diet

Grey Cup-winning Canadian football player John Rush wraps up his chat with Dog O’Day on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected daily life, and what his goals for the rest of the year include.

Dog O’Day – Since the CFL is more passing-oriented in play than American football, what does that do to the fullback position – more of a focus on pass blocking? Was it difficult switching from linebacker in university to fullback with Winnipeg?

John Rush – The fullback is used more in the passing game as a threat and as an extra blocker in the passing game for the most part. Pretty different than your typical American fullback.

The switch was definitely super difficult at first, I didn’t even know where to line up in practice when I wasn’t in, but I was super fortunate to have great coaches that took the time to nurture me in the position so I could succeed.

How has the coronavirus pandemic affected you and the dogs?

Well, first and foremost it means no dog parks, which is super tough because the dogs loved that! Also, Bailey was enrolled in puppy manners classes and those aren’t happening now, so her manners aren’t the best, lol.

I spend most of my time at home with the pups anyway so it hasn’t affected me much.

Are there any people behind Dog Twitter accounts that you’re hoping to meet someday?

I really hope to meet Matt Nelson, who runs WeRateDogs, Jen who runs The Golden Ratio (@TheGoldenRatio4) and Gideon who runs I’ve Pet That Dog. They all seem like really awesome people and I would love for them to be able to meet Bone and Bailey.

As a human, what are some of your goals you’re working on this year?

I’m working on a lot this year. I’m currently enrolled in several courses to get more accreditations to get promoted in my banking job so I can give the dogs a bigger backyard (and fit more dogs into the house lol). Also, I’d really like to read more and become more knowledgeable when it comes to dog training.

I plan on starting a charity sometime this year and would like to take a course on that and I also just bought a house and I’m trying to do all the renos myself, and I’ve never done that before, so that’s a huge learning curve as well.

For more information about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 2020 season, whenever that will be, see the team website or the league website for more details. Twitter handles to know are @CFL, @WPG_BlueBombers and @JohnRush32, while Instagram handles to know include @CFL, @WPGBlueBombersCFL and @JohnRush5.

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