To buckle or no to buckle that is our question.
As you will read many times both of our grandfathers where farmers. Their call on this topic is simple. “If a dog is dumb enough to jump out of the bed of the truck or the window, I don’t want it. ”
So they would be shocked that our opinion on this topic is SEATBELT and here are a couple stories to explain why.
First, let’s start with a story close to home. Literally! A few weekends ago Rorschach was coming to visit his beloved grandparents. Oh, his owner was coming too. The window was down and the little guy was enjoying all the smells of deer and other wildlife. Less than three miles from grandma’s house a scary, loud semi truck turned on the street. Rorschach was frightened and went to hide… under his owner’s legs. She was driving… in the middle of a turn. She completed the turn and pulled over to the side of the road. Speaking calmly she tried to get him out of the footwell but he refused. Being the only one in the car she decided that it would be easier to calm him down if she got out of the driver seat, so she stepped out of the car. Keep in mind we live in a small town so the roads are rarely packed. Once she stepped out him started to get out of the footwell. Seeing that he was starting to come out she grabbed his collar to keep him close since they were still near a road. However getting him back into the car was ruff. (pun intended) He slipped out of his collar just as a gas tanker turned onto the road (honestly this girl’s luck). His owner dived and yanked him into the grass on the side of the road, the tanker was 1 block away but it was a little too close for comfort. She had to pick up Rorschach to get him back in the car. She sat down to drive and he went right back to hiding under her legs. She decided it was time to call in the cavalry. Grandma arrived in their big pick-up truck which Rorschach found safety.
Rorschach has gotten used to car rides. Once a week he takes a 20-minute drive to doggy daycare, he takes the hour trip to our parents’ house at least twice a month. During the summer when we welcomed him into our family he spent, even more, time in the car going to our parents’ house, Titan’s house and his own home. He never once had an issue before that day but we do not want to risk it. After Rorschach gave grandma and grandpa kisses we looked up doggy seatbelts and he wears one everytime his been in a car since.
This problem can have been harmful not only to Rorschach but also for his owner.
Nina’s Story
I just learned today the importance of always having a seatbelt and car harness on my girl. She loves riding with the window down. We usually leave it less than half all the way down. We had to swerve all of a sudden on the road and she completely fell out of the window. At first, I thought it was a tree branch hitting the car. I then realized she was hanging outside the car window. I screamed and jumped out of the car(we were on an empty road) thankfully my bf stopped the car right away. I was able to grab her and lift her up. Gypsy is a little shaken up but she’s okay. I’m just thanking this seatbelt and harness for holding up her weight. I will need to readjust her leash length. Lesson learned.
Sarah’s Story
I flipped my truck on the driver’s side in a ditch when I slid on black ice. My girl was seatbelted in the back, she and my cats that were seatbelted in their crates were all perfectly fine. I swear by the seatbelt harness. It really does keep them safe.