Black Bear Gets A New Home At Charles Towne Landing: Petitions Against Bear Baiting

For years, Memphis the black bear was trapped in a backyard in the Lowcountry. At first he was chained to a tree, and then he was placed in a five-by-twelve-foot chain-link cage.

“This is more common than people realize with these types of animals,” says Michelle Reid, director of the nonprofit Animal Rescue & Relief. “And it doesn’t necessarily have to be in the middle of nowhere.” Several months ago, Animal Rescue & Relief took Memphis from that backyard, and now he has two acres to roam in an enclosure at Charles Towne Landing.

COURTESY OF ANIMAL RESCUE & RELIEF Memphis the black bear spent years tied to a tree before being transferred to a small cage. Now he’s got two acres to roam at Charles Towne Landing.

Reid won’t say what town Memphis was found in, but she says it took about a year and a half to investigate the claims of animal abuse and get through the red tape to have him removed. When Reid and a co-worker finally went to the house with backup from local police, they removed the 450-pound bear and put him in a quarantine space. They gave him the name Memphis.

They also helped find him his new home in the Animal Forest at Charles Towne Landing on the banks of the Ashley River. “When he first was let loose into his habitat, he just took off,” Reid says. “Tearing branches out of the trees, he jumped in the pond and swam around, and he just had a field day. Every day with him is like that because he’s never had that.” “Because certain humans think they are superior to animals, so can do with them as they wish…it’s wrong & must stop!”

Reid says that some people keep bears for bear baiting (also known as bear baying), a bloodsport in which hunting dogs are released into a cage to attack a bear, sometimes with its teeth and claws removed. The practice is still legal in South Carolina. But in the case of Memphis the bear, Reid says it looks like the owner was just keeping him as a pet. “It seems that a lot of times when people have these sorts of animals … it’s just not your average owner and your average pet,” she says.

According to Reid, Memphis’ owner will not face criminal charges. In February, state Sen. David Thomas (R-Greenville) sponsored the Exotic Animal and Reptile Control and Regulation Act, a bill that would require people to apply for a special permit and pay a $150 annual fee to own any exotic animal — a term defined in the bill as including bears, hippos, camels, raccoons, opossums, lemurs, monkeys, beavers, and porcupines. The bill never made it past the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, but Reid is holding out hope that another legislator will sign on to support the bill in next year’s session. “It’s bloody disgraceful to think that anyone can take a wild animal & keep it as a back yard pet, they are wild for a reason!”

“I’d hate for it to take somebody getting hurt for people to realize that we need those laws,” Reid says. “Sadly it will probably take something like that, for the law to act!”

In her 10 years leading the organization, which investigates animal abuse and neglect cases in North and South Carolina, Reid has encountered exotic animal auctions where people can purchase monkeys, tigers, and large reptiles. She has seen people keeping Alaskan wolves on their property for breeding, and she was involved with the seizure of 76 cats and dogs from a pet shelter in Williamsburg County, N.C., where The Post and Courier reported that cats had pus oozing from their eyes and dogs had faeces in their cages.

If you are aware of a situation where an exotic animal is being mistreated, contact Animal Relief & Rescue via e-mail at arrinc@yahoo.com. Donations for the organization can be sent to PO Box 13477, Charleston, SC 29422.

Memphis can be seen every other day at Charles Towne Landing (1500 Old Towne Road) in the Animal Forest, where he and another male black bear named Tupelo take turns in the public viewing area. The Animal Forest is also home to elk, bison, river otters, mountain lions, brown pelicans, and egrets. The park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is $7.50 for adults, $3.75 for S.C. senior citizens, $3.50 for students age 6-15, and free for children age 5 and under.

News Link:-http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/black-bear-gets-a-new-home-at-charles-towne-landing/Content?oid=4136430

“Bears like other wild animals do not belong in captivity, please sign the petitions below to stop this & bear baiting; the horrific blood sport where dogs attack a tethered bear for fun & entertainment.”

Bear Baiting or baying is alive & well in South Carolina; it is the only state in the nation to allow this cruelty.

