Husky Rider : Motorcyclist vows to fight ticket for taking dog on bike. He says law applies only to people.

For all that Jeremiah Gerbracht loves his dog, Harley, he’s digging in to fight the LAPD’s attempt to call her a person.

And if she’s not a person, then there was nothing illegal about her riding on the gas tank of his motorcycle--also a Harley.

Because he and Harley, a 50-pound husky, go everywhere together, Gerbracht trained her to straddle or crouch atop the leather-upholstered gas tank of his 1986 Harley-Davidson FLTC and cruise along with him. Specially designed instrument clusters and raised handlebars ensure that Harley doesn’t get in the way of the controls, and double-thick heat shields protect the animal’s paws and tail from getting singed on hot engine parts.

But several weeks ago, a Los Angeles police officer spotted the freewheeling pair near Gerbracht’s home in Woodland Hills.

“The officer kind of did a double take,” Gerbracht said. “He turned around and pulled us over.”

Gerbracht said he believes the police officer pulled him over because of the stylish “helmet” he wears--actually a leather top hat with a helmet sewn inside. Gerbracht said the police officer ticketed him for his pooch only after questioning him about his apparent lack of a helmet.

Gerbracht--a member of a bikers’ rights organization known as ABATE, or American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education--told the officer that the state’s motor vehicle code does not prohibit dogs from riding on motorcycles.

But the officer ticketed Gerbracht anyway, citing a part of the code that prohibits a “person” from riding on a part of a motor vehicle not intended for passengers.

Hoping to strike a blow for motorcycle-borne hounds everywhere, Gerbracht is contesting the ticket.

“If they’re telling me that Harley is a person, I think that would set quite a precedent, wouldn’t it?” said Gerbracht, who says he and scores of other motorcyclists have toted dogs on motorcycles safely for years.

“And if they define her as a passenger, that means that people could take their dogs [to qualify to drive] in carpool lanes, doesn’t it?” Gerbracht said.

Gerbracht’s attorney, J. Russell Brown Jr., says the case is winnable. The well-known motorcyclists’ rights lawyer said he knows of many motorcyclists who tote pooches in similar fashion and has never heard of one getting a ticket for it.

“The legislative intent with that part of the vehicle code seems to apply to persons,” Brown said. “If you look in the dictionary under ‘person,’ it does not say anything about dogs.”

A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol said the issue probably would have to be decided by a judge. “I know Section 21712 well,” said CHP Officer Richard Obregon, referring to the code under which Gerbracht was ticketed. “That part talks about persons, and a dog is not a person.”

But Obregon said another section of the code, concerning unrestrained animals, might be applicable. “If the animal was not tethered in any way, there might be a problem,” he said.

Gerbracht’s previous pet, a German shepherd and Siberian husky mix named Jenny, also had a special talent besides riding motorcycles. She made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the only dog with a special tree-climbing permit, issued in the late 1970s by San Francisco city parks officials after they learned that Jenny liked to climb trees to chase squirrels.

Harley appears happy aboard Gerbracht’s rumbling ride. Gerbracht has rigged a water-drip bottle to the handlebars to quench Harley’s thirst as they ride, and says the dog has never so much as slipped on her perch.

“Ride, Harley, ride!” Gerbracht shouted. Harley hopped up on the tank and sat on her haunches. “Rest, Harley, rest!” he commanded, and Harley hunkered down atop the padded, saddle-like tank, her wet nose an inch or two from the windshield.

“This dog is special,” he said. “And this matter with the ticket, it’s not just about me. It’s about Harley. And my bike. A man, a dog, a bike and freedom.” With a wink and a woof, they were off.