Richard Hinson has seen one dog too many riding in — and falling off — the back of pickup trucks.
On Wednesday, Hinson asked the Emporia City Commission to ban dogs from the bed of a moving truck. Even the best-trained dogs, he said, can’t compensate for a sudden stop.
“When a vehicle stops, there’s no training to it,” he said. “A dog is going to come off and get hurt.”
Hinson has lived in Emporia for more than 30 years. The issue’s been a sore spot with him for a while, but he didn’t start thinking about a law until recently. After friends started mentioning that they had seen dogs falling out, he decided it was time.
“Human beings have to be seat-belted when they’re in a car, and we treat our animals just like human beings,” he told commissioners. “I’m really concerned about animal safety.”
City law forbids children from riding in the back of a pickup, but currently says nothing about animals.
Commissioners were interested in the issue, but wanted to see more study about how other cities handled it. And Mayor Jim Kessler had doubts about how enforceable it would be.
“I remember my father-in-law,” Kessler said. “That was his thing, his blue heeler in the back of his pickup truck.”
Commissioner Tom Myers pointed out that a driver with a dog might cause a hazard by being overly careful on the road.
“It’s kind of like when you’ve got your kid with you and throw your arm in front of them,” he said. “It might cause the driver to not stop as quickly as they should in some situations and cause an accident that way.”
Imo McCosh of the Humane Society of the Flint Hills said she wanted to see the city go farther and forbid dogs from any open-ended vehicle.
“We have two issues here,” she said. “One is animal cruelty and the other is public safety.”
The Emporia Police Department has one full-time and one part-time animal control officer.
Animal control officer Jon Cavallo said that in a truck with the sides and tailgate up, a well-trained animal should be all right — although if the dog stands on the “truck box” in the back, it could still fall out of a cornering vehicle. Safety harnesses can help, he said.
Cavallo also noted the problem of enforcement.
“Nobody’s going to stop for animal control and that would be a burden on patrol officers,” he said.
Myers said the discussion showed the need for more animal control officers. There should be at least three, he said, not one and a half.
“There are parts of the day that are routinely uncovered, because there’s no one to fill that time slot,” he said. “We really need to consider putting those positions back.”
johncanyon (anonymous) says...
You have got to be kidding me.. Maybe we should get NASCAR to develop some sort of "pet seat" that would have multiple points of restraint for our beloved pets. Maybe even a head and neck restraint. Maybe they could make it a law that the dog has to ride in the "pet seat" facing the rear of the vehicle for the first year and then get to be turned to face forward after that.
Some people in this town have WAY to much to worry about. Maybe Mr.Hinson should be more concerned with all the infants and toddlers that ride around this town, without any kind of safety restraint. Earlier this week I seen a vehicle at the bank and the passenger was holding an infant in her lap and there were 3 more toddlers in the back with no child seat for any of them. This goes back to the whole Menu pet food scandle. The people in this country and this city seem to care more about there dogs and cats than they do about humans.
April 11, 2007 at 1:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
realkscitizen (anonymous) says...
I agree that we should be focused more on the children in this town than the animals, (not to say that they aren't important) I have seen many dogs in the back of trucks for years, It does make me nervous with those that are on flat bed trucks or standing on the tool boxes, but even if they make this a law, how well is it going to be enforced?
They don't have the ability or even the want to enforce the laws that already stand due to lack of manpower, how would this be any different? I think that is a decent idea but I don't think that it would be followed through with.
April 11, 2007 at 1:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
abc123 (anonymous) says...
At least the dogs on the truck beds have owners that care enough to take them with them and actually spend time with them rather than the annoying barking, yapping, yelping howling dogs everyone in town keeps penned up. What in the world is the point of having a pet in city limits if you keep it in a pen all day just to bark at everything that moves? If you don't love that pet enough to keep it inside - especially during extreme hot and cold weather - then do it a favor and give it to someone who loves it enough to let it ride on the back of a truck, I'll bet those people would let that dog inside on a cold day! Get real Emporia - we don't even have enough animal control people to take care of the abandoned and stray dogs that are actual dangers to the community like biting or chasing small children or the elderly - if a dog falls off a truck then the owner is at fault and the same goes for those incredibly stupid parents who don't buckle their kids up. Let's take up a greater cause here, I agree with the other posts, parents not keeping children in safety seats and seat belts needs more enforcement than the dog issue. SORRY!
April 11, 2007 at 1:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Joe (anonymous) says...
Unbelievable! How about enforcing a law that would ban my neighbor's dog from barking all day and night! That way I would be able to get some sleep and be alert enough to dodge "Sparky" as he goes flying out of the truck for a squirrel chasing an acorn! To commisioner Myers, I don't think you can ever be to careful while driving in this town. Your statement was ridiculous.
April 11, 2007 at 2:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
food4thought (anonymous) says...
Do the commisioners have nothing else to make laws about? Lets get real. I love animals and most the time think they are better than most human but lets get on to more important issues facing this city. Taxes, unemployment, no new jobs, careless drivers, drugs, there is multiple problems and we are worried about a few dogs riding in the back of pickups. This is terrible the commisioners should be embarassed that they even considered this and that it is in the news. Come on!
April 11, 2007 at 2:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hjcary (anonymous) says...
I agree with the above post that dog owners that take their dogs out with them are showing them more love then the dogs that stay home all day.By creating a law preventing dogs from being in the back of trucks those dogs would probably be left at home from then on not getting to hang out with their owner. As far as kids I would love to see officers pull people over for unrestrained children. I see it all the time and in my opinion that is child endangerment and neglect.
April 11, 2007 at 6:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jones (anonymous) says...