The following video show’s just how cruel this is, this video is in South Carolina 

Viewer Discretion Advised

Uploaded by hsus on 24 Aug 2010

Bear baiting, also known as “bear baying” by some, is a cruel spectator event where participants release their dogs to attack a tethered, captive bear, who has had her claws and some of her teeth cut off, leaving her defenseless

A pack dogs rush the bear, barking, biting and lunging at it. Frightened, the bear rears up on it’s hind legs, and has to use its strength to fend off the dogs, swinging at them.

The bear suffers bites and gashes, but the real trauma is the psychological trauma of a ceaseless set of attacks that last for hours.

In fact, some bears are prone to attacks for four hours as nearly 100 teams of dogs are set upon the bear in rapid succession. The bear…may endure this treatment every weekend throughout much of the year.

Surrounded by throngs of onlookers, many who travelled hundreds of miles to take part in the despicable spectacle.

Petition link:–http://www.change.org/petitions/boycott-south-carolina-until-they-outlaw-bear-baiting

The following Face Book page is dedicated to outlawing bear baiting/ baying:-

https://www.facebook.com/BoycottSouthCarolinaUntilTheyOutlawBearBaiting?ref=hl

Speak out against bear baying!

Following are ways to let your voice be heard:

Contact the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR).   Let them know that you are a South Carolina resident and that you oppose the practice of bear baying.  Ask them to use their power to prohibit the practice.  A reasoned and respectful plea, in your own words, will have the greatest impact.

• The SC DNR can be reached by phone at 803-734-3886.

• A letter can be addressed to the following:

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
P. O. Box 167
Columbia, SC 29202
Attn:  John Frampton, Director

Contact your legislators in the statehouse.  Whether bear baying is active in your community or not, our state leaders need to hear a clear message from their constituents – South Carolinians do not agree that bear baying should be legal.  

Find on-line contact information for your state legislators by visiting:  http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe.

Bear Baiting in Pakistan

Viewer Discretion Advised

Published on 15 Jul 2012 by pawspk

Bear Baiting is a cruel bloodsport in which pairs of dogs are set upon a tethered bear. Although it has been declared illegal in Pakistan for quite some time now, it continues unpunished to this day. For more information on bear baiting, visit WSPA’s website http://www.wspa.org.uk

In rural Pakistan, up to 2,000 spectators will assemble to watch a tethered and clawless bear set upon by trained fighting dogs.

WSPA is working hard to permanently stop what we believe is one of the world’s most savage blood sports.

The brutal but lucrative contests are organised by powerful local landlords. They own and train the dogs, which are also victims of this ‘sport’, encouraging ferocity in attack situations.

The bears are owned by Kalanders – traditional bear owners –who are paid by the landlords to bring the bears to fight.

Bear baiting is banned by the Pakistan Wildlife Act and contravenes Islamic teachings, which forbid the baiting of animals.

The ‘contest’ lasts for three rounds. As the dogs are encouraged to attack, the bear will tire and weaken, until it is unable to remain upright.

This is when the bear’s face and neck become vulnerable to the dogs’ teeth. They hang from the bear’s mouth and lips as they try to drag it to the floor. If they succeed, the dogs ‘win’ the round; if the bear stays on its feet, it has ‘won’.

Bears sustain more injuries than dogs in these savage stand-off’s, suffering ripped noses and mouths. The dogs’ jaws, clamped around the bear’s nose, are prized apart using sticks.

Most bears are permanently scarred, but the killing of either animal is avoided – they are too valuable. The bears live on to suffer further at the hands of their owners.

New facility offers special care for baited bears:-

An up-to-date clinic made possible by a generous supporter is now enabling staff at a WSPA-funded sanctuary in Pakistan to give rescued bears the very best care and treatment.

The Kund Park Sanctuary, run with member society the Bioresource Research Centre (BRC), is located between Punjab and North-West-Frontier Province where the Indus and Kabul rivers meet. It currently provides veterinary care and a safe haven for 22 bears formerly used for baiting.

http://www.wspa-international.org/latestnews/2008/new_bear_facility.aspx#.ULg6yOTZaSo

Petitions to ban bear baiting in Pakistan:-

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-bear-baiting-in-pakistan.html

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-the-bear-baiting-by-dogs-in-pakistan.html

 

SPCA Saves Three Dogs: Cops Arrest a Krugersdorp man for bestiality

Three dogs have been taken into care at an undisclosed SPCA after they had been removed from a property where they had suffered sexual abuse.

