Pancho's Big Adventure - The Repair Shop
I was asked to bring some clothes to my son's work and I took our pet of the last 15 years on that errand. He recently found his own place to live and had forgotten some things at my house.
I used to bring Pancho or Goldie to many places when my "bike" was not such a high performance one. Pancho used to ride on my shoulders back then and it was not a problem for him. Now, he gets very scared if he sees the world going by at higher speeds. To see the kind of motion that he finds terrifying, see the following video from about the 8 minute mark on...
The first time I tried to bring him somewhere on this wheel - video from one of my other accounts - we were on our way to the vet and Pancho nearly jumped off, though he had been securely around my neck when we left the house. I had stopped and calmed him but then, as we got back up to speed, he relieved himself as we rode. I had to stop and put him near a tree to finish his business. So I now know that he has no tolerance for high speeds.
We arrived and I gave my son his clothes. People there saw me take him out and initially backed off as if I had pulled out a machine gun.
I walked away rather than force any change of mind on anyone. I put Pancho on my son's motorcycle. I know he smells my son's presence there and he would be comfortable on it.
Pancho loves any kinds of wires or solid bars, so the handle bars suited him very well. He is all about security. If you didn't have any hands, you would use your legs to grip whatever you could in order not to fall. Pancho is the same way but he can grip just about anything that he can encircle. It's the nature of the beast.
My older boy is the manager of this shop. He repairs any kind of wheel, scooter, or motorcycle as long as it does not have an engine. I say engine because everything he is trained to fix is electric only. The motorcycle you are looking at is a Super Soco electric motorcycle and the wheel in the video above is a Kingsong S22 electric unicycle.
Pancho got to visit with his younger owners because both my boys work there. Then he got to know some of the other workers at the shop. Two of the three that had initially backed off out of fear, were soon taking selfies with Pancho on them. "I have had Pancho since he was a baby and my boys used to bathe with him in the tub when they were very young." I assured them. These guys are very slow in their locomotion and super curious. They go about their choice of places to investigate and are not interested in attacking anything. Soon people see that and are willing to get to know them. It is perfectly safe to be around Pancho as long as you do not try to hurt him. It is the same with any dog or cat, I think.
I only have pictures of Pancho while he was not being held by others because when I am allowing others to hold him, I like to watch him closely to make sure he is not changing his mood. If people start lunging at others with Pancho on their arm, he could perceive that as an aggressive action and may respond. I have never seen him get aggressive in anyway, but I still opt for safety. He has never bitten anyone or tried to choke them. It is just good practice to make sure that this new experience is a good one for both the new snake lover and for the one they are amazed by.
gets all the rewards for them in the form of rats. His tail was sore so
I took on the task for him.