In a viral photo, a dog in the Houston area can be seen standing tethered to a flatbed trailer as the truck it's attached to zips along a highway at 65 mph.
The photo has outraged thousands of animal lovers, including the Houston Humane Society.
“You get a sense of disbelief that this could even happen,” its spokeswoman, Monica Schmidt, told KHOU. “And you think, ‘Are you sure this isn't Photoshopped?,' because it's just so horrible that anybody would do that.”
About 100,000 dogs riding in enclosed truck beds are killed every year. Many states prohibit the transportation of animals in a cruel, inhumane or unsafe manner that could jeopardize the animal or the public -- like the dog in the viral photo.
In Texas, however, the driver would only be committing an offense only if the dog was injured.
“We really need stricter laws in Texas to be able to protect those animals that can't protect themselves," Schmidt said. "Every dog owner should be saddened that as a society that happens… here in Houston on our highways.”
Please sign and share this petition asking lawmakers in Texas to pass legislation that makes it an offense to unsafely transport a dog or animal, regardless of whether the animal is injured.
As someone who cares about animals, I was very disturbed by the viral photo of a dog tethered to the flatbed trailer of a truck going 65 mph on a Houston highway.
Just as disturbing was the fact that this is a legal mode of animal transportation in Texas.
About 100,000 dogs riding in truck beds are killed each year – and that figure is for the enclosed beds in pickup trucks. Tethering a dog to a flatbed is dangerous not only for the dog but for other motorists as well.
To prevent tragedies, unsafe modes of transportation such as this should be illegal. It shouldn't take a dog being injured or worse for charges to be brought against a driver.
To help save lives, I sincerely hope you will pass stricter animal transportation laws.
