A man, a parrot, and a zebra walk into a bar . . . I know, it sounds like the opening of a joke. But truth is often funnier than fiction. I’m an avid newspaper reader. I can’t seem to help myself. So when I ran across this story a couple of years ago, I saved it for a day when I would need to have a chuckle:
“A Cascade man was arrested outside of a Dubuque bar on Sunday night with a pet zebra and a macaw parrot in the front seat of his truck. Officers charged the man with OWI. Police reports say officers stopped him in the parking lot of the Dog House Lounge as he drove away in his truck. According to police, field sobriety tests showed he had a blood alcohol level of .14.
The man said that he and his girlfriend see the animals like their kids and often take them for rides. On Sunday night, they say they took the zebra and the macaw to the bar because it often lets people bring their animals inside. The man says the owner told him they were serving food that night and he couldn’t bring a zebra inside the bar. Bar owners state that no animals are ever allowed inside the establishment.
At that time he went outside to put the animals in his truck and several people were in the parking lot taking pictures. (You think?!) He believes one of those people called police. The man disputes the charges and says he realized he was too drunk to drive and was about to let a passenger in the truck to take the wheel when he was arrested.”
I have nothing more to add!