UPDATE 1:39 p.m. Kelowna RCMP Sgt. Kevin Duggan confirmed that the complaint was made shortly after 6pm on Friday. Sgt. Mark Booth of the RCMP Municipal Traffic Department said, “It is prohibited under Section 72 of the BC Motor Vehicle Act to carry an uninsured pet in the back of a truck.” Note that Section 72 requires the “live animal” to be protected from falling or being dropped from the vehicle by a suitable cage, carrier or guardrail. In addition, Booth says section 9.3 of the Animal Cruelty Act requires the animal to be secured in the vehicle in such a way as to prevent the animal from falling out of the vehicle. “The danger to dogs in trucks is quite significant, the BC SPCA website devotes a page to this issue,” Duggan said. ORIGINAL 4 p.m. A dog was seen bathing in the back of a flatbed truck traveling on Highway 97 in West Kelowna on Friday night. Lauren Blanchett says she spotted the truck on the highway going down the Bridge Hill to Kelowna around 5 p.m. He said the vehicle appeared to be traveling at more than 100 kilometers per hour with a dog lying on the truck bed hooked to a leash. Blanchett said from her point of view, the dog looked “really scared”. “We were going and he was curling up and, as if curled up in a small ball, his ears were flat on his body and he was lying as tightly as he could on his back,” he said. Blanchett followed the man for about 15 minutes on Pandosy Street until she followed her separate path. Reported the incident to RCMP. The video was also shared on social media with several users embarrassing the driver. Castanet contacted RCMP for comment. In BC. it is against the law to carry an animal outside a vehicle unless it is locked in a cage or cage. The BC SPCA says drivers who see uninsured dogs in the back of a truck should call the 911 with a description of the vehicle.
