Chevrolet’s Most Pressing Pet Tip: Don’t Let Your Dog Drive
Chevrolet released an infographic this week offering tips for how to take successful trips with your pets in celebration of International Dog Day on Aug. 26 and International Cat Day, which took place on Aug. 8. The suggestions offered are generally quite useful, but there’s really one thing in particular we need to talk about: this sunglasses-wearing dog driving a Chevy.
This dog. This cool, coooool dog. Look at this dog, wearing sunglasses and driving a car. That’s so silly! And why is there a cat just sitting there obscuring its vision? Does Chevrolet not know that dogs and cats don’t get along? What is this madness?
Fortunately, Chevrolet bravely recommends that this is not a thing that you should allow to happen. It is, in fact, not a great idea to put sunglasses on your dog, put them at the wheel of a vehicle, and expect them to drive. It’s even more absurd to ask that they do all that with a cat just sitting there, mocking them with its cat face and blocking the dog’s view of the road.
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Other things that fall into Chevrolet’s “Wrong Way” column that don’t involve allowing a dog to drive your vehicle include leaving your pet in a hot car, letting them distract you by running amok in the cabin while the vehicle is in motion, and allowing your pets to become angry or anxious. It’s also implied in the last panel that you shouldn’t allow your pet to stick its head out the window, which you shouldn’t, because it is quite dangerous.
As for positive advice, Chevy suggests sequestering them to the cargo area where they will not just remain cooler but also be less likely to roam around the vehicle. If you drive, say, a Chevy Malibu and don’t have a convenient cargo area, you can restrain them in the backseat with a leash and harness or invest in a pet-friendly accessory for that very purpose. If you have to leave a pet alone in a vehicle for a period of time, leave it running with the air conditioner on and the doors locked. To avoid any anxiety, bring along a favorite toy to keep them occupied.
Not recommended in the infographic but suggested by Chevrolet all the same is having your pet up-to-date on their vaccinations, making sure that you know where the nearest 24-hour emergency vet is, and having a current photo and ID tags handy.
But under no circumstances should you ever let a dog wear sunglasses and drive.
Seriously. Don’t do it.
Not. Even. Once.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.