A Dog's Life: Take Me Out to Dog Day!

 (Translated from the original Canine by Bill Patton.)

It’s tough being a dog.  Seriously.  I know you don’t think so, and that’s cool.  I understand.  All part of the deal.  You think I sleep 16 hours a day, wake up only to eat and do my business.  Personally, I call it “Guarding the House.”  

But like I said, it’s cool.  You make up for it in other ways.  Belly rubs…tug of war…the occasional s--

Whoa – what’s that? –

MAILMAN! MAILMAN! MAILMAN! MAILMAN! 

Where was I – okay, yeah, we do a lot of fun things together.  But, ya know, we don’t actually go many places in the winter.  It’s too cold.  I know, I know, when its warmer we’ll do all these great things.  We’ll go to Overton Bark.  Or the Greenline. Or maybe even Shelby Forest if I’m good.  But in the meantime?  Don’t get me wrong, I love sleeping on the sofa.  Love it.  Love. It.  

But it’d be great to get out there more, ya know?  See the city, see some of my own kind, catch up on everyone’s news, smell a few butts (I know you laugh at that, but don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. You can learn a lot.)   Yeah, alright, we do the occasional trip to Hollywood Feed or Petco, but I need …

Wait – thought I heard something outside – a cat?  A CAT? –

Where was I – okay.  So, yeah, when I heard about this Dog Day thing, I knew right away, it’s perfect.  What’s Dog Day?  A special tour, a ride around town, all around town, with other dogs, and yeah, people, too, but other dogs!  We get to visit a park, too!  (Don’t ask how I heard about all this.  I have my ways.)  You know I love riding in the car…this is riding in a bus!  How cool is that? Doesn’t that sound great?  Doesn’t that sound like fun?  Something you’d definitely want to do?  Doesn’t it? 

Monica and Missy took the Backbeat bus for a test run. Its officially dog approved.

Let’s play a game.  Look deep into my eyes.  My big brown eyes.  That’s right, go ahead, just look into my eyes.  Deep.  Keep looking now.  (Aw, you’re so cute when you cock your head to the side like that!) 

You want to take me to the Dog Day Tour, dontcha?  Dontcha?  I’m gonna wag my tail a little more, and you’re gonna want to do it.  Dog Day, now, c’mon!  It’ll be fun.  Oh, yeah.  Now you’re coming around.  Let’s look for the leash!  Wait, wait!   No changing your mind now.  We’re doing this.  Time to pull out the big guns – the full body wag followed by the jump up.  That always does the trick. 

We’re doing the Dog Day Tour, right?  Yeah?  You’re the best!

The Dog Day Tour is on February 16 at 2:30pm.  $9 per dog; up to 4 friends ride free.  90 minute music tour, includes visit to Overton Bark. Treats for dogs and friends. For reservations and more info, call (901) 527-9415 or click here.  (You just need to make reservations for the dog).  

A New Tour Series: "Memphis Loves Memphis"

It’s amazing how much our city impacts the world. For the last eight years, we’ve been entertaining tourists from all over the US, of course, but also from far and wide: the UK, Australia, New Zealand, those cold (but friendly!) Scandinavian countries, as well as Russia, China, Japan, the Philippines, India, Brazil, Greece, South Africa…I think the only continent we haven’t had visitors from yet is Antarctica. If you travel overseas, you can see it; mention that you’re from Memphis, and you can always find an enthusiastic foreigner eager to hear more about our city.

You don’t have to be a tourist to want to experience everything that Memphis has to offer, though. Maybe you’re tired of Elvis, but there’s so much else to discover, both past and present, in and around our city. From Davy Crockett to Tim McCarver, from Gus Cannon to Justin Timberlake, from Tennessee Williams to John Grisham, Memphis has always been and continues to be a hotspot of American culture.

That got us thinking: we love Memphis, and you love Memphis, so let’s kick the tourists off the bus once in a while, have some fun amongst ourselves and celebrate Memphis the local way. This year, we’re doing just that with a series of monthly tours just for you, Mid-South: the “Memphis Loves Memphis” series.

We wanted to start off with a bang, so for our first two events -- Family Day (January 25, 11:30am and 2:30pm) and Dog Day Afternoon (February 16 at 2:30pm) -- we’re offering locals a chance take our popular Memphis Mojo Tour at an obscenely low price. Up to five tickets (a $150 value) for just $9!

If you haven’t taken the Mojo Tour, don’t miss this opportunity. So much more than a city tour; it’s a combination of live music, comedy, tambourines and, yeah, some history that will give you a whole new appreciation for Memphis. Here’s what other locals had to say about the experience:

“I thought I knew a lot about Memphis until this tour! I learned so much about our rich music history and had such a great time singing along to some of my favorites.”

“My grandchildren had a great time and I (born and raised in Memphis) learned things that even I didn’t know about our Great city. “

“The guide sang like an angel. … My boyfriend and I have both lived in Memphis for over 10 years, but we learned new things about our city.” 

You need a dog to join our Dog Day Afternoon Tour, but all you need is a family to come to Family Day. (I think most of us have those, right?) We’ll have balloons, cookies, and lemonades for the children (young and old). Kids are a bonus, but you don’t need them to take advantage of Family Day prices. For more information on both tours, go to https://www.facebook.com/backbeat.tours/events or call us at (901) 527-9415. Be sure to book in advance as space is limited.

Later tours in the series will be special, one-off events, things we’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have a large enough tourist audience for. We’re working on the schedule for the rest of the year now – follow us on Facebook or Twitter for updates – but some things we’re thinking about are: a dive bar crawl, a Civil War tour, a brewery tour, a musical journey through Starry Nights, even a trip to Little Rock’s Wild River Country waterpark for relief from the summer heat, … the ideas just keep coming. We’ll also be partnering with local non-profits to do special tours and events to raise money for their activities. Ultimately, though, these tours are meant for you, Mid-South, so let us know what you think. What tours would you like to see us do?