Pedicab Man

For all you dogs out there, this is the Chinese New Year, THE YEAR OF THE DOG
or 4044 [not sure on the date but it has a nice sound to it]. Taz, pictured here, is better known as THE Ladies Man. He's a heart breaker.

BAG FOR THE POOP: First thing's first: big dogs-big poop, little dogs-little poop. Choose your poop bag accordingly. For toys, a sandwich bag will work nicely and makes for great practical jokes for the kids' lunch box. Grocery bags work fine for medium size dogs if you're not over feeding your animals. For really big dogs, you might want to consider the optional poop wagon with attached poop shovel [I have a slightly used model in my garage I'll sell you cheap; the previous owner was an old lady whose dog only pooped one day a week].

PICKING IT UP: It's important to keep your eyes on the poop. Lots of beginners take their eye off the poop so you may want to bring along some Handy Wipes on your first poop run. Don't worry in a few years it will seem perfectly normal to be picking up poop with your left hand while your right hand is shaking your new neighbors hand.

Don't you hate it when it looks like rain all day long? There I was wanting to take a bike ride and the sky looks like it's going to fall. So the waiting starts. Then it kind of clears up but it's time for a nap. Finally, I say to hell with it and take off but stay near home. Needed a pair of pants so rode down to Stein Mart but the pants look too formal for the pedicab man so I buy a pair at Oops for twenty bucks that don't look that great but they said 38" waist and fit [the other 47 pair of 38's were sized wrong]. It's still looking like rain so I hurry home so my new pants don't get wet. Back at the house the sun pops out so I head down to the Pig for some groceries but end up killing time at the Honda place cause it's got that rain look again [did you know Honda makes a 4 wheel drive wagon?]. This big black cloud is beating down on the Honda place so I rush back to the house where it's sunny. Then my friend Clark shows up with a box that I need to send to Alabama and since it's nice out, I head to the UPS store on my bike. Heading back home my luck ran out and I got wet and cold. Did 17 miles in all.

Turned cold here last night. Down to the 30's and my landlady has the heat set at 63 F. Poor Scooter was shaking like a leaf so I let him go to bed with me. Aside from a couple doggy dreams, he was quiet and still. This morning I'm lying there in bed wondering if I should jump up throw my clothes into the bed and dress under the covers or take my chances in the freezer? This damn place is dangerous in the winter. About that time, Scooter starts to stir, crawls out from under his cover and starts to lick his bottom 6" from my face. A least it gave me the motivation to get moving. I get no respect around here. I don't think a pic would work well with this posting.

This is for my friends who don't have a dog but may get one in the future and my country friends who have a dog and are thinking about moving into town.

Overview: You may be asking yourself what's so important about poop? If you live on top of the hill, you're right; it's no big deal. However, if you live down the hill be aware that poop, like water, goes down hill but at a much slower speed than water. When you look up hill and see a brown glacier, you'll know it's important to pick up poop. It's not much better for flat landers because poop floats so that when it rains your awash in poop. All city folks need to pick up poop.

Health Warning: You maybe asking yourself if poop is dangerous to your health? The answer is yes and no. If you get caught in a poop glacier, you could drown in the stuff but here is a comforting fact: if a little poop would kill you, we would all be dead. Since I'm writing this and you're reading this, we must assume poop isn't too dangerous. There is the mental health aspect which needs to be addressed. Poop can drive you crazy. Otherwise normal people turn into raving maniacs when they see someone letting their dog poop in their yard and not picking it up. Poop wars are very dangerous.

More later. [Bet you can't wait?]

The way Taz tells it, he was the Jude Law of the wolf pack, tall, blond, curly hair. I'm thinking it was more Matthew McConnahey or in a word--short. There are parts of the story that can't be told to a PG audience having mostly to do with Taz and the big she-wolf named Sheila and moon lit nights. The boy made many good friends in the wolf pack [all female] and many sworn enemies [all male]. Early on, Taz played an important role in the survival of the wolf pack. He was named based on this role so that all knew him in those days as Bait.

Here is how it worked. The pack would break camp after putting all the pups in stump holes for safety purposes. Note: even in the early days short blondes started to show up in the pup population, something naturalists are still puzzled over [they should have talked to Shelia]. Wolf scouts would be sent to inspect the herd animals who stupidly gathered around in large groups. Over time the wolves figured out that family reunions were the best since this guaranteed that plenty of food could be found. Timing is important in wolf hunts. It's vitality important that the herd males were drinking plenty of fire water before any attack could be mounted. Then when all the large herd males were taking a nap, Bait [aka Ladies Man] would stroll into the middle of the group, head held high, tail wagging and all the herd females would gather around and watch him dance. In the meantime, the wolf pack would sneak in and appropriate as much eatable stuff as possible.

Things were looking good for the wolf pack. In those days Bait made the pickings easy and the pack got bigger and bigger. Then a vile thing happened. A drunk herd male fell in a stump holes and as he was being rescued by a herd female she discovered the wolf pups. Crying out, "oh, those cute little blond puppies" the herd females started stealing the young. [Author's note: it was during this time one of the drunk herd male was heard to say, "This is a shiting zoo." And that's how little blond wolf puppies got the name Shih Tzu]. In the end, the pack was decimated by the disappearance of the blond pups, nothing left but a bunch of angry males and a few ugly females. Time for Taz [aka Ladies Man, Bait] to move on and also time for a new alias. Taz became know as Traveling Man.

Some days Taz and I see who can do the most work. I ride my bike, and he barks at the mailman. I mow the lawn, and he chews a bone. I cook supper, and he naps on guard duty. Which do you think is the smart species?

The poor boy has been missing for days now.

We had a great day for riding. I did 35 miles, crossed the Cooper River, Ashley River and the intracoastal canal 2 times each. Had lunch in Mt. Pleasant. Spent some time visiting with Hot Dog Man who is trying to get all his friends to vote his stand the best hot dog stand in Charleston. The poll is a "best of" thing the City Paper has every year and hot dog stand is but one of about 100 catagories. Other best catagories include: pick-up joint, cheap beer deal, gay/lesbian club, meat and three vegetables and no-frills watering hole. Do I have time to kill or what?

Here are some pix of slim Scooter, when J brings camera home will get some fat ones.

Scooter in yard

Dog