About Us

About DogScooter

DogScooter promotes the dog driving sports of dog scootering, bikejoring and sulky driving by selling scooters, sulkies,  gear and books. We support email talk groups, the K9Scooters NW club and Dogs Across America, an annual national relay.

We sell scooters manufactured by three different companies: Torker, Blauwerk and Diggler. They range in price and quality from entry level to professional. We sell the Chalo Sulky Uno and Chalo Sulky Duo, handcrafted by KC Fabrications in Seattle and Phil's Bicycle Shop in Federal Way. We test all these products with Daphne Lewis' dogs. The Chalo Sulkies are unique in that they use bicycle technology for ease of pulling and braking.

Our sales people are self-selected; they run dogs and want to see more dog drivers in their region.

History

The idea for DogScooter began in 1995 when Daphne Lewis moved from her bamboo nursery in the country to the city of Seattle. How to exercise her beautiful rottweiler, Rubromarginata? After a few months of roller blades, the idea that brakes would help showed up. Then, a few months of patrolling past the thrift store and a scooter showed up. Scooter obsession occurred. Daphne thought she had invented a new sport. Soon she found out that scooter racing was an established sport in Europe, New Zealand and Australia with formal races and international titles.

In 1997, after Daphne wrote and printed "My Dog Likes to Run, I Like to Ride", the idea of a business selling scooters showed up. "If Rubro and I like it, other people and dogs will, too". Unfortunately, Daphne could not find any scooters to sell. In 2000, DogScooter began when Lewis imported Jones scooters from Australia and opened a checking account! After a few years, Daphne was able to find other manufacturers: Torker, Blauwerk and Diggler. Gradually people heard of the sport of Dog Scootering. Mushers began to embrace dry land racing and accepted scooters as training machines for their lead dogs.

Now, with the internet so available, more and more people are exercising their dogs with scooters.

About Daphne Lewis

Who is Daphne Lewis? I live in Federal Way, Washington, USA, a city on Puget Sound with views of Mount Rainier. Snow capped mountains adorn the east and west horizons. Naturally Federal Way has a high percentage of environmentalists and I am one of them.

I write articles and pamphlets on bamboo and bamboo farming. Currently, and seemingly endlessly, I am writing a book on farming bamboo, "Farming Bamboo". My coauthor is Dr. Carol Miles, WSU Vancouver, Washington. I also write articles about dog scootering and spend my free time promoting the sport of dog scootering. I wrote "Dog Scootering: The Sport for Dogs Who Love to Run" in 2006. My interest in dogs and training dogs is growing but under control - I think! Well, there is always the additional interest in creating a new sport and growing a business.

I'm an avid environmentalist and have two bamboo groves. Bamboo grows wood faster than trees. I worked for Bamboo Hardwoods from January 1999 through July 2001. Bamboo Hardwoods is dedicated to ending the harvest of tree wood from wild/native forests and substituting wood from farmed bamboo. Bamboo Hardwoods designs, manufactures and sells floors, furniture, poles, houses, and fences made from bamboo. Its warehouse and retail store are in Seattle. Bamboo Hardwoods was established in 1993 by my son, Doug Lewis, and continues to be owned and managed by him.

I worked for Colvos Creek Nursery, growers of native and drought hardy rare plants on Vashon Island in Puget Sound from August, 2001 until December, 2003. My eyes were opened to the richness of plant material from dry summer countries such as Australia, New Zealand and parts of Africa, the Mediterranean and Chile. Our climate is similar with under an inch of rain expected in the summer months.

Since March, 2004, I have been working for Phil Wood Garden Design . It is a pleasure to be working for a designer as good and as dedicated as Phil. What fun to draft master plans, meet with clients, hang with the horticulture crowd, and touch and marvel at the beautiful plants at nursery after nursery.

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