I was on my way to interview rescued animals for the Whatcom Humane Society calendar when I came upon this eye-catching sight. The dogsโ€™ human had popped inside the convenience store for a moment when โ€“ presto! They had commandeered the wheel and looked ready to take this regal boat for a spin.


Scenes from the hilarious Saturday Night Live skit Toonces the Driving Cat began scrolling through my head. The popular puppet character billed as the โ€œtoughest tabby in townโ€ made repeated SNL appearances in the late โ€™80s and early โ€™90s. Tooncesโ€™ family is a dim-witted couple who are thrilled at first to discover that their cat can drive. As it dawns on them that he isnโ€™t so good at it, they grow dismayed, but somehow Toonces always ends up behind the wheel. Each short inevitably ends with a scene of the car sailing over a cliff and smashing to pieces on the rocks below.


The only thing missing here was a cameo appearance by Toonces himself. If heโ€™s out there, I hope heโ€™s finally learned to drive. Iโ€™m sure he wouldnโ€™t want to be shown up by a couple of dogs.

 

"Of course we have drivers’ licenses, officer!"