Hey LEOs-- Being pulled over with GSD in car

[x0emiroxy0x]

Originally Posted by Lilie

In the state of Texas (when you are pulled over in your vehicle) you don't have to verbally inform the Officer that you are licensed to carry a weapon. But you MUST provide your license WITH your CHL at the same time. Then the officer will ask if you have a weapon within reach. Then you are obligated to provide that information.

I don't think it a wise decision to blurt out "I have a weapon!" when an officer approaches your window.

You are right...never say "I have a weapon". When the officer approaches and asks to see your DL, when you hand him your CHL, you tell him "Just so you know I do have my registered _____ in the car".

First off, it makes him feel safer and second off it can get you out of a ticket (rather than making the officer ask if you have a gun).

You don't HAVE to do this and can just hand over your CHL if you want and wait for him to ask you, but I like to keep things simple!

Very good advice about keeping your hands on the steering wheel.

A second piece of advice that my boyfriend told me---clip your insurance to the top of your "visor" (the thing with a mirror that you pull down to block the sun). He said even though it is routine, most cops say that every time a person reaches to open their glove box, their heart starts to beat a little faster because they never know what could be in it.



Oh, and I have had rocky in the back seat and a cop walked up and Rocky was growling in the back seat, with me already holding his collar. The officer just stood a few feet back from the window and said "I feel bad for anyone trying to rob you in your car!" as a joke. He was a K9 officer though and I could hear his dog barking from my car! No ticket

[x0emiroxy0x]

PS>>>You don't want to call dispatch when you get pulled over because a silver phone can look like a gun to a nervous cop during his first week on the job!

[Liesje]

I got pulled over once with three male GSDs in the van, though they were all crated. I got off with a warning. Not sure if the GSDs made the difference!

[wildo]

Originally Posted by x0emiroxy0x

You don't HAVE to do this and can just hand over your CHL if you want and wait for him to ask you, but I like to keep things simple!

I would be careful with this kind of advice. It's my understanding that the requirement to inform the officer of a conceal weapon differs from state to state.

(Though it certainly is the responsibility of the card holder to know the appropriate laws.)

[Muskeg]

They CAN have a sense of humor about the GSD, too. I was at a border patrol check-point and they asked me if I was a US citizen. I said yes, and he said "looks like you also have a German in the car as well"- referring to my GSD- who had barked and was now watching intently.

We had a good chuckle over that.

[selzer]

Trying to avoid blanket statements because we all know that there are cops out there that are not the best, that do things that terrify us as dog owners. But the reason we hear about them is because they are news, they are not the norm, they are in fact rare.

I can tell you that my contractor tells me that a cop threatened to shoot his dog if he couldn't get it under control -- American Eskimo, but I cannot tell you that I have ever had a cop threaten me concerning my dog.

And, to be frank, I have had a number of, hmmm, experiences with police -- no never been arrested or anything, but I have had a few, uhm, discussions with them.

Yeah, that first traffic stop at 16 or so, when I got out of the car and started walking back to them -- yeah and through his loud speaker he is ordering me back to my vehicle, only it is so distorted I cannot even hear what he was saying -- yeah I've had a few discussions.

In short, police in general like dogs, they own dogs, they understand that ordinary people care about their pets, and they do not wake up in the morning thinking about how they are going to shoot them some dog today. In fact, the paperwork involved in firing the gun probably makes them all hope they never have to pull the thing out. Yes, when they approach your vehicle, they are approaching and unknown, and the dog can complicate such things, but they are not looking to kill your dog. Most of them would feel terrible if they killed a dog of someone who wasn't doing anything.

But drawing attention to yourself by dragging it out beyond reasonable safety, or scurrying around in the vehicle, well that will heighten their suspicion and probably make them more edgy. If they are more edgy, your dog will be more alert and if reactive will probably have a few things to say about it. So that would be setting yourself up and setting the officer up.

I know we all like to give our dogs what they like, and what they like is to shove their heads out of car windows. But I figure the risk of a chunk of road debris flying up and taking a chunk of my dog's flesh or eye is a whole lot higher than the risk of a police officer shooting my dog at a traffic stop. Leave the windows up. Open them a little to talk to the officer, but don't let the dog get close to the window, nor expect the officer to reach inside for your information. Shove them through the window so that there is no way possible for your dog to connect with them.

Now in the Explorer, there is no chance that my dogs will be a problem to police or emergency services as they are properly crated in the back of the vehicle, but in the Honda, if I do carry one from here to there, they are loose in the car (I have a seatbelt somewhere, but had a dog get tangled badly, and I just don't trust them now). They are trained to stay in the back seat, ha! which means that while I am in the driver's seat they are back there, but if I happen to vacate the driver's seat, they take over keeping it warm. So far, I have been able to transact business at drive-thru windows, with the dog in the back seat and no problems.

Only once, when I had the Neon did I get stopped for a discussion with a dog in the car. I had pulled up behind a pick up truck at a stop sign,and was petting the dog who was hanging her head between the two front seats, when I followed the pick up through the intersection right in front of the Jefferson cop sitting there at the stop sign on my right. LOL. Yeah, Jean, the dog did not get me out of a ticket. I think she was too busy laughing at me in the back seat to bother with the cop.

He asked me if I knew why he pulled me over. Well, I did. I mean I would have had to have been an imbecile not to. So I said a little sheepishly, because I followed that pick up through that stop sign. So this kid younger than the youngest kid in town I babysat years before, is telling me how much of a privilege driving is. Uh-huh, just give me the ticket will ya? He wrote, "flagrantly" on it. The lady at the courthouse thought that was funny, so I told her the story. She laughed and said she was surprised he could spell it.

No mention about the dog. She just wasn't an issue. If you know your dog will be an issue, make sure he can't be an issue, but evenso, I think your dog is far more likely to get struck by lightning that shot at a traffic stop.

[Rerun]

Pull over, immediately. Put the car in park. Hands on the wheel. If you can turn on the interior light without fumbling around a lot, that's fine too.

It's normal to have a dog in the car. Make sure the windows are up obviously so she can't stick her head out. They may approach on the passenger side so don't count on them just coming to the drivers side.

As soon as the officer approaches, tell them you have a dog (they'll see her and hear her from the sound of it), but she is restrained by a harness in the back seat. They aren't going to care, and if you are nice and they like dogs they may even ask you about her. They'll appreciate that she's restrained.

Not that complicated, this isn't uncomon. Many idiots drive around with dogs on their laps or in the front passenger seat, so restrained in the back seat is nothing.

[wildo]

Thanks Rerun! I was actually going to PM you about this but figured everyone would like to have a discussion about it. We all love our dogs much and want to protect them. Personally, I'm of the opinion that thinking through this situation make me more prepared for how to deal with it. (Fingers crossed- haven't gotten a ticket in well over 7 years...)

[Rerun]

Don't feel bad. I was once in another county in my personal car and got pulled over (yeah....LOL) a couple yrs ago and totally forgot that my 95lb bi color male GSD (micah) was NOT restrained in the car with the back windows rolled partially down. He stuck his head out right as the officer approached. It happens. We all do dumb things sometimes...I still kick myself about that one.

Definitely don't get out of the car to approach the officer as I think I saw someone else suggest. I skimmed but didn't read the whole thread.

[billsharp]

Call 911- tell them I'm being pulled over, relay name, vehicle identification, location, etc, and that I have a restrained large dog in the car. Have them relay the message to the officer.

I don't think this would be a good idea. It is a crime to call 911 for something that is not an emergency, and this is not one. They also are not a message service and are not going to "relay your message" to the officer. We need to keep 911 lines free for true emergencies.