Bazooka and the skateboard: a dog's tale

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - He's just a bulldog with stubby legs, but that hasn't prevented Bazooka from becoming Japan's top, and probably only, skateboarding dog.

Demonstrating that every dog has his day, the two year-old pure-bred Old English Bulldog rolled down a Tokyo park on Monday, pushing his board with his hind feet and shifting his weight on all four to steer, just like two-legged riders.

It was love at first sight between the dog and his board, says Bazooka's owner, Yoshio Ishikawa.

"When he was 5-months old, he saw someone skateboarding in the street, and that must have switched him on," Ishikawa, who designs canine clothing, told Reuters. "After that it was 'I wanna skate!'."

While he has yet to learn 180-degree-turns and kickflips, Bazooka appears very comfortable on his board, relishing the attention he gets from humans and other dogs.

Ishikawa has boards custom-made, ensuring that they have no toxic varnishes and are of an appropriate length.

And Bazooka expresses his appreciation in the way most dogs know how -- he chews his boards to shreds.

"He bites and just keeps gnawing on them, so we're actually on our 15th custom-made board as of now," Ishikawa said.

(Reporting by Chris Meyers, Editing by Miral Fahmy)