I live in DC and for 1.5 years have driven to work every morning with my dog sitting in the front seat with her head out the window doing what dogs do. I've driven past thousands and thousands of officers during this time and have never been stopped or warned before. I can't count the times I've pulled up next to an officer in their car and the officer actually talks to my dog. After thinking about it I was wrong and should have her restrained with a dog seat belt type thing for her safety, but the officer told me that she should be in the cargo area of my SUV and not in the front seat. I specifically asked if I could get a dog restraint system that ties into the seatbelt of the passenger seat and he said no. Does this sound right? Where would I find out what the actual law is? The warning was for "distracted drving" and since this is a pretty vague warning I'm guessing that even with a passenger seat doggy restraint he could say I am still distracted. I really enjoy having my dog up there with me and I get lots of smiles from people everyday...I'd hate to have to stop. Any suggestions, comments, help? Any DC officers in here?