39. The Mechanical Dog Walker
The idea of automating dog walks might sound like a dream for busy pet owners, but in the 1930s, this invention quickly turned into a nightmare. The Mechanical Dog Walker was a motorized platform that moved along the sidewalk, pulling your dog on a leash attached to the machine. It promised to free owners from tiring walks while keeping dogs active.
In practice, dogs were bewildered and often resisted the strange moving platform. Some were dragged unwillingly down the street, while others simply tried to escape the contraption. Owners were left chasing runaway machines or apologizing to confused neighbors. Far from the convenient gadget it claimed to be, this invention highlighted how pets prefer walks with people, not machines. Today’s robotic pet gadgets owe a lot to these early experiments—though they’ve thankfully gotten a bit smarter since.
