Safety Concern
 

I wanted to share this with you all, it is very long, but is something to think about.
In this story please focus on what could have happened to Annie, not what did happen to me. This post is not about me. It is about what can happen to our precious furbabies.

On June 6th I was going to met a friend for coffee.
Annie goes every where with me. But we were going somewhere new and I didn't know if they had outside seating so I left her home.
Little did I know that decision would save her life.

On my way to meet my friend a young gal ran a very, very red light. She hit me with such a force that she broke the frame of my Ford Explorer in 2 places. Needless to say my truck was a total loss. The officer at the scene told me that had I not been in my Explorer but in a different type of vehicle, she would have killed me.
But had Annie been with me, she would have been killed and ejected from the vehicle.

For many years I raised Guide Dogs for the Blind. We were instructed that you never allow a pup to be lose in the vehicle. When the pups are smaller they go in crates in your vehicle, when they get bigger and are trust worthy then you put them on what we called a tie out. It is a short cable with clasp at both ends, so you can put 1 end around something stationary and the other end on the leash. This was done for their safety as well as ours. If you were in an accident the dog is safe in the crate and if it is on tie down they wont be ejected. The theory behind the crate was the same. It should not come open if ejected from the vehicle. Therefore keeping the pup safe from running into traffic or just running and running from being so scared.

So what happened to my brain when I got a yorkie? I don't know maybe the it won't happen to me sydrome.

With both Phoebe(rip:tinyheart ) and Annie they were always lose in the vehicle. They both rode on my lap, or the girls lap. Annie does have a Celleti carrier the kind that has the place for the seatbelt to slide through and I did have it that way in the Explorer. But, she was free to get in it or out of it. It was very, very rare that I ever hooked her to the clasp.

Just somethings to think about........
*Airbags can and have caused serious injury to adults and children. What would they do to a yorkie?
*We put our human babies in carseats to keep them safe. What about our yorkies?
*As adults we wear seatbelts to keep us safe. Again what about our yorkies.
*How many times have you driven down the road, with the window down yorkie sniffing at breeze, what would happen if you suddenly had to hit the brakes. Where would the yorkie go?
* Last thoughts...
what would have happened to Annie had she been ejected from my vehicle alive?
Would she have survived the impact of hitting the ground?
Would the people who were rushing to scene, seen her and been able to catch her?
Would she have been hit by the other traffic?

I thank God everyday that I don't have the answers to those last questions about Annie. That I left her home and she is alive!

Annie now travels with her harness from Chattiesmom and is tethered(on a tie out).

As I mentioned these are just some things to think about, after all our yorkies are precious cargo.

I have NEVER allowed any of our dogs free roam in the car for this reason. Moe and Pippy both are either in a crate or if its a nice enough day I have them in thier car harness. The big dogs are always in the car harnesses. I would never attach a dog in a car by thier neck as it's obvious what would happen if you suddenly had an impact, I would never have a free roaming dog, as they would not only be at serious risk...but they then become the projectile that could possibly hit me as well.Years ago when I had cats it was the same....they were ALWAYS in thier carriers..for thier sake and mine.

Most definitely something to think about...scary...

Muriel thanks for your post, I know this was hard for you to do, I just want to say Thank God your alive and too, I know you will probably kill me, but I would like to ask for PRAYERS for Muriel, I will not go into details but she is doing so much better, but she needs all of are prayers for a speedy physical recovery from this accident...I will say she is lucky to be alive...and thank God Annie wasn't with her....I know angels are watching over you my friend...Sending big hugs & kisses to you both, Bear says to send a bunch more to his favorite little sissy Annie....:D

Thanks for this post, and thank goodness you left her home that day:eek:! My girls have always ridden in a lookout type car seat, and now that they are bigger Luna has the seat (they don't both fit anymore) and Izzy has a seatbelt harness, she's the larger girl.

Very important reminder;)!

Thanks for the reminder. I always have mine in a carrier but I do not have the carrier strapped in. I will now. I will pray for your recovery.

Wow never thought of that! Thanks for the warning! I hope you are okay.

Thank you for your post. Sophie always rode in the backseat in a crate, but I let Charlie ride in the front seat. Definitely will look for "tie out" to secure him in case of an accident.

You know I think you are the best.

The prayers are very much appreciated. That really is the only answer is that angels were watching over us.

Annie sends big hugs back to her favorite big brother :love-hug3

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

It has really changed my prespective, a real eye opening reminder that I need to protect her at all times in the vehicle, just like I did my 3 girls when they were little and also the guide dogs.

Good post and Muriel - you were in an accident ? OMG - were you hurt ? Are you ok Now ? You have my prayers !!!

I'm glad both of you are ok. I appreciate you sharing your input, and will say prayers for you.

Most definitely something to think about...scary...
Thank you for the information.

Thank Goodness your Annie was home.
and that You are ok.

Thanks, Muriel and Annie for a great post....we just ordered a Snoozer console for our trip on 8/25 - now Izzy is in a carrier whenever we go in the car but one time we had her out to look out the window and my husband had to make a sudden stop...thank goodness I was holding her...you just never know and our furbabies are so tiny and fragile it certainly wouldn't take much for them to get hurt. I'm also going to turn off our passenger airbag - never thought of that either. So glad that you were not hurt and Annie's angel was watching her that day too - you kept her home!

