If you like to let your pet loose in the car, you might want to be extra careful in the Garden State. That's because New Jersey is the only state in the union where driving with pets loose in the car is a violation of animal cruelty law—who knew!—and with the summer months starting police are now actively trying to remind pet-owners of the law.
Tickets for letting your four-legged friend run free in the car are actually quite high, too. Fines range from $250 to $1,000 for each offense, and "the driver can also be charged with a disorderly person's offense under the state's animal cruelty statutes."
As Frank Rizzo of the NJSPCA explained it at an event pointing out the law last week: "You wouldn't put your child in the car unrestrained so you shouldn't put your pet in the car unrestrained either. 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."
And it isn't just loose dogs that are the problem. Cats on dashboards and birds on shoulders are also no-no's. So, remember to be like Buck the Buckle-Up dog and keep your pup safe. Or, just teach your furry friend to at least slip into their seatbelt on their own:
