LOS ANGELES (AP) – Some silken-haired beauties are eager sidekicks to motorcycle riders, wind whipping their thick locks as passers-by watch the wild ride with envy. That is until the slobber starts.
These passengers are pooches – mastiffs, Labradors and Chihuahuas often clad in goggles and tiny leather jackets that fly along in blimp-shaped buckets attached to the side of motorcycles. They are set apart from other pets by speed instead of breed.
They are also the stars of “Sit Stay Ride: The Story of America’s Sidecar Dogs,” a documentary that was largely funded by an online crowdfunding campaign and gives a quarter of its proceeds to shelters and rescues. The movie is also available for free to any animal welfare agency wanting to screen it as a fundraiser.
The documentary by filmmaking couple Eric and Geneva Ristau is the unique story of 15 dogs and 18 riders who spend all the time they can on three wheels.
Ian Roper, 43, of Snohomish, Washington, and his bull mastiff Bruce love to take it easy on a slow ride. It’s a departure for Roper, who said he raced cars and motorcycles for years in Detroit and Snohomish, a city northeast of Seattle, to enjoy the speed and feel of the open air.