Should Pets Be Required to Wear Seat Belts When Riding In the Car [Poll]

Every Thursday Leslie and I feature a Vanderburgh Humane Society 'pet of the week' and talk about some of the issues related to having pets. One issue that is really staring to pick up steam is the issue of seat belts for pets. Over the weekend, we drove up to Hanover to visit our son and brought our VHS adopted pug, Bruce Wayne with us. He was all over the car on the ride up and my wife actually said we should belt him in to keep him still. It turns out that in New Jersey, a poll of registered voters showed that 45-percent of those polled would support a pet seat belt law with 40-percent opposing it. There is a bill in the New Jersey state Assembly that would require pets to be restrained or crated while traveling in the car.

Under the bill, violators would be fined $20 and could lead to animal cruelty charges with fines up to $1000. All of this came about in New Jersey when two pedestrians were killed that could have been the result of an unrestrained dog.

I have to admit, after witnessing our dog going nuts in the car during the trip, a law like this actually makes sense. Obviously, a regular seat belt would not work very well, but I'm sure someone will create one that will do the job. Other states are watching this bill very carefully.

[UPI.com]