That would be an understandable reaction to Barry the Bedlington terrier’s fantastic tale. However, it appears that this dog can ride a bike.
When he was a puppy, the three-year-old terrier learned to ride skateboards and is now riding a child’s tricycle. There are no stabilizers.
‘One day we put a skateboard out and he started playing with it,’ say owners Wayne Sowerby and Kate Hayllar from Cumbria. We were just having fun and put him on the skateboard, which he loved, so we started gently pushing him on it and it just took off from there.’
The beginner quickly advanced to a child’s tricycle. He enjoys free-wheeling down paths near his home, even though he has yet to learn to pedal.
‘He doesn’t pedal on the tricycle, but he maintains his posture and balance when rolling down slopes and along paths,’ Wayne adds.
‘The first time we placed him on the trike, we took him down our hilly driveway, and he fell off,’ he says.
‘He started experimenting with the trike when he was around one year old and hasn’t gotten off since,’ Wayne continues.
‘He can retain his balance a lot better now, and he never jumps off; he simply sits there and rolls around for a long time.’
The pair assists Barry in steering the bike by attaching two lengths of fishing wire to the handlebars as a safety measure.
In the hills and lanes of Cumbria, Barry the bike-riding terrier has supposedly become something of a legend.
What comes next? Pedalos with pugs? Scooters for Shih Tzus?