Posted on 06/12/2008 12:59:26 PM PDT by shrinkermd
Keeping Fido with you in the driver's seat is dangerous and should be against the law.
...It's surprising that a bill to ban drivers from holding pets in their laps has been the target of ridicule. AB 2233, introduced by Assemblyman Bill Maze (R-Visalia), has been called a nanny-state bill. That would be true if the intent were to protect the pet. Much as we love dogs, we'll leave that job up to their owners. But if legislators thought hanging on to a cellphone was a driving hazard -- and it is -- what about an animal blocking the driver's vision and ability to hold on to the steering wheel?
Drivers distracted by their pets caused more than 100 accidents last year statewide. But it doesn't take statistics to see that drivers are reaching over, under and around their pets to get a grip on the wheel, that they're making wide turns and can't see cars or people to the left because the dog is drooling out the driver's window. Or that one short stop means the driver either has to use one hand to grab the animal or get a panicked ball of fluff flying into his or her face
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Every so often, I drive through McDonald’s for a bag of 10 dollar burgers. Cheap treats for the dogs (click on my screen name).
I'd be more worried about which way the pet was facing.
Woof
Last time I visited Chicago (June 2007), I was on a busy thoroughfare with traffic backed up and long waits at every intersection. In traffic with me was a woman with what appeared to be a Boston terrier on her lap. Every minute or so, the dog would shift itself and cause the horn to sound. This was irritating and distracting (especially to the drivers in front of her who probably didn’t realize it was a dog making the horn sound). If she HAD to have her dog with her, why couldn’t it have been on the passenger’s front seat, preferably in a carrier?
I used to have a husky that looked similar to him. Delilah had one brown eye, and one half-brown half-blue. We had to give her up when she got territorial with our newborn daughter. Nipped at her a few times. Haven’t had any pets since.
That’s why I take both my Lab’s when I go to the bar. On the trip home, one runs the gas/brake pedals and the other steers.
And then there’s Brit Spears, who drives with a baby in her lap. Or drove.
As the companion human to a Keeshond, I discovered that she HAD TO stand on the front seat with her paws on the dashboard, alert to every passing car, bird, and tree. Bought a big open show crate for the back seat.
Keeshonds are Dutch barge dogs whose job was to perch in the prow of canal boats used for transporting cheese to market. On foggy days, they’d bark when the boat got too close to the walls of the canal. Thus: Cheese Dog, or Kaas Hund.
Fortunately, my Kees adjusted to her crate and enjoyed. She’s near the end of her trip down life’s canal now, and I’ll miss her backseat driving. Sniff.
“Just because something is a bad idea doesn’t mean it has to be illegal.”
Or, as we say here in Texas, “There ain’t no law against stupid.”
She liked the Volvo, though. Gummed up the passenger window something awful with her nose prints.
Let me guess, the mastiff eats 9 of them?
Very interesting! Thanks for posting it.
Your Husky could be the twin to my Alyeska Blue...........right down to those icey blue eyes.
Beautiful dog.
He would, if I’d give them to him. He generally eats 3 at a time, but avoids the pickles. Usually I take them off before giving him the burgers.
I gave him a slice of stale cheese pizza one time, he hid it in his mouth and went to the back door to be let out. I saw him bury it next to the house. If he’s not hungry, he has a spot where he buries treats.
He also loves carrots, celery, lettuce, zucchini, pumpkin, and spaghetti. And cheese garlic bread.
I am sure he would eat most anything. In order to help him stay at around 225 lbs, I am fairly careful with his diet, only giving the awesome McDonalds once a month.
Beautiful!
I now have a new screen saver. Thanks!
That’s Quiche-hound.
What a pretty Husky! The drivethru thing can really happen, too. My Husky girl is a lighter gray and white with blue eyes-and one Saturday morning when she was a little pup, my then-single daughter decided she wanted breakfast tacos and invited the dog to go-when she returned, she told us how embarrassed she had been when Husky girl climbed over her and halfway out the open car window to try to get into the drivethru window, where she smelled food. And last year on the way home from getting her yearly shots at the vet, she somehow slipped out of her doggie seatbelt, stepped on the gearshift with her paw, knocking the car out of gear and killing the engine in the middle of the main road...
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