Critter talk: No dogs in the back of pickups
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Transporting unrestrained dogs in low-sided pickup truck beds has been banned in only a handful of states
A few years ago, Julien Roohani of Portland, Oregon, was at work when her roommates spontaneously decided to go on a hike. Not wanting to exclude Julien’s six-month-old dog, a Shepherd/Border Collie mix, Niña, they threw her into the back of their pickup truck and set off for an adventure.
Niña had never been in a truck bed before. Whether she was scared or just spotted something of interest, she managed to jump out during the drive. Panicking, the roommates called Julien, who rushed Niña to an emergency veterinary clinic where she was diagnosed with a broken spine and other severe injuries. Julien had no choice but to allow her young pup to be humanely euthanized.
Unfortunately, stories like Niña’s are all too common. It is never safe to drive with an unrestrained pet—especially with that pet in an open truck bed.
“When you drive with a loose dog in the back of your truck, you’re taking a huge risk and placing your dog and other motorists in danger,” says Chuck Mai, a vice president with AAA Oklahoma. “Even if a dog is trained, we’re talking about an animal who responds to stimuli on impulse. This irresponsible decision can start a deadly chain reaction on the road.”
Is It Legal?
Transporting unrestrained dogs in low-sided truck beds has been banned in a handful of states, including California and New Hampshire, and municipalities including Indianapolis, Cheyenne and Miami-Dade. However, in the vast majority of jurisdictions, it’s not even illegal to transport children in this manner, so we must rely on common sense and education to protect children and pets alike.
How You Can Help
One can feel terribly helpless witnessing a loose dog in a pickup truck. The best course of action is to try to get the vehicle’s license number (if you can do so while remaining safe) and call the local police. Rather than dialing 911, Jill Buckley, ASPCA Senior Director of Government Relations, suggests storing your police precinct’s phone number in your cell phone.
Do you let your dog ride in the back of your truck?
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Chevy “colorado?” You mean Silverado? Didn’t know they made a “Colorado.”
Charlie rides shotgun in my Chevy Colorado. But with the extended cab and my new truck box, (for tools, not dogs) I hope he doesn’t get too dramatic with the puppy-eyed, hang-dog guilt-trip looks when he has to start riding in the back seat.
People are stupid! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen these idiots riding down the road with their guns and dogs perched on top of their truck boxes. Idiots!
Even “restraining” them with a rope is dangerous, imo. If the driver has to slam on their breaks or is involved in an accident, the dog can get thrown over the truck bed and choked to death. People can just be plain stupid.
“Do you let your dog ride in the back of your truck?”
We no longer have our truck, but when we did, absolutely NOT! Our dogs are treated like passengers in our vehicles. We keep them safe in the back…they can fly through windshields too! If I could put them in seat belts I would!
I guess I’m just a spaz when it comes to living things, especially kids and dogs!
The we’re both spaz’ Pamela because I’m with you all the way. I do have a truck but it has a cap on it with a rubber mat on top of the bed liner. I don’t even put them back there. I removed the back seats (it’s a crew cab), elevated the floor with 4×4’s and then put two heavy duty no slip rubber mats on top of them, with a rug for comfort. I transport my dogs all over the country like that. Safe as I can make them.
you can get dog seatbelts, mine has, have a look on ebay or amizon they normaly atach to the dogs coller or harness and clip on to the normal steat belt thing 🙂
Thanks Sam!!