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Drivers, don’t let big dogs in front seat

This issue of text messaging while driving is frustrating enough, but there is another problem: Pet owners who keep large dogs unrestrained in the front passenger seat.

Drivers cannot see what is coming from the right side; their vision is completely obstructed by an animal. I have a relative who insisted that her beloved pet be in the front seat next to her, and when I said that it blocked her right side view, she told me it was no problem. The dog kept moving about and would jump in her face while driving. I said that it was a hazard and she smiled and said, ”Do not worry, my angels are protecting me.”

We all might have angels protecting us but on this earth we have to take responsibility for our actions. My good advice was perceived as interfering with her personal freedom. So I dropped the subject, and then one day a woman — a total stranger — appeared to her right side and honked her horn. She made my relative roll down her window and the woman told her: Keep your pet out of harm’s way in the back seat with a restraining harness.

The thought of her dog dying or being injured was ignored until mentioned by a total stranger — then, she suddenly changed her mind about where the dog should be. She did not care about the potential of an injury with a fellow human being, but when it came to her pet, that was a whole different story. She would not listen to me, but to a stranger she did.

So I am saying that people sometimes love their pets more than other people. But pet owners should not have dogs in the front seats, especially big ones.

Valerie Benson

Warrenville