A video of a dog balancing on the edge of a flatbed pickup while driving on the highway had some locals questioning if it’s legal and created controversy on social media.
“If something were to happen and a car were to hit it, the dog could hit another car or even go through the windshield of another car,” Kia Riemeth, Assistant Director for Lubbock Animal Services said.
Riemeth said according to City Ordinance Sec. 4.04.001 “Inhumane Treatment Of Animals” (c) (9) states:
A person carries or transports an animal in any vehicle or conveyance in a creul, inhumane, or unsafe manner or fails to effectively restrain such animal so as to prevent the animal from leaving or being accidentally thrown from the vehicle during normal operation of the vehicle or fails to restrain the animal so as to prevent infliction of bodily harm to passersby;
Riethmeth said LAS officers aren’t able to pull people over, but police can.
“They can receive a citation for it or have the dog removed if its unsafe and cruel. It can be taken to court,” Riethmeth said.
Lubbock Police said it’s not illegal to have a dog in the back of a pickup but the ordinance will apply to individual circumstances.
