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I was riding in a friends Jeep recently and right smack dab in front of my view was a spidery, crazed, cracked pattern about a foot wide on the windshield. Nancy values her Jeep which faithfully transports her to K-9 search and rescue training and schooling all along the east coast.
Of late, the Jeep has been victimized by her dogs. One day, her new search dog in-training Chief a monster German shepherd dog, still growing into his gangly frame was put up in the Jeep while his older and wiser sister search dog strutted her stuff. Chief was not pleased.
Possessed with juvenile exuberance and impatience, Chief barked and howled while Nancy and Jazz went off in search of their victim. I asked him to settle down but he would have none of it. He glared at me with yellow wolf eyes while chomping on the rim of the half open side window.
Eventually he quieted down and I went about some other search training business of my own. Sometime later, Nancy, K-9 Jazz, and a rescued victim returned to base camp. Nancy debriefed and detailed the essence of the planned search which culminated in a once again successful find for team Nancy/Jazz. Jazz was congratulated, patted, and watered. It was time to switch dogs and work with the Chiefster who was untypically rather quiet.
The morning calm was shattered by Nancys wails Chief, what did you do? Sheepishly, Chief exited the Jeep with tufts of a cottony substance clinging to his jowls. Suffering from separation anxiety, frustration and a host of other unhappy dog emotions, Chief took to gnawing on the cushioning of the rear door panel of the Jeep. All that was left of the inside door were skeletal remains.
I sat in the blemished Jeep and asked Nancy if a rock hit the cracked windshield. No, pit bull skull, she replied. Nancy has three dogs two German shepherd search dogs, and a sturdy pit bull house pet. Nancy explained the circumstances of the day the canine cranium met the Jeep windshield. The pit and Nancy were driving about doing some errands. The pits seating preference on that day and all others, shepherds or no shepherds, was riding shotgun.
As Nancy maneuvered the Cherokee toward an intersection she espied another car to the right, in her peripheral vision, that appeared to be ignoring its imperative to obey a stop sign. Reflexes kicked in and her right foot slammed onto the brake pedal. That instinctive move saved the Jeep from a crushing insult to the fender. But nothing could save it from the massive pit head which slammed into the passenger-side windshield like a battering ram.
I examined the smashed windshield again and asked, Gee, Nance, hows the dog?
Oh, shes fine. She shook her head and wagged and wiggled as I checked out her head, said Nancy, who as a volunteer EMT has seen plenty of smashed heads, albeit the human variety.
This prelude brings me to the topic of car restraints for dogs.
I like to take my dogs with me in the car. I always have but we now live in a different, crowded, hectic world and my former dog car riding habits no longer pertain. I was never as rash as to put my dogs in the back of a pickup bed but I would normally let them ride shotgun.
Any sudden stop will propel them straight into the windshield or even through it. Sitting in the backseat is no better and my dogs would never sit in the back if they were given the opportunity to crawl up front right next to me.
For a brief moment I considered a doggie seat belt device. I researched the different options and finally settled upon a particular manufacturer mainly because they gave me a prototype to use and test out. I was assured that it was state-of-the-art and made with parachute-quality materials. Judging by the illustrations on the package it looked like it enveloped the dogs shoulders and chest and somehow hooked into the existing car seat belt. It even came with a video to explain its functions and use. I promptly tossed the video aside. Do I need a movie to show me how to use a piece of dog equipment? After all I know how to correctly harness up a team of horses. This was a dog and some loops of nylon.After about an hour of frustration I re-packaged the harness, along with the video. I vowed to give it to someone who could make use of it.
Eventually I solved the dog transport problem by purchasing a gas guzzling SUV and a couple of dog crates, complete with comfy cushions, that are now comfortably ensconced within. The dogs were trained to eagerly hop right in. Now, I feel reasonably assured that my dogs are safe and sound while car riding.
Give some thought to your car riding habits and your fur pals. There are seat belt laws on the books for a reason. Keep them safe and give them a hug.
