Pets Riding In Cars

Six years ago my yellow lab was just six weeks old. All pet owners remember that first day of taking on the huge responsibility of pet ownership including cute puppy breath and shoe destruction (“why the heck must you always pick my $400.00 Stilettos and reject those stinky rubber fishing boots)? I had Rocky nestled on my left shoulder tucked under my hair until he became fascinated with chewing and pulling on my earring on his first car ride…bad idea! As the weeks and months went by he outgrew me holding him and took his permanent position in the passenger seat or as he refers to it as his seat. How many of us allow the pooches to stick their heads out the window with their jowls flapping in the wind and slobber scattering everywhere. What is the alternative? Should we buckle up our little furry ones in child safety seats as puppies and harness then in as adult doggies? Whatever happened to throwing them in the back of the pickup, now they ride in air-conditioned leather-ed up seats while they watch their favorite episode of Lassie on the DVD mounted in the rear of the SUV. I know my Rocky is especially fond of the heated seats in the wintertime. We only have so many years to love our pets, so it is important that we take our furry friends along with us on errands after all. Bottom line, I do not see any problem with allowing our pets to hop in and go for a ride if the owner and/or driver always makes sure your pet is never blocking the driver’s view and you never roll down the window so far that it can fall or jump out of the vehicle. I also encourage you to put them in their own area in the car. The most important situation to avoid is your pooch distracting you when you should be paying attention to the road by riding in your seat with you and endangering others.

Barbara Terry

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