Dogs count. Sentient: able to sense or feel things. 

Cars, not so much. 

Sent from my 1963 maroon and cream 702B Western Electric Princess phone. 

> On Aug 1, 2014, at 10:17 AM, Roy Nicholl <RNicholl@NBNET.NB.CA> wrote:
> 
> Must be tough being a dog at the McNeely house ;-)
> 
>> On 01-Aug-2014, at 11:11, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>> 
>> I never pet objects, not my shoes, not my vehicle, not my canoe, not a piece of furniture. I reserve petting for sentient beings.  mcneely
>> 
>> ---- "dofunk@yahoo.com" <dofunk@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>>> After any drive with our van of more than say 2.5 hrs I usually give" her" a pat on the dash and say thanks and good job....oddly I also touch the tred on the front wheel from time to time as if to pet a paw!
>> We do,love our syncro!
>> Brady.....
>> 
>> Sent from... Wow just about anywhere!
>> 
>> 
>> ------ Original message------
>> From: Roland
>> Date: Thu, Jul 31, 2014 8:06 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM;
>> Subject: Do you ever pat your Vanagon on the head and say thanks?
>> 
>> Last week we went to Big Bear for a few days from San Diego.  It isn't all
>>> that far, typically only 2.5-3 hours, but with stops and traffic it was
>>> about 5 hours.   This time we had our grandson with us, and going through
>>> the Inland Empire (Riverside, San Bernardino, etc.) was at over 100 degrees
>>> in evening rush hour.  The climb to Big Bear is to straight up to 6,000 ft,
>>> with some steep grades.   I was able to keep at about 50-55 mph in 3rd;
>>> many people waved or flashed "thank you" when I used the pull-outs to let
>>> them by.
>>> 
>>> We hadn't been on a trip with the Vanagon for some time, and I only did a
>>> few basic checks.   So I was a bit worried, always planning how I would
>>> handle a breakdown.  High temps, no air conditioning, very heavy
>>> stop-and-go traffic for dozens of miles.    But it was all smooth sailing,
>>> not even an oil buzzer!
>>> 
>>> Back at home, I patted her on the dashboard and said thank you!   I thought
>>> for a moment that she replied with a front suspension creak but ......
>>> 
>>> Roland
>>> '89 Syncro
>> 
>> --
>> David McNeely