Video goodness: Dog rides a scooter

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We were mesmerized the moment we first glimpsed Norman, a dog with a remarkable scooter-riding ability, in a post on Urlesque. At the time, we were unaware of his growing stardom -- he’s appeared on ‘Good Morning America’ and ‘Late Night with David Letterman’ and is actively seeking film and TV work, according to his Facebook page.

Norman is a Briard, a very old French breed whose original purpose was herding and guarding flocks of sheep. Like many herding breeds, the Briard is typically very intelligent, but the American Kennel Club points out that it is ‘an independent thinker, so patience is necessary when training.’ (We can only imagine how much patience was required to teach Norman here how to ride a scooter!)

One of the earliest American fans of this French breed was Thomas Jefferson, who first encountered Briards while working in France.

Fun fact about Briards: Many breeders follow a tradition in which all puppies born in a given year have names beginning with a particular letter of the alphabet designated for that year. The years cycle through the alphabet (skipping some letters that aren’t found at the beginning of many words, like Q), so if you meet a Briard whose name starts with B, you’ll know it’s a year younger than a Briard whose name starts with A.

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-- Lindsay Barnett

Video: courteous1 via YouTube