Seat Belts To Be Mandatory - For Pets

[matcom]

<snip>

The city of Santa Fe may soon require pet owners to restrain their dogs, cats and ferrets in special pet seats or with seat belts while traveling in a moving vehicle.

The ordinance, endorsed by the city's public safety committee, would also require that "animals in open beds of trucks and cars be tethered or restrained enough so the animal can't fly out the window," said Kate Rindy, executive director of the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, who helped develop the proposed law.

Rindy said dog seat belts as well as portable pet carriers would fit the bill, as would someone merely "holding a pet in their lap," she said. "Just like people need to be safe, so do animals."

There are special restraints on the market selling for about $20 to $30 to attach an animal to a seat belt.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=573&e=1&u=/nm/20040326/od_nm/odd_pets_dc

[xchrom]

1. my dog used a seat belt

and in cali dogs in the back of pick ups, i believe, are supposed to be secured. but cops never pull them over. i won't drive behind a pick up with an unsecured animal in the back.
i will literally go out of my way to not be that car.

[truthspeaker]

2. it's not just an animal safety issue

A big dog flying forward from the back seat could kill a person in the front seat, even if the humans are belted in.

[Rainbowreflect]

3. My brother always seat belts his huge Iguana.

He gets a lot of strange looks.
We have some friends we have pet geese & when they go to the vet they are always belted in.

[HuckleB]

4. We tried this.

Our dog goes nuts in a car, all in good fun, barking at cars and people along the way. Bouncing from side to side in the back seat, making us deaf. We thought we would try a sort of restraint contraption to see if it would settle her down. After about a dozen attempts, we gave up. She would fight the entire time, entangling herself, and even getting out of it once, while barking the whole time.

Finally, we went with an environmental change that works for both of us. We put a canopy/shell over the back of our pick-up truck. Now she travels back there, barking and walking around as happy as can be, while our ears are safe up front.