The SAPS has laid charges of bestiality and possession of drugs against the accused who will appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrates Court later today. This is expected to be a bail hearing.

Additional criminal charges are in the process of being laid by the National Council of SPCAs in terms of the Animals Protection Act.

A Court Order was obtained by the NSPCA from the Krugersdorp Magistrates Court which enabled the NSPCA Inspectors to gain access to the property and to remove the dogs. They were taken to a veterinarian. Members of the SAPS accompanied the NSPCA Inspectors and arrested the alleged perpetrator who has remained in custody.

Veterinary examination confirmed that penetration had taken place and samples were taken.

The dogs are receiving treatment and will remain in the care of the SPCA until such time as the case is concluded and the Court rules on their future.

News Link:-http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/08/16/who-sexually-abuses-animals

UPDATE: Guilty Pleas for Men Charged in Dog Stabbings

“The laws related to crimes like this need to be raised to felony charges! 7 months for their brutal attack is pathetic! When someone has purposefully & intentionally killed an animal without any provocation…what does that say about their state of mind? Will they have forgotten all about it in 7 months…No…likely to do something like this again..YES…but they will make sure they are undetected next time. Look at the anger, the evil in their eye’s…watch out for these names in the future, they have a mean streak, they will offend again!” 

UPDATE 9/13/12 @ 11:20 a.m.
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) — “This is the meanest act I’ve ever seen,” were the words of Judge Oakley Clark Collins Jr. just before sentencing the two men who pleaded guilty to stabbing and slitting the throats of two dogs.

Jonathan Jiles, 20, of Pedro, and Brian Sharp, 20, of Pedro, pleaded guilty to prohibition concerning companion animals and criminal trespassing during a hearing in Ironton Municipal court Thursday morning.

Each man was sentenced to seven months in the county jail, three years probation and fined $1,200. They must also pay restitution of $800 to the dog’s owner and can’t own a penned animal for three years.

The dog’s owners, Josie and Michael Scythes, found “Bubba” and “Bear” stabbed to death in the front yard of their home in Pedro last month.

Sheriff Lawless says following their arrest, both men admitted to their involvement in the stabbings and said they were drunk at the time. They also said they did not target the owners of the dogs.

Both Jiles and Sharp told the court they were sorry for what they did but the dog’s owner said they wish more could be done in cases like this.

“I just couldn’t believe why they would do something like this. Why they would want to do it. I’m very pleased they got the max the law would allow for such a brutal act. It should be considered a felony,” said Josie Scytes.
UPDATE 8/30/12 @ 9:10 a.m.
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) – A second person has been arrested in connection with the stabbing deaths of two dogs in Lawrence County, Ohio.

Sheriff Jeff Lawless says Jonathan Jiles, 20, of Pedro, was arrested Wednesday night. Brian Sharp, 20, of Pedro, was arrested Monday night.

Sheriff Lawless says both men admitted to their involvement in the stabbings and said they were drunk at the time. They also said they did not target the owners of the dogs.

The two dogs were found stabbed death in the front yard of a home in Pedro early Saturday morning.

Both men are charged with prohibition concerning companion animals. They are also charged with criminal trespassing.

When it came to choosing a charge, Lawless tells WSAZ.com that “When you have a crime like this, where people have targeted these innocent animals, we wanted to go after them. And as we looked at the statutes that would govern this for the Ohio Revised Code, cruelty to animals is certainly a charge that would stick so we wanted to research to see if there was something that was a little more stringent because we felt like the nature of the crime warranted a little bit more. So we were able to come up with a prohibition concerning companion animals charge.”

The charge is a misdemeanor one, compared to cruelty to animals being a misdemeanor two. The prohibition charge has a stiffer jail punishment.

The men face six months in jail if they are convicted.

