The Slice: Man’s best passenger

I live in Spokane. I don’t spend time in San Diego or Syracuse. So I can’t say for sure.

But it’s hard for me to believe that there is a city with more dogs riding around in the front seats of cars and trucks. Spokane has to be No. 1.

I see this so often that vehicles without passenger pooches almost look lonely.

“Hmmm. That person’s dog must be home watching shows.”

Sometimes you almost want to laugh when two or three cars in a row go by, all with canines riding shotgun.

Now don’t misunderstand. I’m not knocking this. I think it says something oddly flattering about Spokane.

Clearly, this is a city that loves dogs. That’s got to be a good thing.

We’re not unique in that regard, of course. But do pet owners in St. Louis or Sacramento spend as much time chauffeuring their animal companions?

Doubt it.

It should be noted, however, that motoring with a dog sitting right on top of you probably isn’t a great idea. And that’s something I see with troubling regularity.

Others have, too.

Slice reader Steve Trapp saw a reference in my column to drivers too busy multi tasking to pay attention to the road. That prompted him to send an e-mail.

“What about drivers who drive with a dog on their lap?” he asked. “Is that legal? Legal or not, is that safe?”

But then he was willing to give the pet owners in question the benefit of the doubt.

“Maybe the dogs have been trained to work the turn-signal lever or can be trained to do some of the driving.”

That probably wouldn’t be wise. Though let’s face it, dogs might be better drivers than some of our fellow citizens.

Well, maybe not those little yip-yip dogs. I can just see them tailgating like mad and snarling out the window at someone who cut them off.

On the other hand, some of the larger breeds might be exactly the sort of calming influence we need on local roads. A 10-year-old Lab isn’t going to lay on the horn .0001 seconds after the light turns green.

Of course, people don’t take their dogs with them because they want help driving. They do it because hounds and retrievers are good company.

There’s no need to mention any names here. But you might have noticed that some people in Spokane tend to keep their feelings bottled up. They don’t talk, talk, talk.

Some call that being repressed. Others say it’s simply appreciating the beauty of an unexpressed thought.

In any case, it’s fine with dogs. Canines never demand that you verbalize your emotions or engage in constructive, healing dialogue.

They never bark, “You’re going too fast” or “Why are you turning here?”

They just like being with us.

And in Spokane, we like being with them.

“Today’s Slice question (finish this sentence): It will be a great ski season if ….