Pet Auto Safety

Tuesday, July 15th between 4 and 8 pm, we are going to participate in the Suds of Fun event at U-Wash Puppy in Shawnee, Kansas.  We are displaying and selling some of our products and donating 25% to the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City.  The U-Wash Puppy at 75th and Neiman Rd is giving dog baths for $5 and the first 50 dog washers get fun pack full of dog and people goodies!  Sheridan’s Frozen Custard will be handing out free pup cones to keep everyone cool, plus there will be some adorable dogs up for adoption.  Other pet vendors will be participating in the event as well and donating a portion of the proceeds to the humane society.  So if you live in the Kansas City area, give your dog a bath and help the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City help the homeless animals in your area.

Finding Accommodations
Even though I only live four hours from St. Louis, I have never been there. So I made plans to visit this 4th of July weekend. The first thing I had to do was decide whether or not I was going to take the dogs. I considered a boarding kennel, a pet sitter, or leaving my dogs with a friend. But because it was a holiday weekend, these options were going to be hard to come by. So I decided to take them with me. Once this was determined, I needed to find a hotel that would allow my pets. After some research online at www.PetsWelcome.com, I found that the Sheraton generally accepts pets.

Pre-travel Preparation
Once the hotel was booked, the next thing was to prepare for the trip. I had to not only pack for myself, but for the dogs as well. I packed their food bowls, water bowls, leashes, food, doggy biscuits, doggy poopie bags, crates, dog beds, and most importantly, extra water. I made sure they were in good health (both just had check-ups at the vet a couple weeks ago), that their tags were secure on their collars and up to date, and that my car was prepared for them. The back seat of my car has a car seat cover and I added the Extend-A-Seat which would give them extra room and keep them off the floor. My dogs wore their pet auto safety belts. The strap which buckles into the seat belt receptacle of the car was extended a little so that they had more room to move around but were still safe and secure.

While Traveling
On the way to St. Louis, we stopped at the rest stops along the way. There were three of them, each about 40-60 miles apart. Every interstate highway in the US has rest stops. I made sure the dogs only did their business in the pet area since the rest stops had a place designated specifically for pets. And I made sure I picked up after them. I also gave them water at each stop. Both dogs did great. No one got car sick. Maya was bored and tended to move around a lot, but because of her pet seat belt and the Extend-A-Seat, she was not able to bother me while I drove.

At the Destination
Both dogs were well-behaved at the hotel as well. Maya was a little hyper and wanted to greet everyone but I kept a hold of her leash and made sure she did not jump on or lick anyone. When I left the hotel and had to leave them behind, I kept them in their crates as required by hotel policy. I did not get any reports about them so I assume that they did not bark after I left. I did not always leave the dogs in the hotel when visiting St. Louis. I took them walking even went to a couple of nearby parks.

All-in-all it was a great trip. We all had a good time and we all kept safe. You and your pets can have a safe and pleasant time traveling as well. Just remember the four basics: Accommodation, Preparation, Travel, and Destination.

If your vehicle has passenger side airbags that can not be deactivated, then your dog should not be sitting in the front seat. This is true even if your dog is wearing a pet car safety harness or is in a pet safety travel seat. There is a warning in your vehicle manual and sometimes even on the visor that states no children under a certain age and no children in car seats are to be in the front seat. The vehicle manual generally does not state anything about pets but the same applies. This is because airbags are designed to protect adults and rather than save your pet, an airbag may end up seriously harming or possibly killing your pet instead.

So before allowing your dog to sit in the front seat, make certain that the front passenger side of your vehicle does not have airbags or that those airbags are turned off. And make sure that your dog is wearing a pet car safety harness or is secured to a pet safety travel seat.