Buckle Up the Pup

I recently read a moving letter to Dear Abby from a man who lost his best friend. His dog fell out of the back of his pickup truck and was struck by a car.



I use a harness to buckle up Perro whenever we go for a spin in the van. Back in 1999, when I was researching crash test statistics on the Festiva, I came across description of French crash tests involving pets. The scientists executing the tests discovered that momentum caused an unrestrained pet to be hurled inside the vehicle with considerable force, enough to kill the pet and injure any occupant struck by the pet. They also tested pet dummies restrained by a carrier, and discovered that in a 30 mph crash, the pet struck the side of the plastic carrier hard enough to shatter it and send shards flying across the vehicle compartment. In one test, shards struck the human dummy in the head. These crash test results factored into my decision to use the harness.



There doesn't seem to be high level of awareness on this topic, perhaps since these type of crash tests are not performed in the US. I recently saw a Geico commercial showing a montage of scenes featuring unrestrained dogs hanging their heads out of car windows. Sadly, since even an auto insurance company seems unaware of the safety concerns involving unbuckled pets, I have to believe that most of the public is unaware.



So I'm going to use the bully pulpit of my blog to preach on this topic. If you don't have a harness, please pick one up to keep yourself and your pooch safe on the road. I have two, one for each of my vehicles. They cost between $12-$30 and are available at Petco. You might want to measure your dog before heading out to the store, to pick out the right size. Take care and buckle up the pup.





Perro Buckled Up for a Trip in the Van