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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Let's Start The Year Off Right!

Well my friends, I might be a day late, but I still think that this is an incredibly important reminder to all us pups, kittens, and humans!

Freckles the Dog

January 2nd was the official National Pet Travel Safety Day!

Now, unfortunately the auto safety industry doesn't keep records on how many pets are injured or killed in car accidents in each year...but I'm pretty sure that that number is higher than we like to think! :-( Which is why educating all our pet parents is incredibly important!!

I'm sure that we've all seen dogs doing this...

Freckles the Dog

:-/ Hm...do we think that this is the safest way to travel? That's correct - Nope!!!

Freckles the Dog

As the pups over at Go Pet Friendly say, if You wear a seat belt and your Kids wear a seat belt, then why on earth wouldn't you put your pup or kitten in a seat belt/restraint?? That's a great question!!

Luckily we have humans standing up for us! First off, in 2011, AAA in partnership with Kurgo, asked their readers to complete a pet safety survey. Here we discovered that only 16% of respondents stated that they used any kind of pet restraint at all (uh oh!), 17% stated that they allowed their pups to sit on their laps while driving, and 3% took photos of their pets while driving (OMD, don't do that!!)!!!

Just to let you know: “An unrestrained 10-pound dog in a crash at only 30 mph will exert roughly 300 pounds of pressure, while an unrestrained 80-pound dog in a crash at only 30 mph will exert approximately 2,400 pounds of pressure. Imagine the devastation that can cause to your pet and anyone in its path (via Jennifer Huebner-Davidson, AAA National, Traffic Safety Programs manager)!" Those are some scary facts, huh?!

Due to these survey results, AAA created a booklet called Traveling with Your Pet: The AAA PetBook that gives pet parents lots of great tips and information for traveling! They also provided discounts for all Kurgo safety products and for Target products as well!

Six states (Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Hawaii, New Jersey, Rhode Island) have now enacted pet car safety laws too, with New Jersey having one of the most strict laws!

So...what to do...

Freckles the Dog

hm, try again...

Freckles the Dog

Hahaha, omd, that poor thing!! NO!!!

As much as most of us hate the idea, we all need to be in restraints! :-/ Which means: chilling in a crate, using a doggie safety belt, or sitting in a doggie car seat! There's tons of options out there, so finding one that suits both you and your parent shouldn't be a terrible experience! Now, not all safety restraints are created equally, meaning that some are safer than others...but if you do your research and watch those awful crash safety films, you should be able to decipher what works and is safe for you!

Freckles the Dog

I personally use the RC Canine Friendly harness vest that has been independently crash tested and certified (for dogs up to 85 pounds) in Canada. Domeek and I were impressed with their facts and video, so we decided to get it! Thankfully we haven't been in a car accident since buying it, but we have been impressed when braking in all that Bay Area commute traffic! :-D

Freckles the Dog

I also use the Snoozer large Lookout doggie car seat in conjunction with my safety harness! This is more of a comfort thing (at least for me) than a safety thing; but I do like to look out the window, so this allows me to safely sit my tush down and be a nosy puppy! ;-) As a reminder, if you want your pup or kitty to sit in the front seat, make sure that you can turn off your passenger airbags, as this can be even more dangerous in a car accident!!

Freckles the Dog

My brothers all use crates to ride in the car, even though they would rather sit in my car seat!

There you go, as you can all see, there are tons of options for each and every puppy and kitten out there! For more travel product reviews, check out my friend Chloe at Dog Jaunt as she has seen and reviewed them all! ;-) I don't want you all to be worried when driving, but it's definitely worth the time and the effort to make sure that you are safe before starting that engine!

Thank goodness for animal days like this one, cause otherwise we would forget about the little things!

So, how do you travel in the car???


15 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness - that poor pup being walked outside the car! My mom saw someone bringing a dog to the shelter like that and it made her so angry. She sent the animal control officers after them in a second!

    I am very glad you have a much safer car ride routine, Goose :)

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  2. This is such good information Goose! I am guilty of letting Shiner ride in the car without proper restraint. :( She doesn't travel with me very much anymore, but maybe I will look into getting her a seatbelt for next time she does.

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  3. Hi Goose! We've got a big crate in the backseat secured with about eight bungee cords. We tried the harness/seat belt but it kept getting twisted and Callie almost strangled herself within five minutes. When Oscar the old cat has to go to the vet, he's in his little crate inside the dog crate!

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  4. We too prefer the seat belt clip method.....mom found us these awesome sheep wool lined harnesses that have adjustable seal belt adjustments. Then she had to find me a new one because it turns out that ME a sheep dog is allergic to sheepskin wool! The thing we hate where we live is the huge numbers of people who drive around with doggies in the back of their trucks and they are never secured....that is so dangerous

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  5. I saw a couple with three dogs and each one was restrained safely in the car and I was so proud.

    Did you hear that NJ is considering a seatbelt law for dogs? The last I heard there was a lot of back and forth, but I haven't been able to find if the law actually passed.

    ~ Kimberly

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  6. Excellent post & message Freckles - we especially liked all the pictures that went with it!
    Wally & Sammy

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  7. I always must ride in the car in my crate. I wish I had a fancy dog seat and harness so I could look out and see what's going on, but sadly I do not. But, at least Ma loves me so much that she keeps me protected!!

    Great post!

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  8. NO CRATES HERE, Dad doesn't like putting a dog or cat in a crate, we got restraint harness in the back seat, worst that can happen, we might whine a little, Heeheehee

    Your Pals
    Susie & Bites
    Pees; Sorry for being so late, it's a peep problem

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  9. Good post and very important!! We always wear our seat belts even though Stanley has chewed through his 2 times!

    Keep Calm & Bark On,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  10. What a lovely day. I hope that the next ones are just as nice!

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  11. Ma is all abouts the tether harness. I like the Ezy-Dog one because it can be used as a travel harness and a walking harness. So when I gets to go to my favorite park, Ma doesn't have to take off one harness and put on another ~ she's all about duel-duty stuffs!
    (OMD ~ Ma TOTALLY understands about the Bay Area stop and go traffic thing! geesh, you thinks peeps gots their licence out of a Milkbone box or somethings!)
    Anyhu, your little seat looks all comfy too! Love it.

    Kisses,
    Ruby

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  12. I am never buckled in I won't Lie. I lay down and snooze mostly...and I only stick my head out when stopped. Mom never lets me do it while we move!

    Mason

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  13. Car safety is important, those things are scary. They take you to the V.E.T!!

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  14. I am not buckeled in either. My Vickie is ashamed and will look into getting me a harness tomorrow.
    Thanks for all the info.

    bert

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