#855 Going to the Dogs

I may have just seen the solution to our oil problem. Foreign oil dependency is an enormous strategic and national defense issue.
Some patriot ought to convince our government what a huge barrel oil companies put us over so they can reap short-term profit. Look at the damage to our economy just from gas going up a couple of bucks a gallon.
Going green is a matter of national security.
And it looks like a good idea has emerged from where it always seems to crawl out.
The bottom of the barrel.
In this case the bottom of the barrel of society. I’m not sure if I should scorn these people for animal cruelty or praise them for an amazing carbon footprint-reducing strategy, but it certainly looks like a workable idea.
Dogs and skateboards. More specifically, dogs pulling human beings on skateboards.
I’ve seen a few of them now. They’re usually people who look to be of the urban camper variety. Often festooned with backpacks and other home-free outdoor living paraphernalia.
And they have longboards, those extra large skateboards that are designed for cruising. Longboards are great, but like all skateboards they suffer from the need to occasionally remove one foot from the board and push it against the pavement.
Enter man’s best friend. The dog I saw had a shoulder harness so he didn’t seem to be pulling with his neck. It was attached to a leash, the leash attached to the hand of the hobo.
Off they go down the street.
The dog seemed to be happy. Seriously. Like others I’ve seen, he really looked like he was enjoying the opportunity to do a little physical effort.
It’s not too much of a pull. The bearings on the wheels of the skateboard keep it running smoothly. The bicycle lane of the road is relatively smooth and works as well for the skateboard mushers as it does for cyclists.
At one point, these two pulled into a park and the man let his dog loose to play Frisbee.
The sixties were good for something after all. A man, his dog and a skateboard.
Take that oil companies.
America, ya gotta love it.