I love the wide variety of folks that you meet in a bar.
Seems that everyone stops by eventually.
I've met doctors, mechanics, lawyers, baseball players, students,
CEOs and professional hobos.
People love to have a drink with a talking dog.
Sometimes we have a brief chat.
Other times I feel like a psychiatrist, as the troubled and tipsy
pour out their worries and ask for advice.

I'm always glad to listen. I have no more insight on the world than
anyone else. I sometimes think humans feel better if they verbalize
their demons, laying out a to-do list of problems to be solved.
I nod and sip my beer.
Who better to confide in than your dog?

One such person was Marilee. She motioned me over and patted the
barstool next to her. I swept my tail aside with a flourish and took a
seat. She didn't ask the usual questions, instead taking it for granted
that anthropomorphic canines were frequent customers at Sharkeez.

"I've got a problem," she began. "I'm sure you can help."
I expected her to ask me to chase the neighbor's cat,
or act as her guard dog and escort her to her car.

Turns out it was neither. She is a college professor at UCLA, specializing
in the dynamics of sustainable recycling. Her doctoral thesis outlined
the hurdles faced by public and private enterprise in encouraging
folks to recycle. She said the general public knows very little about the
science of re-use and how each person's contribution makes a huge
impact on the planet.

Dr. Marilee wanted my ideas on novel ways to alert the public
of the importance of recycling. She wanted these ideas now.
While I was drinking beer. In a fursuit. In a crowded bar...

I assured her that I would make every effort to educate on her behalf.
So here we go...some fun recycling facts:

*Recycling one aluminum can saves enough evergy to power a TV
for three months.
*350,000 aluminum cans are made every minute.
*To produce each week's Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees are cut down.
*If all newspaper was recycled, we would save 250,000,000 trees a year.
*Americans throw away 25,000,000 plastic bottles every hour.
*The energy saved from recycling one platic bottle can run a 100 watt
bulb for two hours.

Her list goes on and on. Her tips on how to recycle were easy and
commonsense. For more info visit:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go.....ling-tips.html

I know I can count on my furry pals to spread the word.
I promised the professor I'd help.
Thanks for passing these tips along.

Business over, she thanked me and seemed relieved. I gave her a
squeeze and told her I'd make sure the bar recycled my Corona bottle.

As I turned to leave, a young man came running over.
"Hey dog," he said. "My girlfriend is really mad at me.
Think you could talk to her?"
I nodded and followed him over to his scouling companion.
I gave her the happy paws and she smiled.
Hmmm, that was easy.

Next!