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“F” is for Flat Nose

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“F” is for Flat Nose. Flat Nose, a bulldog owned by Barney Odom of the small community of Doversville in Darlington County, became a national sensation in the late 1980s—known for his ability to climb pine trees. After being featured in regional media outlets, Flat Nose appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in November 1986. According to Odom, the dog developed his tree-climbing ability as a puppy despite Odom’s efforts to stop him. Thereafter Flat Nose became an international celebrity, appearing at the 1989 Super Bowl, earning a place in The Guiness Book of World Records, and appearing on Japanese television commercials. Until his death in 1993, Flat Nose regularly made public appearances. In 1998, the country music band Austin Lizards immortalized Flat Nose’s talents in their song “Flatnose the Tree-Climbing Dog.”

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.