15 minutes with Ike, the Iconoclast, miniature schnauzer

Tell me about yourself, Ike.

I'm Ike, a miniature schnauzer. I'm the mascot of The Bluffton Icon.

Really?
Yes, and there's lot more. I'm actually the brains behind the project.

How is that?
I come up with story ideas, photo ideas and the political stance of the Icon.

I didn't know The Icon took a political stance on things.
Well, it's accomplished in a very clever way. You don't realize it. But, it's there.

Where do you get your ideas?
Many come from the black squirrel in the front lawn at 226 Grove St. I watch that squirrel several hours each day from a chair in the front room. It has a lot to say.

What would you do if you could catch it?
Not really certain. Probably do a combination hop-squat-barks while circling it rapidly. Just drive it crazy, or drive it up a tree.

What did you do in your life before you created The Icon?
I grew up in Hardin County. Drove a semi truck. Wore a Harley Davidson jacket. Basically toured this wonderful country of ours. Then I met Dave Baumgartner of Lots of Luv Animal Rescue. It's an exchange program between canine and humans. I told him that I was through with truck driving and country and western music. I wanted to settle down and work on my memoirs.

Is that how you came to live in Bluffton?
That's right.

How do you spend most of your days now?
I'm listening to lots of the great composers of the 19th and 20th centuries like Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Shostakovich, a little Copland, Elliot Carter, Gershwin, Ellington and Basie.

Do any reading?
Yeah. The Sunday New York Times, Funny Times, The Onion, Dog World, Wall Street Journal on line. That sort of thing.

Do you get out much?
Not as much as I'd like. I put the humans I live with on a leash and drag them around the block a couple times a day.

Do you ever get out on your own?
Like I said, not as much as I'd like. The humans are fanatics. When that front door opens I like to bolt out on my own. Did it twice last week. I'm told there's a $5 bounty on my head if I'm ever captured on my own. No questions asked. It's kind of silly, but I go along with it.

Who are your other dog friends?
Thor, a black lab, who lives next door with the Dillers. He's pretty laid back. He's sort of my Zen master. I'm trying to learn to relax like him.

Any cats?
Cats? If I could, I'd chase every cat I could find up that tree with the squirrel I mentioned earlier. I'd chase every Tea Party person I could find up that same tree, too.

Is that what you mean about a political statement?

You said it, Fred. But, it's a small town we live in and you have to remember that we all live together and need to listen to each other.

If you could do anything you wanted, what would that be?
I'd probably just drive around town, say 20 to 35 miles per, stick my head out the car window and get high.

Will we be seeing more of you soon?
Yeah. Watch for me in the Bluffton High School-Bluffton University homecoming parade. I'm going to leash the Steiners and drag them down the parade route. That's my kind of fun.

Well, we hope to see you there.
Woof.