Doggie in the Window - $35.00

Remember the song, "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" Well, if you are in California, the cost is about to be $35.00.

This photo, first posted March 31, 2008, showed two mutts behind the wheel of a SUV in Crystal Lake. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.) I couldn't see the driver. Was there really a human being in the car?

Well, California is about to pass a law prohibiting motorists from holding their mutts in their laps while operating a moving vehicle. Makes sense to me. But should a law even be necessary?

How many times do you see a driver, holding his or her dog so that the little (or sometimes not so little) mutt can look out the left, front window? Certainly more than once a month around Woodstock and Crystal Lake!

Do the police ever stop a driver who is holding his mutt in the front seat? I've always thought that a careless driving charge would be appropriate.

California plans to let drivers slide by with a $35.00 ticket. Would this driver get two tickets in California?

If the airbag deploys, the little dog is dead meat. I saw a demonstration of airbag deployment at a Crystal Lake Fire Department several years ago. The sound is like a 12-gauge shotgun being fired in a closet. The force of the airbag will throw an object 10-15 feet. If the airbag deploys and the dog is between the steering wheel and the driver, the dog is going to get squished, and the driver isn't going to enjoy the feeling, either.

Be smart. Put your dog where it will be safe when you wreck your car.

© 2008 GUS PHILPOTT