Tuesday 14 July 2009

BEWARE FLYING DOGS – CLUNK, CLICK EVERY (CANINE) TRIP!

Road Safety Champion, GEM Motoring Assist is warning motorists of the dangers of travelling with unrestrained animals in the car and is urging drivers to remember to Clunk Click every canine trip!

We often hear about the dangers of leaving dogs in cars on hot days, but not enough is said about what happens to dogs, regardless of their size, when a car is involved in an accident.

We’ve all seen that classic scene – the dog’s head sticking eagerly out of the car window, wind blowing back the ears, tongue lolling, nose eagerly sniffing the fast passing smells – doggy heaven! But the dog-loving owner would be horrified to find out what would happen to Fido in the event of an accident.

The scenarios are too awful to contemplate – a simple impact could see your dog dead or badly injured, let alone what might happen to you or your other human passengers who are literally in danger of being killed by your best friend. To put in context, travelling at just 30 miles an hour, if you were to have an impact, an unrestrained average sized dog weighing around 50lbs would be thrown forward with a force equivalent to almost nine 12 stone men.

David Williams MBE, GEM’s Chief Executive said: “Many people simply have no idea of the dangers to both the dog and others when travelling with an un-restrained animal. And with more people staying in the UK this summer, we expect to see even more animals being taken on long journeys so we are urging drivers to consider their pet as well as the rest of the family when it comes to car safety.”

We don’t always have the boot space or the money for a proper dog travelling cage or carriers in our car, but there is an excellent and cheaper solution which is perfect - dog car safety belts and harnesses.

There are several types of dog car safety belts and harnesses. If your dog already wears a harness type collar then there is a simple safety belt that attaches to your dog’s harness and the car seat belt and costs around £7.

Dog car seat harnesses cost around £12 - £20 depending on the size of your dog. These harnesses are completely padded and easily attach to your car seat belt and come in a variety of colours.

GEM is offering a chance to win your dog a harness, and is giving away 1 harness a week through its website until the end of September. To be in with a chance of winning, simply visit www.motoringassist.com/dogs. Enter your details and you will be included in a weekly draw plus there’s a link to download a safety leaflet produced by ROSPA with more information about travelling with your pet.

Source: GEM Motoring

A connection between motoring and dogs also exists at Veloce ...


For nearly eighteen years, the folk at Veloce have concentrated their publishing efforts on all-things automotive. Now, in a break with tradition, the company launches a new imprint for a new publishing genre!
The Hubble & Hattie imprint will be the home of a range of books that cover all-things animal; be these dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, elephants – all produced to the same high quality of content and presentation as our motoring books, and offering the same great value for money.

Forthcoming dog books from Hubble & Hattie (click covers for more info).

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