ORIGINAL STORY 8/27/12 @ 12:30 p.m.
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) — A family from Lawrence County, Ohio is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who can help find the person who stabbed their two dogs to death over the weekend.

Josie Scythes says it happened sometime early Saturday morning outside her home in the 300 block of State Route 373 in Pedro.

She and her husband found their two dogs with multiple stab wounds and their throats slit.

“I just don’t understand what kind of a person could do this to an innocent animal,” Scythes said. “And if they can do this, what’s next? Somebody’s kid?”

Scythes is asking anyone with any information to contact the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. If a tip leads to an arrest, she is offering a $1,000 reward.

News Link:-http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Family-Offers-Reward-after-Dogs-were-Stabbed-to-Death-167566755.html

 

It’s not just a dog or any sentient being!!

“Need I say more??”

Boycott PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, A Dog Eating Nation!

 

To the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Jacques Rogge and the President of the South Korean PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, Mr. Yong-Sung Park,

Albert Schweitzer said…
“The thinking person must oppose all cruel customs no matter how deeply rooted in tradition or surrounded by a halo…. We need a boundless ethic, which includes the animals also.”

“The $2 billion dollar-a-year South Korean dog and cat meat industry, which extinguishes the lives of approximately two and a half million dogs a year for meat or gaesoju, a dog wine or broth, and thousands of despised and doomed cats for so-called “health” tonics or goyangyeesoju, and soup, operates in a sordid and illicit world where farmers and butchers kill with frightening impunity in the most abominable fashion.”

In South Korea, dogs are deprived of everything that is natural to them. From birth to death, they are imprisoned in deplorable tiny excrement encrusted raised up wire cages, fed rotten garbage with no protection from scorching heat of summer and freezing cold of winter with no water, medical care or human interaction. This is a hell on earth for these dogs and they have to endure the life of utter misery and agony just to meet their ghastly fate of being electrocuted, hanged, beaten, thrown into boiling water, burned sometimes alive,…

It is hard to believe that a nation such as South Korea which is one of the major economic power (13th largest) and boasts the highest education level in the world is still committing this type of barbaric and inhumane atrocity in this day and age. But for the millions of dogs and cats that are being slaughtered each year in South Korea’s markets, slaughterhouses, restaurants, dog farms and in private residences, it is a tragic reality and nightmare that they can’t escape from.

If South Korea wants to join the civilized nations and be respected not only as a nation of economic miracle but as a nation of conscience, they need to strengthen their animal protection law and ban the dog and cat consumption once and for all. This has been going on way too long and it’s time for their government to take a moral leadership for their citizens. Not only does this benefit the animals of South Korea but it will further their economic interest in the world because we will not stop speaking out against South Korea.

South Korea can host the most extravagant Olympic game in the history of the Olympics but as long as this treachery against the animals known to be our most loving and faithful companion continues, it will be tainted with heartless brutality and their country and its people will be subject of world’s condemnation.

We will boycott PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics and the South Korean businesses until the South Korean government stops neglecting their duty and illegalize the horrific cruelty of dog and cat consumption.

Please sign here:-http://www.change.org/petitions/boycott-pyeongchang-2018-winter-olympics-in-south-korea-a-dog-eating-nation

Also, I urge you to send a message to the Olympic Committee here: https://secure.registration.olympic.org/en/faq/ask-question

More Info: 
http://youtu.be/uKCdAGfGOsQ
http://youtu.be/LHn8IDRdprE
http://www.kaap.or.kr/s1.html?mode=read&idx=18425&search&kwd&page=1&page_list=1&db_name=s1
http://www.skdogcatcampaign.org/
http://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018-winter-olympics
http://www.pyeongchang2018.org/language/eng/index.asp?hb_Manager_PK=VDENAA01&s=

Created By Rachel Howard Raleston, SC

 

Police Seeking Suspect After 4 Dogs Die In 80mph Hit & Run

The California Highway Patrol is asking for help from the public to identify the driver responsible for killing four dogs and injuring their owners in an 80 mile per hour hit and run accident.