Spend the 100,000's of dollars you pay for a City Manager(whats a Mayor For) or the Mayor and hire more animal control officers or start an SPCA and enforce the law it could be okay, but think abiut enforcing the laws that can hurt humans first.Like talking on cellphones while driving (The police do it everyday).The Officers(Animal Control as well)don't enforce the laws we have now so why create another unenforcible law.Mr. Hinson needs to keep his nose in his own business and not Emporias.Pets have more knowledge than humans and enough sense to stay in the back of moving pickups I've never seen a dog fall out of a pickup in all my life.I used to live where people(farmers&ranchers) have dogs in their pickups everytime they leave home.
April 11, 2007 at 8:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
midnight_rider (anonymous) says...
I agree that dogs should not be allowed to ride in the back of trucks. If the dogs owner really cared about the dog to begin with the dog would be riding in the cab of the truck with the owner not in the truck bed.
And yes, johncanyon, they do make car harnesses to keep dogs safe and secure while traveling inside of vehicles. There should be laws to protect the helpless, children and animals alike. There should be laws to punish those that abuse the helpless.
April 11, 2007 at 8:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Phil_Dillon (anonymous) says...
It's hard for me to fathom this. I'm an animal lover. My wife and I have a dog and two cats. I don't put my dog in the back of my truck, but I honestly can't see what's wrong with it. I occasionaly have Ranger sit in the front seat with me as I run errands. He loves it. I've never tried to wrap him up in a seat belt for his safety and I'd be willing to bet he wouldn't stand for it. I've seen lots of dogs riding in the back of trucks and it always seems to me that they're enjoying the ride. They sniff the air, wag their tails, and stand tall. Why on earth would our city commission even consider an ordinance that would prohibit dog owners from letting their dogs ride in the back of their trucks? How would they enforce it? What would the penalties be?
As usual, they are going to take the issue to study. Why? Isn't there enough good sense on the commission to say no to a bad idea and just work on something more important. For example, I see lots of dogs running loose on our streets.. In some cases they're biting people or attacking other animals. One of these days some child on his or her way to school is going to get mauled or, God forbid, killed by one of these strays. They need to fix that problem rather than consider ill conceived,un-productive ideas.
This all makes me ask what on earth we're subsidizing down at city hall.
Phil Dillon
April 11, 2007 at 9:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pizza (anonymous) says...
Is this all the city commissioners have to do is try to make one more law they can't enforce. There have been dogs riding in the backs of pickups since there have been dogs and pickups. I've seen dogs ride in trucks all my life and have never seen one even come close to falling off. Shouldn't these commissioner folks give some thought to the city financial position or to the increase in crime or the tainted pet food made here or even the potholes in the streets. Tell Mr. Hinson to put his dog in the cab and not be trying to control the rest of us.
April 11, 2007 at 10:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jcrip (anonymous) says...
I think there should be more focus on other animal issues such as animal cruetly and neglect, rather than passing an ordinance against a happy dog in the back of a truck.
April 12, 2007 at 12:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dr_Mac (anonymous) says...
As a veteran of six bypass heart surgery. I have attempted to remove myself from the debates of social issues and share my opinions with family and friends. In most cases I notice if I will keep my mouth shut there are others, more skilled in discourse than I, who are more eloquent in getting the message out that exemplifies my views. Almost without exception I find them more knowledgeable on the subject than I. In the end I find myself pleased that I did not expose my ignorance. Suddenly a subject surfaced where my 40 years of expertise will not allow me to ‘bury my head in the sand’ any longer. To this end I offer to those uninformed residents of this area gleanings not readily available to the average reader. My resume includes 27 years of executive experience with the United States Department of Agriculture, the last 6 of which was served in the annex Office of the Secretary of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
I speak of the request for a study of Dogs in truck beds. I seems to me, at a time when even the editor of the Emporia Gazette is hustling support to control negative comments, there are more ‘do-gooders’ out there who want to control other peoples lives than this community should tolerate. First of all, is this subject of concern to more than a few fault finders? Who is going to head up the study? What are that person’s qualifications? Will this person be paid from taxpayers funds? Whose rights are going to be infringed upon? Have there been reports of personal injury or personal property damage by dog’s riding in truck beds? These are just a few of the questions that came to mind as I read the article in the Gazette of Thursday, April 12, 2007. I have to admit I responded rather apathetically until I read the desires of Imo McCosh of the Humane Society of the Flint Hills.
At this point I would like to make a serious suggestion to every person in this County or State, for that matter, get on the internet and go to the parent website of the Humane Society of the United States. When that web site opens there is a center headline “Promoting the protection of all animals (with the picture of a Hereford bovine). Just above the head of that animal is a subject bar entitled “Farm Animals”. For your reading enlightenment, please spend an hour or more reading in this informational website. I offer only that you draw your own conclusion. I believe every resident of this agriculture community should be aware of the factors affecting their survival. I believe that every member of the business and financial community of this area should be aware of these interests as well.
Rather than bore you with my opinion, I invite you to take my suggestion and apply it to your circumstances of life. My years of experience dealing with these types of issues tell me that your time and effort will prove to be a good investment.
April 14, 2007 at 9:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dr_Mac (anonymous) says...
In a seperate thought process, I would suggest that those persons who desperately search for subjects whereby they might apply some control to other peoples lives, I suggest they find it more rewarding to volunteer their time being 'crossing guards' for wildlife here in Emporia. They might save the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, or squirrels, rabbits, snakes, and a variety of others. As an alternative they might become reporters of the unleashed canines that roam the city streets defecating and urinating in yards where they are not welcome. As a matter of fact, they could even report intrusions of some that are leashed.
April 14, 2007 at 9:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )