Leash In Car Door Means Trouble For Dog

Tattoo the basset hound went for an unplanned run when his owner shut one end of his leash in a car door and took off for a drive - with Tattoo on the leash's other end still outside.

Motorcycle Officer Kerry Filbert was on patrol when he noticed a vehicle that seemed to have something dragging from it, police spokesman Mark Mann said.

As Filbert passed the vehicle Wednesday evening, he saw that the car was dragging a basset hound on a leash, ``picking them up and putting them down just about as fast as he could,'' Mann said.

Filbert chased and finally stopped the car, but not before the dog reached a speed of 20 to 25 mph and ``rolled several times,'' Mann said.

The car's occupants, a man and a woman, jumped out and Filbert told them they were dragging a dog. The couple became distressed and began calling ``Tattoo! Tattoo!'' Mann said.

The couple from Renton had been visiting friends in Tacoma, and the man had taken Tattoo outside before the trip home, Mann said. When the woman called the man to help her carry something, he shut Tattoo's leash in the driver's door so the dog wouldn't wander away, but apparently forgot the animal was there before driving off, Mann said.

The 8-month-old dog appeared uninjured, but Filbert suggested the couple take him to an animal clinic.