Zury, Winry, Evie and Bindie were killed Monday night in Carmichael, California, when a car heading southbound on Garfield lost control and ran them over. The vehicle is described as a 1986 or 1987 Nissan Maxima or Stanza that investigators say is a metallic light brown color.

The CHP is asking anyone with information regarding the crash to call them at (916) 338-6710 during business hours or (916) 861-1300 after hours.

News Link:-http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/07/police-seeking-suspect-after-4-dogs-die-in-80-mph-hit-and-run/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LifeWithDogs+%28Life+With+Dogs%29

 

Email – California – Important Hearing to Ban Hunting with Hounds – Welcome to In Defense of Animals’ Action Center

Your voice is needed! California Senate Bill 1221, which would ban cruel “hounding,” passed the Senate floor, thanks to IDA members’ many calls and e-mails. SB 1221 now faces its biggest challenge in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26.

 

Hounding is a cruel practice where hunters use dogs to chase bears and bobcats for many miles until the exhausted animal either turns to fight or runs up a tree, only to be shot. This is incredibly inhumane and even many hunters consider hounding an “unfair chase” and unsportsmanlike.

The Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee is going to be a tough hurdle, and we need as many animal advocates as possible to fill the hearing room. The opposition will be out in force (there were over 700 at the last hearing) and we need to counter their numbers. If you haven’t come to the capitol for an exciting showdown, this is the one to see! You will get a chance to make comments in support of SB 1221.

If you wish to speak, you will probably get very limited time – all you will be able to say is your name, where you are from, and that you support the bill. Super easy, but super effective!

Please join us for the hearing at the Capitol!

Date: Tuesday, June 26

Time: The hearing is at 9 a.m., but we are expecting hundreds of opponents and we’ll start lining up outside the room at 6 a.m. The earlier you arrive, the better your chances of getting in the room. Hunters are used to getting up early to shoot animals, so let’s show them that we can get up early to protect animals!

Where: Room 4202 in the State Capitol Building, Sacramento, California

For more information and carpooling, contact hope@idausa.org, 707-540-1760.

Important note for constituents of Assemblymember Jared Huffman:

If you are in Assemblymember Jared Huffman’s district, please make a brief, polite phone call today and urge support for SB 1221. To find out who your legislators are, click here and enter your zip code.

Assemblymember Jared Huffman’s phone number: (916) 319-2006.

via Email – California – Important Hearing to Ban Hunting with Hounds – Welcome to In Defense of Animals’ Action Center.

Related articles

• Animal rights groups, hunters fighting over using dogs to hunt bears, bobcats in California (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR SOUTH KOREAN DOGS AND CATS!

Call To Action!
Please Join IDA for our 

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR SOUTH KOREAN DOGS AND CATS!
Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

IDA would like to invite you to take action for the dogs and cats in South Korea, and to be a Compassionate Coordinator.

The $2 billion dollar-a-year South Korean dog and cat meat industry slaughters approximately two and half million dogs and thousands of cats in the most horrific fashion for human consumption, because of the prevailing myth that the more an animal is tortured, the tastier and more tender the meat.  Aside from the needless suffering, there is the very serious public health risk associated with eating dog and cat meat. 

We need activists to organize outreach eventsto educate their communities about this industry of horror that is sanctioned by the South Korean government. You can hold a protest or leafleting in a public area to raise awareness, or have a table at a local venue or event to get the word out. IDA will provide you with the materials you will need to make your event a rousing success.

We would like to have a presence at the Korean Embassies and Consulates in the following cities. Please let us know if you would be willing to help coordinate an event:

• U.S.
• Washington, D.C.
• Chicago, IL
• Atlanta, GA
• Boston, MA
• Houston, TX
• Honolulu, HI
• Seattle, WA
• Seattle, Washington, 2011
• Canada:
• Toronto
• Montreal
• Ottawa
• Vancouver

You do not need to live in any of these cities to participate. If you are interested in helping spread the word about the Dogs and Cats of South Korea, please contact hope@idausa.org or call 707-540-1760. Your day of action could be any day around August 7th. Click here to register your event.

