Your dog doesn't belong in your lap

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

if you're driving.

Lately I have been noticing a lot of people driving around with their little toy dogs in their laps.

I can't be the only the only person who thinks this is a bad idea, can I? For one thing, if you've got a squirming, writhing furry thing on your lap or shoulder, you're probably not paying full attention to the road ahead of you. For another thing, if you should get in an accident and your airbag deploys, guess whose head is going to be popped off its body like a champagne cork and launched through the rear window to splot on somebody else's hood or crash into their windshield?

I went to Burger King for dinner tonight. As I was waiting in line at the drive thru, the woman in the SUV ahead of me had a little Shih-Tzu or something up front with her, and I thought it was going to jump out of the SUV and into the drive-thru window. And then on the way home I saw somebody driving around with a Jack Russell Terrier or some similar-looking small dog with its head through the driver's side window.

[Megg]

I hate this. Even worse is the stupid asses who drive with their 200 pound huge dog in the car unrestrained. One such loser almost killed my favorite author. Those poor dogs don't have a chance in an accident, either.

[Andara Bledin]

I think there should be laws that require animals in cars to be either in special harnesses latched to the seatbelt, or in a carrier, and for exactly the same reason people have to be buckled up.

But the ones with their dogs in their laps while driving piss me off the most.

^-.-^

[raw456]

I think there should be laws that require animals in cars to be either in special harnesses latched to the seatbelt, or in a carrier, and for exactly the same reason people have to be buckled up.

But the ones with their dogs in their laps while driving piss me off the most.

^-.-^

We do have rules of a sort here in Oz regarding restraining animals, but they are not enforcable to my knowledge. We own a 25kg (55lb) dog who is ALWAYS fully restrained in the cargo area of our Jeep. Even if I'm just "nipping down the road" to pick hubby up at the station. Unrestrained animals become lethal cannon balls (for lack of a better term) in a collision. It is extreamly uncaring to put your animal in that position. Not to mention the pain & suffering they go thru if they are in an accident.

People who do that should have their licences taken off them (and probably the animal too)

[blas]

We keep 100 lb Bear in the backseat. And she only comes on car rides involving taking her to the park or to the lake.

It boggles my mind why some people have to take their pets with them everywhere they go.

[Gawdzillers]

Some dogs just do that of their own accord.
My uncle has a chihuahua, and no matter what he tells her, it always just wants to sit on his lap. When I had to keep her while he was out of town, my mom had to physically restrain her from jumping in my lap while I was driving.

Yeah, there are those owners who think it's cute, but I'll bet that a lot of them just accept it to keep the dog from wailing the whole way.

[PizzaDrone]

I would be terrified to have a dog loose in the car while I was driving personally. My fur baby is always seatbelted in back. He doesn't like it because he cries the whole way there, but its something he has to put up with if he wants better walkies in new places.

Harnesses are so cheap as well that there's very little excuse not to use one.

[PepperElf]

I admit, I am guilty of that with my cat

but it was an accident. i had him in a soft cat carrier and he wiggled out of it, so i had to hold on to him.

actually it was kinda fun but nothing i'd ever try again

[EricKei]

My cat once got out of her car carrier when I was taking her to the vet -- she had an infected wound at the base of her spine (she was fine after a thorough cleaning and a week's worth of antibiotics, but I digress). The thing is, she was freaked out at the time (carrier + car + pain from the wound)...she did NOT jump into my lap. Unfortunately, her slightly-addled mind told her that she needed to hide herself somewhere dark and out of reach. Naturally, she chose to hunker down in the little space behind the car's brake pedal.

I couldn't stop normally because of this. Fortunately for both of us, I was on a nearly-deserted residential street at the time with no other cars in sight, so I was able to coast to a stop off to the side, where I could then set the Emergency Brake and coaxed her back into the carrier, and then HELD the damn thing shut with a spare hand (This was early Sunday AM, hardly anyone else was awake) as I toddled along at 10 mph to get her to the vet. We made it there and back OK.

[pile of monkeys]

I have two chihuahuas. They travel only in their (hard sided) crates when they're in the car. It's not safe for them, me, or other people on the road to have them loose. At that size, they're projectiles, and it would be totally irresponsible to not have them secured.

[AriRashkae]

I couldn't stop normally because of this. Fortunately for both of us, I was on a nearly-deserted residential street at the time with no other cars in sight, so I was able to coast to a stop off to the side, where I could then set the Emergency Brake and coaxed her back into the carrier, and then HELD the damn thing shut with a spare hand (This was early Sunday AM, hardly anyone else was awake) as I toddled along at 10 mph to get her to the vet. We made it there and back OK.

OT, but you have a spare hand? I want one (or 3!)!

Glad kittie's OK. My Dad's big Aussie shepherds weren't restrained in his truck, but they usually laid down on the floor behind the seat, so not much chance of flying around. Or they rode in the trailer a lot. When they got older, he just left them home, even though it made loading cattle harder. Those were some good dogs. I miss them.

[EricKei]

OT, but you have a spare hand? I want one (or 3!)!

Yup. I'm related to Zaphod.