thanks, all, for your input. very helpful to the cause. in the meantime, i've done a great big flip flop and actually hit the buy button on a cheapo $899 lectric xp step thru. sure, it typically seems to arrive w/ a bunch of QC issues but once those get straightened out, lots of folks express nothing but love. for me, i'm enthralled with the idea of cruise control. set it at a steady 5mph and off my dog and i go.
delivery is not until mid september. the other thing i like is that you can cancel your order without penalty up until the day that you get a tracking number. ride1up, on the other hand, charges a whopping 3% if you cancel your order at any time. i think i'm right about that. meaning that if you order a bike and suddenly the delivery date gets pushed out, you can't walk away without taking a hit. i'm not a fan of that.
meanwhile, reason i use a bike to walk my dog is as GenxR surmised -- i've got a handicap, in my case an MS variant that makes it impossible for me to walk even a block under my own steam. ugh. but, my dog has his needs, so i'm trying to help him out. already have a trailer for my two pups. but the big guy wants more!
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p.s. sorry for going OT. i'll shut up now.