Mom: The Protector

On the way to work this week, I saw something that made me sick — a dog that had been thrown from the bed of pick up.  I dutifully called Animal Control and was informed by two people that I’d have to talk with someone else.  By the time I talked to the someone else, I was feeling pretty darn miffed!  THERE SHOULD BE A LAW ABOUT THIS!

Well, where I live, there is: CALIFORNIA VEHICLE CODE 23117.  (a) No person driving a motor vehicle shall transport any animal in the back of the vehicle in a space intended for any load on the vehicle on a highway unless the space is enclosed or has side and tail racks to a height of at least 46 inches extending vertically from the floor, the vehicle has installed means of preventing the animal from being discharged, or the animal is cross tethered to the vehicle, or is protected by a secured container or cage, in a manner which will prevent the animal from being thrown, falling, or jumping from the vehicle.    http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc23117.htm

I’ve called the paper and asked them to publicize this code — as well as encouraging people to not take their dogs if they have to be left in the car. As of January 1, 2007, it’s illegal to leave your pet in a car unattended on a hot day in the Golden State.

When I think about where I got this role of protector, I think of my mom.   When did she start instilling in me how the initiative system works?  When I was 5-years-old.  When I was 5, the board of education wanted to bus kids away from their home districts. Mom had lived in Chicago and worked in a hospital. One day, my older brother came by to visit, which was odd because it was a school day.  His school was taking part in an assimilation experiment and one of the kids pulled a knife on the bus. Well, that was it.  Not only did the Chicago program come to a grinding halt, but that’s when my mom decided none of her kids would be subjected to this again.

So there I sat, at the kitchen table as a 5-year-old stuffing and sealing envelopes to convince other California voters to not allow this intiative to pass.

Thanks to those days around the kitchen table, I’ve developed a healthy appreciation for the political process. I was able to meet a President of the United States, a few representatives, two governors of California, work for a County Supervisor and meet more than my fair share of movers and shakers –each who was a force in her own right.

I think it’s ironic that virtually everyone of the people I mentioned above was an animal person.

So Mom, thanks for being a Protector and for all the opportunities.