DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Police charged an eastern Iowa man with drunken driving after stopping him outside a Dubuque bar, where he was in a truck beside a small zebra and parrot.

KCRG-TV reports officers arrested 56-year-old Jerald Reiter on Sunday night in the parking lot of the Dog House bar. Officers gave him a field sobriety test and charged him with drunken driving.

Reiter, of Cascade, disputes the arrest, saying he was about to let a passenger begin driving.

He says the zebra and macaw parrot are pets and like riding in the truck. Sometimes the bar lets them inside, but they had to stay outside this time because the business was serving food.

People were taking photos of the animals, and Reiter says he thinks a spectator reported him to police.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)