Transport | The Furry Tales

Most dogs like car rides. The Furry Tales pack does. It almost always means they’re going somewhere fun! (The vet may be an exception.)

I’m sure many dogs enjoy sticking their heads out the window and enjoying the breeze. However, there are safety considerations when you travel with a dog. None of us would ever dream of letting an infant ride in a car without appropriate safety restraints, but yet, there are so many people who carefully strap in their kids and then let their dog ride loose. If you have a 120km/h collision, your pooch could end up seriously hurt.

PET BOOSTER SEAT (Lucy)
Sisi and Lucy get chauffeured around by Sisi’s boyfriend. Lucy used to sit on Sisi’s lap during car rides, in the passenger seat. Lucy got so used to it that even when Sisi’s boyfriend drove alone, Lucy would be moving around the entire ride, trying to climb onto his lap. That was a mistake because one time, Nathan was distracted by Lucy and got into a minor car accident. Lucy flew off her seat and fell onto the floor. Ever since then, she’s never liked sitting alone and always needs to be on somebody’s lap. So a car seat was purchased (from Rao Canine).

Lucy’s car seat is the Solvit Tagalong Pet Booster Seat, Deluxe. It is very easy to assemble and comes with a detachable quilt you can remove for washing. The seat is designed to be supported from below, providing an unobstructed view. Your pet can look out the window because the seat is suspended. The dog is leashed to the hook in the base of the seat so your dog can not jump out of the seat. Lucy doesn’t love it because she prefers to sit on her mama’s lap, but this way is much safer because she is secure.

Pet seat is suspended from the headrest in the back seat.

Hello!

CAR SEAT COVER (Muddy)
Muddy is usually sprawled out over the entire back seat of Tanya’s car. He has a seat cover that creates a hammock for him to sit on. It prevents him from rolling around and falling off the seat. The seat cover also closes up the gap between the driver’s seat and passenger seat, so that if there is a hard brake or accident, it would help prevent Muddy from flying forward through the gap. He is encouraged to always be seated or lying down (to be fair, he doesn’t need much convincing). Muddy enjoys car rides, is always calm and never tries to come to the front which could be very dangerous.

Dozing off, he loves car rides!!

TAXI (Olive)
Olive does most of her traveling in her friends’ cars or in a public taxi. Vicky has trained Olive to lie down or sit down on the floor between her feet, and she is never allowed on the seat. This reassures cab drivers and also gives more control over the nervous dog, in need.

Olive always sits on the floor between Vicky’s feet in taxis.

DOG CRATE (Kafka and Lulu)
Kafka and Lulu love car rides. If you have a car door or SUV trunk open, Kafka will try to jump in. Once, Kafka wanted to go into a Mercedes but his mama told him that’s not her car, she’s not that rich. Vivien transports Lulu and Kafka in the massive dog crate in her van. They have been trained to relax in the crate since they were puppies. The crate is big enough to hold them both and they can both lie down and relax in there during car rides.

Kafka and Lulu share the Petmate Giant Sky Kennel.

There is a sad story behind why Lulu was adopted. Vivien’s first German Shepherd died in a car accident. Her dog was sitting in the back seat when her friend lost control of the car while driving at 70mph (130km/h) on a highway in Texas. The car hit the side of a ramp, flipped over and was totaled. Because the passengers had seat belts on, they did not sustain grievous injuries. However, her German Shepherd was so traumatized that it ran out onto the highway and got hit by a truck. From then on, Vivien’s always used a dog crate for transport and highly encourages people to use seat belts even for their pets. Lulu was adopted after this incident to fill the hole in Vivien’s heart.