Dog seen travelling down highway on back of flat-bed pickup

UPDATE 1:39 p.m.

Kelowna RCMP Sgt. Kevin Duggan confirmed the complaint was called in shortly after 6 p.m. Friday.

Sgt. Mark Booth of the RCMP's Municipal Traffic Section said, “it is prohibited under Section 72 of the BC Motor Vehicle Act to transport an unsecured pet in the back of a pickup truck.”

He noted Section 72 requires the “living animal” to be protected from falling or being thrown from the vehicle by a suitable cage, carrier or guard rail.

In addition, Booth says Section 9.3 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act requires the animal to be secured to the vehicle in a manner which will prevent the animal from falling from the vehicle.

"The risk to dogs in pickup trucks is significant enough the BC SPCA website dedicates a page to this issue," said Duggan.

ORIGINAL 4 a.m.

A dog was seen leashed to the back of a flatbed pick-up truck travelling on Highway 97 in West Kelowna Friday evening.

Lauren Blanchett says she spotted the truck on the highway coming down Bridge Hill bridge towards Kelowna around 5 p.m.

She said the vehicle appeared to have been travelling at over 100 kilometres per hour with a dog lying on the bed of the truck hooked to a leash.

Blanchett said from her point of view, the dog looked “really scared.”

“We drove up and he was cowering and, like, curled up in a little ball, his ears were flat to his body and he was just laying as tight as he could up against the back, shaking,” she said.

Blanchett followed the individual for about 15 minutes to Pandosy Street until she went her separate way. She reported the incident to RCMP.

The video was also shared to social media with a number of users shaming the driver.

Castanet has reached out to RCMP for comment.

In B.C. it is against the law to transport an animal on the exterior of a vehicle unless it is secured in a cage or crate. The BC SPCA says drivers who see unsecured dogs in the back of a truck should call 911 with a description of the vehicle.