Seat Belts for Dogs

newsmax ^ | 3/25/04

[Proverbs 3-5]

Thursday, March 25, 2004 Now Big Brother Wants Seat Belts for Dogs

Ultratrendy, ultraliberal, ultrawacky Santa Fe is considering requiring seat belts ... for critters.

A City Council committee in New Mexico's capital yesterday endorsed an ordinance that would require any animal "in or on" a vehicle to be restrained.

Among the options for pet owners, the Associated Press reported today:

-A "pet safety sitter" ($13.69 to $21.69) that straps Fido's chest to the seat.

-A restraint with a loop that attaches to a seat belt.

-"Pickup tie-outs" that attach to Muttley's collar to keep it from jumping out of a pickup's bed.

-A little booster seat so Puff can see out the window.

For once cats will get equal treatment. Under the scheme they, like dogs, will have to be leashed whenever on "public" property.

[visualops]

Just another reason to write tickets.

It'll never happen down here...dogs (and people for that matter) frequently ride in the open back of pickups.

[cherry]

As ridiculous as this sounds, I am in favor of it for one reason only:.......so that these people with Fido on their lap would pay attention to their driving instead of their pooch .....

holding a squirming animal in your lap while driving has got to be more dangerous than talking on your cell phone ......

It feels so good to rant after FR being down all day.......lol

[dawn53]

Our Weimaraner loves to ride in the car.

In fact, I think she thinks she could drive the car, if I'd only let her try, LOL.

We put her in the back of our Outback or 4 Runner, but she always tries to sneak up into the front seat, if there's not another passenger. We send her back to the cargo area when she does this.

We don't restrain her in the car, but we are aware that if we had to slam on brakes, she'd probably be a 70 lb missle propelled forward by the inertia, not safe for her, not safe for us.

We're probably going to be getting a restraining doggie seat belt (I'm doing a little research on the best kind, so if anybody has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them), but I still wouldn't want the city government telling me I HAD to get one.

[Skooz]

In our SUV, our Boston Terrier stands on the console between my wife and me, looking at the road ahead. She absolutely will not sit anywhere else. No seat belt will hold her down and keep her from her place.

In my pickup, she stands with her head hanging out the rear window. Since she has that goofy BT face, I see lots of laughter un cars behind us. Again, she will not be anywhere else in the truck.

[Proverbs 3-5]

your wrote "I am in favor of it for one reason only:.......so that these people with Fido on their lap would pay attention to their driving instead of their pooch ....."

Funny thing about that... last fall while my neighbor was following me in his car to a restaurant he rear-ended my new car because while he was lovingly looking over his shoulder into the backseat at his strapped in 6-month old baby girl he failed to notice that I had stopped at a stop sign and was waiting for oncoming traffic...

[Texaggie79]

Can you say Raimondo?

[DH]

"It'll never happen down here..."

Don't bet on it. In texas it is now illegal for people under a certain age to ride in the back of a pickup.

Another thing to remember is that the governments of most states made it a requirement to wear seat belts when driving....a direct invasion of your right to choose and privacy.

Anytime that "safety" becomes a political hot potato, it will ALWAYS become some type of law.

[Redcoat LI]

I have an 85 lb. German Shorthair.

I use a harness from the "ruff rider" company.

It's more expensive than the one's you can buy at your local pet store.But it is worth it.

http://bavarianautosport.com/

It's a B.M.W website,but the harness is universal

[dawn53]

Thanks for the link.

[billbears]

I can see the press conference now. Bob's wife and Bill's wife standing together calling for federal regulations to require pet seatbelts in every vehicle. Probably will be the same press conference they call for regulations that all cell phones be banned, and tobacco, and anything else Giddy or Hill thinks isn't good for us.....

[Redcoat LI]

No prob.

Direct link to Ruff rider http://www.ruffrider.com

1-888-783-3743

[blau993]

This would break the hearts of my two labs. They love to ride in our Pathfinder, and their main fun is trading windows. They constantly go from one side to the other, each in the hope that HE AND HE ALONE will be on the side adjacent to some dog lover at the next stop light and will be told how handsome he is and what a good boy he is. The jostling for this is worth the price of admission. SEAT BELTS? I don't think so!

[BaBaStooey]

My aunt had a golden retriever named Molly who rode in my aunt's van for years while lying on the floor between the two front bucket seats. Never had any trouble, was never in any danger of any kind.

The only reason Molly didn't want to stick her head out the window was because there was a vent conveniently located near where she lied down.

Dogs love to feel the breeze of cool air on their faces, especially when inside a car, which is why their heads are out the window all the time. Car seatbelts for dogs would more than likely prevent this.

[azhenfud]

Well, they should first amend the legislation to also prohibit pets from hanging out the windows of vehicles, or riding in beds of pickup trucks.

We NEED legislators to legislate < /sarcasm >

[shadeaud]

Odd thing about this law in Texas where children are not allowed to ride in the bed of a pick up. The exception is if the pick up is the only vehicle registered to the driver then it is legal to pack the bed with all the kids you want.

[unixfox]

It'll never happen down here...

Famous last words.

[Melinda in TN]

It's a great idea. We have a law forbidding kids to ride in the back of a pickup but dogs should be at least restrained in the back of a truck or inside for that matter. I have two Jack Russell Terriers that love to ride but no way I can control them in my truck without seat-belts. I would never allow them in the back, restrained or not.

We were driving down I-75 last week and there was a pickup in front of us with a medium sized black dog in the bed. He was running from side to side jumping on the side rails and the idiot driver didn't even have the tailgate up. He only went three miles before he got off but I was terrified for the poor dog not to mention the wreck it would cause at 80mph if he fell out. Stupid people!

[CarolAnn]

"Our Weimaraner loves to ride in the car."

Have you seen the VW commercial with a weimeraner hanging out a window on both sides of the car? That's what my car looks like! They go everywhere with me, and if I had to restrain them with a seat belt, it would take all the joy out of their lives. There's nothing they love more than those big old ears flapping in the breeze. (Have you ever noticed that dogs will hang their heads out the car window, but if you blow in their face just a tiny bit, it makes them crazy?)

[19th LA Inf]

We used to try to make our two Beagles stay in the back of our station wagon, but they would always squirm forward somehow. Once we made a brief stop at the post office and when we came out, Lucky was standing in the driver's seat blowing the horn.