Elvis' colon weighed 62 lbs at the time of his autopsy.

Before Col. Tom Parker was pulling in almost 50 percent of Elvis' earnings, he could be found chasing tail in Florida. Parker was a dog catcher for the city of Temple Terrace and became director of The Tampa Humane Society in 1940.

He came from a carnival background. He founded the Great Parker Pony Circus and would amaze people with his dancing chickens. The act placed hot plates below a layer of sawdust on which live birds were standing. The peckers feet were heated to create the desired effect.

"I sleep very well at night."

Parker's carny tactics strangely came in handy at the shelter. He used every heart wrenching tactic in the doggy manual to gain the sympathy of local media. He hounded them with pictures and stories of desperate animals and for the first time, The Humane Society was making a profit.

The Colonal then opened a pet cemetery behind the shelter where he pushed tiny headstones at heavy prices. It was one of the first in the country. The pitch came with a contract for a lifetime of fresh flowers. He acquired these from the trash bins of nearby florists. Decaying daises and rotted roses could be seen adorning the grounds.

And Bozo Was His Name-O

Parker's cemetery was once home to Bozo, a mind reading dog. Bozo was born in Thonotassa, FL and buried at the Humane Society of Tampa in 1943. In his day, he was Tampa's brightest star. A canine that could bark the numerical answers to what people were thinking.

Bozo was big. He toured over 700,000 miles in America, was often seen at the feet of Roosevelt and earned numerous honorary degrees from universities. Scientists urged that the dogs brain be handed over after his death, but the pooch was buried in one piece.

Bozo's brain power would outweigh Tampas as the city soon forgot its civic pride canine. The dog's grave was exhumed in the 1980s and his remains scattered. It's a dog gone shame.

Col. Tom Parker's House
409 Park Ridge Road
Temple Terrace, FL