Lazy man walks dog with car, loses license

A London dog owner has lost his drivers license for using his car to walk his dog. 

Paul Railton, 23, of County Durham, wound down the driver's side window of his Nissan and allowed his dog, a lurcher, to run alongside the vehicle. After receiving a complaint from a witness, police spotted Railton driving about 5 mph along a County Durham road December 4, 2009.

Inside Consett Magistrates' Court, Railton pleaded guilty to not being in proper control of a vehicle. Officials said a cyclist alerted officers that two men were dragging a dog from a moving car.

"The driver was hanging onto the dog's lead through the driver window, approaching a blind summit," prosecutor Sharon Lowrie said.

Railton was originally given a warning and promised to place the dog inside the car and walk it properly. Railton, according to a witness, did not comply. Officers showed up at his home a few days later to charge him.

A court official, reading a police statement said: "I explained the dangers to the other road users and that he was not in full control of the car. Due to the narrow road there was no area for other cars to pass."

Paul Donoghue, Railton's mitigator, told the court his client admits what he did was lazy and accepts responsibility, calling the incident "silly."

Railton was also fined. The lurcher was not injured.

A lurcher is a crossbreed, similar to a greyhound. It was created crossing sighthounds with other pastoral breeds such as collies or terriers. Lurchers are popular and known as loyal family pets.

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