another stupid pet owner story.

[RICHARD]

I was at a stop light and noticed that the car across the way was an old convertible sports car. In the back was a G Shepard.

On the curb was a man walking a dog...

The GS caught sight of the other dog and tried to bolt after it.

The man grabbed the choke chain and thw woman turned around and slugged it in the chest....I was trying to get my camera out to take a pic before the incident and was too ticked off to get the window rolled down to yell at them as I passed.

Why do people insist on driving with their pets unsecured?

[Muddy4paws]

I think it should be a law to have a dog seatbeats on at all time if they are in the car without a safety guard. The worse I've seen was a lady with 6 dogs all quite big breeds, 3 GSD 2 Irish water spaniel and a collie dog all roaming around in her jeep and to make it worse she had 2 kids in the car too, I would love her to get caught because one day she will cause such a big accident .

[elizabethann]

I must confess...but I am one of these people.

Fenway has a "cubby" in the backseat that is secure. It's basically a babyseat for dogs so he can look outside. I bought him a seatbelt/harness that attaches to his "cubby" but only used it once. It now sits on the floor of the backseat. I stopped using it because he would look at me and pout (like a little kid). I've thought of making him use it again because I once slammed my breaks to avoid hitting a cat and the first thing I thought of was "if Fenway was in the car, he would have went flying". But did I put the seatbelt on him after that incident? No. Also, I keep thinking what if the car is on fire and I have to quickly get him out? What if I have trouble with the seatbelt?

I have to pick him up from doggy daycare after work. I will put his cubby in the middle of back seat (so it's not directly in the sun) and put his seatbelt on. I'll see how it goes. But I know he's going to make me feel bad and he's going to pout and look sad - like I'm punishing him.

[Muddy4paws]

Sounds like Fenway has ya wrapped around his paw No offence or anything!!

Have you tried one of those dog seatbelts? then he can stay up front with you?

[elizabethann]

Yes, he does have me wrapped around his paws.

I don't put him in the front seat because of the airbag. He has a harness that attaches to the seatbelt and it only gives him maybe a foot to move around. With the harness/seatbelt, he won't be able to come up front.

We'll see how it goes tonight.

My poor baby.

[Ginger's Mom]

Had to smile when I read your post Elizabethann. My RB dog was always seatbelted in when we went anywhere. She was a good girl and sat well in the car, it was just for my peace of mind. I was one of those who always insisted that any dog in my car must be secured. Okay, into the picture comes Ginger. She is terrified in the car and salivates and throws up no matter how short the trip. After a year of trying various methods (soft music, talking to her, have her in front, in back, head up, head down, Benadryl, dramamine, the list goes on), nothing worked. One of my neighbors suggested putting a dog bed in the back and putting the seat belt around that so it wouldn't slid. Whoo-hoo! No more car sickness, she still not crazy about the car, but she doesn't get sick. Ginger usually wears a collar, but after she got used to the bed in the car I put the harness on her so I could hook her up the the seatbelt. She began salivating in fear as soon as I put it on her. Soooo, unless we are going on very long rides (over three hours), I do not make her wear her seat belt. I just don't have the heart.

[beeniesmom]

I must confess that I also don't secure the dogs in the car.
They are not allowed in the front.
They both lie down in the back seat. One on each side. Noone is ever in the middle and they rarely sit up and look out the window, except if we are at a stop light.
Once I did have to break hard and Frankie hit the seat behind me and was on the floor. I felt bad.

I really want to purchase one of these:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2001+113233

but they are so darned expensive.

I eventually will purchase one and soon to avoid another "flying doggie" event and risk hurting one of my babies.

[mruffruff]

That won't save your dog from flying through the windshield if you stop fast.

I have to put my three on harnesses attached to the seatbelts. Many times I've had to brake hard and they didn't end up on the floor or in the front seat.

I also think all states should have laws that ALL LIVING BEINGS should be belted when in a vehicle. No more pick up truck beds full of dogs or kids.

[IRescue452]

I'd never put a dog anywhere near an airbag, belted or not. I'm still afraid of the airbag in my car and wish it were gone. Whether or not a crash is bad enough to injure you at all, if the airbag goes off you'll be in the hospital.

[moosmom]

RICHARD,

You forgot IRRESPONSIBLE in your title. I have a carseat for MooShoo, that's how much I'm against any animal riding in a car unsecured. I would've slugged the idiotic owner in the chest.

UGH!!

[Alysser]

The worst I have seen were two papillions in a covertiable(sp?) without any restriants in the back. AND the owner was driving with the top off!! It ticked me off alot. What an idiot that guy was.

[beeniesmom]

Well, I am feeling a bit bashed here.
I would never ride with them in the back of a convertable or pickup, that's for sure, but I felt they were safe in my SUV.
I am feeling like a bad mommy.

[Ginger's Mom]

I am sorry to hear you are feeling bashed, Carmen. The only comment I see that reflects at all on your post is the brief comment that the sling would not prevent one of the babies from flying over the seat. All of the other comments then reflect back to the subject of the original post. I don't think any one was calling you a bad mom, or even thinking about your particular situation when they made their posts.

[elizabethann]

Well I put the harness on Fenway but I couldn't find the thing to belt him in. So I have to go to PetCo or PetSmart at lunchtime and find something that will let me belt him into the seat. I don't know where the thing I had went. He actually didn't mind the harness. He didn't pout or give me puppy dog eyes. He just sat there.

One of the reasons why I posted on this thread was because we just had motorcycle weekend up here in NH. Tons of motorcyclists have died - one was a Hell's Angels who slammed into an on-coming car. The person in the car had serious injuries and the dog that was in the car got hurt too. I don't know if the dog ended up being okay (the person in the car did). We have allot of crazy drivers up here in NH (we border Mass).

[mruffruff]

I certainly didn't mean to bash anyone. I have been guilty of letting my dog sit in the front seat unrestrained. I've learned that they can become flying missles and actually cause an accident as well as being hurt themselves. And I like to be able to get out of the vehicle and know for sure that no one will be able to bolt.

Some vehicles have switches to turn off the airbag on the passenger side. I know my daughter's Tacoma does.