The Fast and The Furriest

Pretty cute, huh?

The story may be old, but it's real. They're really teaching rescue dogs how to drive.

It was all to increase the adoption of dogs from shelters, by showing how smart rescue dogs can be.

For the past two months, animal trainer Mark Vette has been teaching dogs to drive, New Zealand TV station Campbell Live reported.

The lessons are part of a campaign by the New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), meant to clear up "common misconceptions" about rescue dogs.

"Sometimes people think because they're getting an animal that's been abandoned, that somehow it's a second-class animal," SPCA Auckland CEO Christine Kalin told the New Zealand Herald. "Driving a car actively demonstrates to potential rescue dog adopters that you can teach an old dog new tricks."

Kalin added that the canines' achievements behind the wheel shows "just how much potential all dogs from the SPCA have as family pets."

All the new drivers are shelter dogs: Monty, an 18-month Giant Schnauzer, was given to the SPCA when he became too much for his owner to handle. Ginny, a 1-year-old whippets cross, was rescued from an abusive home. Porter, a 10-month old Beardie cross, was abandoned on the streets.

The dogs trained for several weeks before hopping into a real car, modified to accommodate the unique needs of a canine driver.

They showed their road-readiness in a nationally broadcast drivers test. That's where the footage from the first clip comes from, I think.

posted by Ace at 05:40 PM

| Access Comments