Yours Truly apologizes for his brief disappearance from these pages. To be frank, I have been a bit downtrodden after a devoted fan brought to my attention that my website had been hacked and was displaying undesired (and undesirable) banner advertisements. Fortunately, I managed to chase the hackers away with my bark (which though infrequently used still retains a formidable Labrador heartiness). After that encounter, I retired to my cozy corner to regain my strength (again, thank you, our devoted fan for alerting us to this menace!).
Without further ado, this story out of England regarding walking a dog from a car. Needless to say it is probably not a good idea to walk your dog from your car (although I do know of some happy dogs out West who get plenty of exercise chasing their human’s vehicles –so my thought is that an owner’s discretion and local custom need to be considered rather than some blanket rule always forbidding it … though if you want some exercise, why not join your dog?):
LONDON (AP) — An English dog-owner has been fined after taking his pet for a stroll while driving next to him in his car. Prosecutors said Paul Railton was spotted driving at low speed along a country lane in December, holding his dog’s leash through the car window as the animal trotted alongside.
Railton pleaded guilty Monday to not being in proper control of a vehicle. His lawyer, Paul Donoghue, said 23-year-old Railton acknowledged ”it was a silly thing to do and there was an element of laziness” while exercising his lurcher, a type of crossbred sighthound.
Railton was ordered by magistrates in Consett, northeast England, to pay a 66 pound ($100) fine, plus costs.
He also received three more penalty points on his license and is now barred from driving for six months.
March 8th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I wondered about the advertisement…should have mentioned it.
Fyi, I suggested your series to the Cozy Mystery blog and she has posted about your series for her readers.
http://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/spencer-quinn-peter-abrahams-j-f-englert-rebecca-m-hale-beth-solheim-mystery-authors-recently-added-to-cozy-mystery-site.html
March 9th, 2010 at 1:25 am
Dear Arlene:
Thank you very much for mentioning the books to that blog.
Sincerely,
Randolph