Jerald Reiter is a farmer from Dubuque, Iowa, who just so happens to have a couple of pets that are of the exotic variety. Reiter and his girlfriend apparently treat the animals more like close friends than pets, which is why the Iowan decided to take PeeWee the zebra and Izzy the parrot along with him to a visit a local watering hole.
When Reiter and his pals arrived at the Dog House, all three went in but Izzy and PeeWee were quickly kicked out of the establishment. Their owner stayed for a few drinks before heading back home. Reiter discovered he was too drunk to drive, and asked a passenger to drive him home instead. Since neither PeeWee or Izzy stepped up to do the driving, a human passenger did, however the two didn’t switch seats soon enough and Reiter was pulled over by cops, where he allegedly had a BAC of .14. He was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
From the Herald Sun…
Reiter told the Des Moines Register that he and his girlfriend treat the animals – three-month-old zebra PeeWee and parrot Izzy – like friends and take them to the bar because it sometimes allows animals inside.
He told the paper, “I said, ‘Let’s go for a ride.’ I ain’t been away from the farm for almost two months because I’ve been planting corn and everything else. So I opened the door, the zebra jumps in, the macaw loves to go for a ride, so we went for a ride.”
However, the creatures were turned away and the bar disputed Reiter’s claim that animals were permitted inside and said that despite its name, not even dogs were allowed in the establishment.
I understand that exotic pets are all the rage, but methinks Reiter might want to not pal around so much with his beloved animals, because I’m pretty sure someone’s going to get parasites…and I ain’t referring to the owners.
