I've had pets all my life, but one thing that I've never done is let a pet loose inside the car while I'm driving, much less letting it lay on my lap or hang out the car window.

I just consider that to be stupid, stupid, stupid, with apologies to all who might do so. Our famous Governor/Actor/Terminator apparently disagrees with me because he recently vetoed legislation making it illegal to drive with animals on your lap. The representative who introduced the legislation did so after seeing a woman driving with three dogs on her lap. I'm glad I don't live in his district.

It's difficult enough to drive a car and pay attention to what's going on around me, but to have a loose animal, or several animals, in the car that can be spooked by just about anything is not responsible driving, in my ever so humble opinion.

Even if your animal is the best trained and most docile animal in the world, if a tire blow-out happens, or you get in an accident, that docile animal won't be so docile anymore because it's never experienced those conditions, so it won't know what to do other than what its survival instinct tells it to do. That could mean clawing and biting, which will just make matters worse for you. Ultimately, it could mean death for your animal, you, and possibly others around you.

If you truly love your animals, not to mention your own life and the lives of those around you, leave those pets at home or put them in an appropriate carrying case for transport in the car.

Lives are too precious to put them at risk unnecessarily.

Some of Jim's blog entries

1. Do you prefer roses or rotten eggs?
2. San Diego Plant Atlas is now online
3. The common sense gene is missing from the gene pool
4. Is there a conflict here?
5. You mean I've been subsidizing the sports stars?
6. We could learn from history if we'll just take time to study it
7. Excessive furnishings and storage create fire hazards
8. Is Active Rain trying to tell me something, or am I just weird?
9. Make every Friday "Backup Friday"
10. STOP THE INSANITY!
11. If you can't get to it, you can't tell how old it is
12. Your digital camera can do so much more than just take pictures
13. It's hard to believe Zoey's already been here a year
14. It's hard to believe Sophie's been gone a year
15. Is THAT the house?
16. Don't trust, do verify
17. The benefits of staging, even minimalist staging
18. Please help me identify this type of architecture. Craftsman? Victorian? Modern?
19. Southern California fire season is just around the corner
20. Welcome to my home
21. If you could easily get rid of your child, would you?
22. Wow! Nice underwear
23. There obviously is no financial crisis if Zoey has been pre-approved for a $5,000 credit card
24. Getting to cold contacts. It's all in the approach
25. Is there trash in your trash can?
26. Private, gated, fenced, coded subdivisions
27. What's in a name?
28. Location, location, location? Ha! Views, views, views
29. Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam
30. Did you put that on the disclosure form? "I didn't think I needed to."
31. If you needed to hide from someone, could you do it in today's world?
32. A home is like a child
33. Should I stay or should I go now. Remodel or move?
34. Water, water everywhere, or is it?
35. Always on the lookout....
36. Are you prepared for an emergency?
37. Four secrets to getting and keeping online customers
38. Holding an open house with fleas
39. Tuesday laugh session with the "treadmill kitty cats"