July 15, 2008

MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. -– A Mount Pleasant police officer made an unusual arrest Sunday evening after witnessing a drunk driver operate a minibike while his dog ran next to him leashed to the handlebars.

“In 32 years of law enforcement, I have seen some unusual events, but this is one of the more unusual,” Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno said.

Henry Remy, 50, was traveling through the town of Mount Pleasant at about 8:40 p.m. heading towards his home in Queens, N.Y., “which would have required a ride through Westchester, through the Bronx, through part of Manhattan and across one of the bridges and into Queens, so it was about a 30 mile trip,” Alagno said.

“I doubt the dog would have kept up for any length of time,” Alagno said of the intended trip. “And luckily, by chance, the officer came upon this individual early on, because if he had gone any further the animal could have been injured.”

Alagno says Remy was on the road for about a half mile before the officer apprehended him.

Described simply as a black dog, the canine was not injured in the event and was later placed in the custody of local relatives.

Remy, on the other hand, remains in the custody of the authorities, and is being held at the Westchester County jail in Valhalla after failing to make $750 cash bail.

He will have the opportunity to be represented by an attorney -- of his own choice or court appointed -- on Thursday when he appears before a judge. He faces misdemeanor charges for driving while intoxicated, and could face other charges if the minibike is found to be an unregistered, un-inspected and uninsured motor vehicle.

If found guilty of driving while intoxicated, Alagno says it could result in the suspension of his driver’s license, as well as a substantial fine, while the possible motor vehicle violations “are all fairly significant violations.”

“I’ve seen people on bicycles walking their dogs, but never a motor vehicle,” Alagno said of the event. “(It was) fairly harmless in the sense that no one was injured and the animal wasn’t injured, otherwise he would have been subject to animal cruelty charges.”

Alagno says reckless endangerment charges for animals is not a law in New York and he is not certain how Remy or his dog arrived in Mount Pleasant, but after his arrest the minibike was impounded.

This is the second recent case that Pet Pulse has reported on involving dogs being transported in relation to motor vehicles. The first was in June when a New Jersey man was stopped by a NJSPCA officer for traveling with his dog tethered to his arm as they motorcycled down the road together.

The suspect received two summonses, one ticket for a criminal charge of inhumane transportation of an animal on a motor vehicle, the second ticket for a civil version of the same charge. To read this story, visit www.zootoo.com

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