For more information about the South Korean Dog and Cat Campaign, please e-mailrobin@idausa.org or call 415-331-8659.

The dogs and cats of South Korea are counting on you!

News Link:-http://skdogcatcampaign.com/day-of-action/

Animal rights groups, hunters fighting over using dogs to hunt bears, bobcats in California

For a thousand years, dogs and hunting have gone together like bows and arrows, guns and bullets, predators and prey.

In medieval Europe, people tracked boars and stags with packs of hounds. Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and George Washington owned hunting dogs.

But simply because something is an old tradition doesn’t mean it should continue, say animal-rights groups, whose efforts to ban the use of dogs to hunt bears and bobcats is gaining momentum in the California Legislature.

The issue, this year’s most heated environmental battle in Sacramento, is drawing intense passions. Critics say hunters with packs of yapping dogs fitted with radio collars chase exhausted wild animals for miles, cornering them in branches and shooting them point blank.

“It’s not only unethical and inhumane, it’s unnecessary,” said Jennifer Fearing, California director of the Humane Society of the United States. “We don’t do it for public safety or population management. We do it for recreation. It’s out of step with California’s values.” But hunters say their opponents are barking up the wrong tree.

They see the bill, SB 1221, by state Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Redondo Beach, as the latest assault by mostly urban environmentalists and voters against mostly rural hunters.

“First they banned mountain lion hunting, then trapping,” said Dan Tichenor, a retired Castro Valley engineer who hunts bears with his six Plott hounds, a breed with supremely sensitive sniffing abilities that looks a bit like a bloodhound, without the loose skin.

“Now they’re going after bear and bobcat hunting with dogs,” he said. “I think the plan is to ban it species by species, state by state. Their goal is to eventually ban all hunting.”

At a key hearing in April, 600 hunters and 200 animal-rights supporters turned out at the state Capitol.

Tichenor, who worked on nuclear weapons components and combustion research for 33 years at Sandia National Laboratory in Livermore, began hunting with dogs as a 7-year-old in rural Missouri, pursuing squirrels and raccoons with his father.

If bear hunting is going to be legal in California, he said, using dogs is the most compassionate way to do it because the animals die immediately with a direct shot.

“Climbing trees is a natural behavior for a bear,” he said. “Yes, you are shooting a bear at close range. But it is humane. When most animals in the wild die, they do not die that quickly.”

Read the rest of this news:-http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_20842329/animal-rights-groups-hunters-fighting-over-using-dogs

States Give Green Light On Pet Driving Laws

Not all driving distractions ring or beep. Some of them bark.

And so, animal protection and automobile safety officials nationwide are starting to unleash a new message: Restrain your pet on the road.

“You wouldn’t put your child in the car unrestrained, so you shouldn’t put your pet in the car unrestrained, either,” says Col. Frank Rizzo, superintendent of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA).

In a 2010 survey by AAA, 20% of participants admitted to letting their dog sit on their lap while driving. A “staggering” 31% said they were distracted by their dog while driving, says Raymond Martinez, chairman of New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission.

“What people come to realize only too late is that animals act like flying missiles in an impact and can not only hurt themselves but hurt their human family members, too,” Rizzo says.

Only a few states have passed legislation requiring animal restraints in moving vehicles, and in some of those states laws apply only to animals riding in the exterior of the vehicle, such as the bed of a pickup, according to AAA, formerly known as the American Automobile Association.

•In New Jersey, under state law, NJSPCA officers can stop a driver they believe is improperly transporting an animal. Tickets range from $250 to $1,000 per offense, and a driver can face a disorderly person’s offense under animal-cruelty laws.

•Hawaii explicitly forbids drivers from holding a pet on their lap. In Arizona, Connecticut and Maine, distracted-driving laws can be used to charge drivers with pets on their laps.

•In Rhode Island, Democratic state Rep. Peter Palumbo has proposed legislation to make having a dog in your lap a distracted-driving violation after a complaint from someone who witnessed a driver, whose view was blocked by a lap dog, change lanes.

Read more:–http://www.globalanimal.org/2012/06/07/states-give-green-light-on-pet-driving-laws/75703/