Good day, faithful fans and friendly readers. This week's column is going to be a bit on the short side, since Mama was away a lot this week and now it's Sunday night and she says she's tired. Humph! Well, I suppose we'll get over it. After all, she has been such a good servant to us for so long, we can deal with the occasional slip-up.

We got some response to last week's column about traveling safely with pets, including some follow-up on the story about the rescued Retrievers in the rental truck.

Dear Sinéad and Siouxsie:
Hi, it's Kim from last week's column. I located the website of the Retriever rescue and e-mailed them direct as well. This is the response I received from Golden Retriever Rescue Lifeline, and I was quite relieved!

Hi Kim,
The truck that the Littlefields rented has a walk-through door as well as A/C, and they are stopping very frequently to let the dogs out and water them. They left in the afternoon and are driving through until they come to a cooler state. I believe that they are also getting crate fans to cool the dogs as well as having many gallons of water on board. It will be night soon also, and it will cool considerably by then. Thanks for the concern and I am glad that people care enough to ask.
Sincerely,
Melanie Crane, Co-president
Golden Retriever Rescue Lifeline

Thanks for the column,
Kim

Sinéad: I'm relieved, too, Kim. It makes us happy to know that the dogs had a safe trip back to the rescue society and that the rescuers had used the right kind of vehicle and made very sure the dogs would be comfortable.

Siouxsie: I'm glad those dogs are coming home safely. I think golden retrievers are kind of cute, so I'm glad they're OK.

Sinéad: That also reminds us that if you want to get a purebred dog, a great way to get one is through a breed rescue society. You'll save a lot of money, and you'll give a dog a new lease on life.

Siouxsie: Of course, breed rescue societies have even stricter screening than animal shelters, and often anyone interested in adopting a dog (or a cat-they have cat breed rescue groups, too) has to fill out an extensive questionnaire to show that they understand the breed's temperament and know how to provide for any of that animal's special needs, provide references to prove their ability to properly care for the animal, and often visit the rescue society as well.

Sinéad: But if you're a caring animal parent, none of these issues should be a problem, because your veterinarian will say how good you are about seeing to your animals' health care, and so on and so forth.

Dear Sinéad and Siouxsie:
In your column about traveling with pets, you talked about dogs riding in the back of trucks. Do you know that having your dog ride in back of truck is illegal in the state of Maine? But however illegal it is to do and dangerous for their best friend, I have never seen in the court news where anyone has gotten a ticket for it. So shame on the police department for not caring about this pets. I see dogs in back of trucks every day--and in the cab, riding alone, is the owner of the dog. I dearly love my golden retreiver, so she rides shotgun with me in the cab, with the seat belt around her. I love her like she is one of my kids--sometimes more when the kids are giving me a hard time!
Theresa in St. George

Siouxsie: We're very glad to know it's illegal here in Maine for dogs to ride in the back of trucks!

Sinéad: But it is too bad that this law is not enforced more.

Siouxsie: Congratulations to you, Theresa, on making sure your dog friend is safe in the truck with you when you travel together.

Sinéad: Did you know that there are special seat belt-type harnesses made for dogs. Mama's seen them advertised in animal magazines, and she says you can probably find them at pet stores.

Siouxsie: It's not that the regular seat belt is bad, although it's designed to protect humans, not dogs, in the event of an accident. But I would think the dog safety harness would be more comfortable as well as even more protective.

Sinéad: We don't like to travel, but Mama does a good job keeping us safe when we have to. So we're glad about that.

Siouxsie: Yeah. She keeps us in our kitty crates, which is where cats belong when they're in a moving vehicle.

Sinéad: Mama says she's heard of cats that like to travel on their person's shoulder while their person is driving, or sit on the back part of the car behind the rear seat. But that's dangerous because we could get thrown around if you stop or turn too fast. Also, some dumber specimens of the felidae family might decide they want to make a nest by those pedal things and under their person's feet while the person is trying to drive!

Siouxsie: Of course, we'd never do that.

Sinéad: Like you'd never bury your mousie in the litter box and then forget about it and then accuse me of burying your mousie and peeing and pooping on it? In our Live Journal, no less! You are such a drama queen.

Siouxsie: Wow, that's the Bombay calling the Burmese black! Who was wailing in our journal about how the boy she loved didn't love her anymore? Humph!

JaneA: Once again, it looks like it's time to wrap up this week's column. Thank you to our readers and to the people who write to the girls. We couldn't do this column without you. . . . Hey! Siouxsie! Stop beating on your sister . . .

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail Sinéad and Siouxsie at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the advice in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.