When you bring your pet along for a car ride, there are some safety measures you should keep in mind. Kayla Lamb, Risk Management Advisor, and her furry friend Hooperton Scott hope you remember these tips before hitting the road!
Remember these tips before hitting the road with your furry friend.
- To avoid unnecessary stress and anxiety, work your pet up to longer trips by taking shorter treks before taking on a long expedition.
- Just in case you and your pet become separated, be sure that all ID tags are properly affixed to your pet’s collar and that they have your current contact information, including cell number(s).
- Update your microchip registration and pet license information to ensure its current and consider including the name and phone number of an emergency contact.
- Never leave pets unattended inside of vehicles. Remember that cars heat up fast – even with the windows cracked!
- Properly restrain, contain or crate your pets inside of your vehicle prior to your trip. Consider purchasing a specially designed pet seatbelt, carrier or barrier to avoid irreversible consequences due to distractions or other mishaps.
- Never allow pets to sit on your lap or remain in the front seat while you drive.
- Never allow pets to stick any portion of their bodies out the window. Although most dogs love to stick their heads out open windows, the wind can seriously irritate mucous membranes and blow pieces of grit or other debris into their eyes. Pets could also be seriously injured by objects as you drive down the road.
- Pets should never be transported in the bed of a pickup truck. Not only could your pet injure, or even kill himself/herself – he/she could cause an accident which may harm someone else. It is estimated that at least 100,000 dogs die in accidents each year because they were riding in truck beds.
- Do not leash your pet inside of a truck bed even when parked to avoid strangulation hazards and because open truck beds do not provide any protection from the weather. The hot sun can heat the metal floor of a truck bed enough to burn a pet’s paws. A dog left sitting in the broiling sun without water or shade may suffer from heat stroke.
Keeping pets safe is every pet owner’s responsibility. Being a safe driver is not only your obligation – it’s the law!
-Your friendly SIS Advisor
Move Forward. With Confidence.
PS. Mr. Hopper is thirteen years old and gives amazing hugs!
