Garfied Eat Your Heart Out

Bone Island will throw the dogs a bone. Dogs are almost allowed back into the restaurants and bars. I don’t own a dog but it seems only right that those establishments that have been allowing it for years are not allowed to continue. We have almost finished the dog days of summer with no dogs. The City Commission approved it on August 20, but now has to wait 45 days for the DCA (The State) to give its stamp of approval.
These dogs deserve it. They have always done their part in Key West. They wear sunglasses while singing on Duval St. Little dachshunds march in the Duval St. New Years parade (it’s a short parade because of the length of their legs). Dogs ride on mopeds. They are strong supporters of Dog Park and Dog Beach. If they did not who would? You’ll never see a cat chasing a Frisbee or running in the surf. Through out the years dogs have made some extremely strong performances in the Fantasy Fest Pet Parade. Many are required to look like their master, which they do with much admired patience dignity.
I personally look forward to when they are officially welcomed back. One word of warning; the ordinance prohibits dogs from sitting on bar stools.

Right To Dry

I recently read about a town in Massachusetts that recently under went an environmental movement to not only ban the sale of bottled water but also to gain the right to dry your clothes outside. The town did not outlaw outdoor drying, but homeowner’s and condominium associations within the town did. Can you imagine that in uber-tidy communities in Naples Fl where you are not allowed to even park your car in your drive way (it must be in the garage)? But, speaking of Naples, the real Naples (Italy), tourists find it charming to see laundry hanging across the balconies of the Old World buildings. As a matter of fact energy hogging clothes dryers in general are much less prevalent in Europe then the US, 50% verses 75% of American homes.

In Key West there are no codes against having a clothes line any where on your property. Your back yard as well as your front yard is equally acceptable, even in the Old Town historic district. As far as the City of Key West imposing outdoor drying on home owner associations, not even in an alternate reality would that happen. Don’t worry Truman Annex or Golf Club Property Owners Associations, Key West can’t even get it together enough to do anything but a miserable job at recycling, much less make you allow your residents to hang their under wear on the front porch to reduce energy usage.

If you are further interested in outdoor drying laws you can find out more from an organization called Project Laundry List it is a nonprofit that has helped to fight anti-clothesline ordinances in many neighborhoods, and to urge the First Family to line dry their clothes occasionally on the White House lawn—visit right2dry.org.

What are your thoughts on this matter?

I Break for Iguanas

I was driving down College Rd today and an Iguana began to run across the street. He was about ½ way, saw another automobile coming towards us and turned around running back in front of my car! I slammed on the breaks. As I calmed down and headed back to my office I wondered about this. I would die if I ever hit a cat, a dog, a chicken or raccoon but I realized I would not mind too much if I ran over an Iguana. I would not try to run over one, but I think that they are pretty high on the list of desirable road kill.
I had nothing against these reptiles until they took over South Florida and the Lower Keys. It's like cruise ships; some are ok, but you don't want the harbor thick with them. Iguanas are more fun to look at in a zoo then lounging at my pool in between servings of Hibiscus (they prefer red). We have so many because they were bought as pets and then the owners decided they did not want them. Duh, they are scaly cold blooded animals with beady eyes, sharp claws and rows of horns. They grow up to 6 feet long and have to be kept under heat lamps in captivity. I forgot to mention that the little ones eat the bigger ones dung so they can get the bacteria needed to digest plants. If I was dumb enough to get one I would be even dumber not to want to get rid of one.
Be this as it may the local SPCA says that they accept iguanas, not to find them a new home but to euthanatize them. You can kill them yourself but it must be humane. If you shoot them with an air gun you need to be good and kill them with just one shot. Otherwise, it is considered inhumane. As for me I am still going to break for Iguanas. The road kill thing is just too messy.