SHILLONG: If your canine friend drives down a thoroughfare with aplomb, will you be proud or should you worry?
If you are in Shillong, you should worry because chances are that the cops might land up on your doorstep the next day.
This was exactly what happened to the owner of a locally registered car in the city. The vehicle, a Maruti, was spotted on Friday at Police Bazar being driven by a dog!
As the video of the dog on the wheel at busy Khyndailad went viral on social media, the city police swung into action. They found the details of the vehicle and reached the owner’s house to issue a summons.
The Sadar traffic branch took action against the vehicle owner and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000.
Though police refused to divulge details of the owner, they said action was taken to deter other citizens from taking such risks on road, especially at a thoroughfare.
The 1.11-minute video was shot by a woman who was in another vehicle coming from behind. The video shows the dog on the wheel and a man sitting next to it. A comment on Facebook said the car was a motor training vehicle and had all the controlling devices on the other side too. “So calm down. Dogs can be trained to hold steering. But they can’t drive,” the comment said.
However, it could not be confirmed whether the car was actually a motor training vehicle.
The video encouraged several witty comments and already had over 230 ‘likes’ 86 ‘shares’ on Facebook on the second day.
Among other comments on Facebook, one said, “Since most people drive like dogs, it was about time this happened.”
One person said, “You people (Shillongites) are living 2030 already.”
But keeping jokes aside and with all due respect to man’s canine friend, can dogs drive? Google search says only large dogs can. It also says Volkswagen has forayed into canine automobile market with Wolfsburg edition vehicles.
If Shillong is amused or aghast by the ‘dog driving’ video, then one for the road — New Zealand has a driving school for rescued dogs to prove how intelligent the animals can be. So next time you spot a drunken driver or a road rogue, just tell them it’s time to get a dog.
