Interlude: the odd life of some dogs

we were walking around como lake last evening when we heard this high-pitched chattering that sounded, at first, like irate little monkeys. we turned to look and saw the oddest sight: a stout man in sunglasses and a yellow ballcap was gliding toward us on a Segway. he had fashioned sidecars, of a sort on either side--small wooden boxes, open at the top and painted black. in each box was a tiny black-and-white dog.

and i with no camera.

i'm not sure what kind of dogs they were--would a jack russell terrier put up with this kind of treatment?

the dogs were sitting in the boxes, barking their heads off as the man glided by with a self-satisfied smile. he gave a little nod as he passed.

i tried to figure out what purpose any of this served. if he was infirm and coudln't walk his dogs, i guess riding a segway made some kind of sense. but don't the dogs still need to walk? how do they pee? exercise? sniff things?

i watched as they rolled away. he had painted the back of the boxes with big red dots that looked like brake lights. i guess he had given this whole thing a lot of thought. the dogs did not seem in the least bit happy. but he did.