Thank you for the post. I mentioned yesterday in another post about the hazard of airbags and leaving a pet loose in the car. I also have the Celltei carrier and sometimes I use that but I also have one of those roll bags with the telescoping handle that can be used as a car seat. This works really well and has a lot of room. I put a little blanket and some toys in there with Kalina and she usually falls asleep after a little while.

It's so easy to give in to your adorable little pet when they start whining, etc., but they do settle down soon enough and it's for their own good.

I'm glad you are ok but sorry your car was totalled. Good luck.

I'm very sorry to hear of your accident but thankful for your angels who protected you and that your Annie was safe at home. You will be in my prayers for a speedy recovery!

Just yesterday I was flipping through one of my magazines and showed hubby one of the lookout consoles. I think Penny would LOVE one, but I just can't bring myself to purchase one. Anytime we travel, our girls are each in a travel carrier which is then seatbelted in. They are not allowed to roam. I know that they would prefer this, and even that Penny would love the console, but I prefer their safety to their happiness. :p Call me a mean mommy, I don't care! heehee

It sure is fun to have a furkid on your lap or to see even big dogs with their heads out the windows, but they are called accidents for a reason. You never know when you will be involved, and as a pet owner, it is our responsibility to protect our furkids... they don't know any better and trust us to take care of them.

Suggestions
 

My husband and I always hold the babies in the car. What do you think is the best to keep them safe? A crate? A carseat? What have you all found to be the best?

You can turn them off? I didnt' know that...how do you do it?

Me too, but I know it's wrong. I'm going to have to do something about that immediately:( . I'd rather listen to Max whining than for him to be hurt or worse.

I also want to say how sorry I am for your accident; I hope any injury you sustained heals quickly and completely! It must have been really scary!

There's a terrific thread over on Dogster in the travel forum (I believe) about dog car seats.

I use an Outward Hound Lookout II, but the expert on that thread doesn't recommend that brand or model. She's also adamant that seats should be put in the back of the car, but I do put my dog seat in the front -- otherwise, Demi goes insane and I can't stand the yelping. I know that's lazy of me.

The expert is an expert because she and her dog were almost killed in a car wreck and she made it her mission to learn everything about dog/car safety.

What seats are you all using? What do you like/dislike about them? How do you have them attached?

Sweetie is on the road so much, traveling daily back and forth from my house to my parents' house that I knew I had to get a carseat for her.

I ordered a carseat for her that hooks her in - it was reasonably priced and made by "Outward Hound". I think it was less that $30.00 - with the crazy way people drive around here (and everywhere, evidently) we must protect our little angels.

Muriel, I hope you are recovering quickly and will keep you in my prayers.

Cyndi & Sweetie

Thankyou for this post. We have a great car seat for Copper but sometimes Ikeep him on my lap. We will be using the carseat everytime now, I don't want to be getting on here saying what if... Thankyou for the eye-opener. Sending prayers your way for a healthy recovery.

Thank you all for your prayers and kindness.

Sometimes it takes something like this to remind us how delicate life is and how fast it can change.

What is really important to me is to educate and have people ask themselves the questions that I asked myself. That was the sole purpose of this thread.

One last thing. I don't know if it can be found on the web or not. It was a video that we were shown while I was raising guide dogs. The video was about pet safety in the vehicle. It showed crashes with those gates that people use in their cars to keep the dogs in back. The dogs heads would actually go through that metal tubing, sometimes dislodging the gate and then it and the dog are flying forward in the vehicle.

If someone does find it, would your post it here.

Muriel first of all, I am so very glad that you are healing. I will pray for your complete healing and I will also offer a prayer of thanksgiving that your precious Annie wasn't in the car with you.

I appreciate your post and your very valid concerns and warnings to those of us (yes, I am guilty) who allow their dogs to sit in their laps during car rides. I will re-think that and secure them in the future.

Hugs to you!

Lets help answer her question
 

The hard crates are very durable. I have had by teens girls sit on them and they dont budge. I have seen video of them being ejected from a vehicle accident, hitting and tumbling end over end and not opening.

I have also used my celltei carrier which has a place for the seatbelt to go through and keep it secure in the car. It has a short leash inside to secure your pup to. Because it is softsided I would say that is a horriffic accident it could be crushed, but it is not going to come out of the car.

I've told my story about the accident I had when my toy poodle was about 8-10 weeks old. I touched a gravel road that was connected to the paved road I was on, overcorrected and flipped my little car at least 4 times. Thank God neither one of us was hurt but the accident was caused by Dax running around on my lap and me trying to get him to sit in the passenger seat. Since then, I was always leary about riding with him in the car. When we got Tatum (many, many years later), the first thing I did was buy a Lookout car seat. This one sits on the console of my Tahoe, belted down with a thing that clips to her harness to keep her in. She's known no different and loves to ride in it. I am a true believer in car seats for the dogs! Sometimes when people see it, they think it's a frivolous thing but WE all know it's not!

So glad you came out of that accident with your life and that your precious babe was not with you. Thanks for spreading the word.

Maxwell always rides in a zipped up bag with see thru screens, but I will now remember to buckle the carrier into the car seat belt. Thank you for the wake up call.

My friend's neighbor had a Maltese that would sit on her lap while she drove and was killed in a mini-fender bender that barely damaged the cars. I never heard if it was the airbag or the steering wheel, or what. She was so devastated. The fact it was so preventable made it even worse for her.