BIG scare....

[chellebelle]

Oh my gosh. I'm still in shock. You may remember my doggie, Sophie, I introduced her to you all earlier this year. Well Sophie jumped out of the car. WHILE IT WAS MOVING!

She hasn't been feeling well the past few days, just having tummy problems and acting funny... like being super cuddly, climbing up me and wanting to be held (she's very active and playful, so this behavior is unusual). So I had Robbie take her to the vet while I was at school. On the way home, he had his window rolled down, and was letting her stick her head out. Well all of a sudden she just jumped out while he was going like 35mph!!!!!

I feel like crying just thinking about it. He slammed on his brakes and got her, she was fine and ran up to him. But oh my gosh, there were about 5 cars driving behind him. One of those could've hit her, or oncoming traffic. And people can be impatient when traffic is stopped... I'm so glad no one pulled out from behind and decided to go around thinking it was a stalled car or something. When Robbie called me, I couldn't even breathe. I was driving and I seriously felt like being sick. I have this crazy phobia of dogs jumping out of cars. I see them hanging out the window or in the back of a truck and just pray that they don't jump! It's just a big fear of mine so I never roll my windows all the way down when Sophie's in the car. I roll them maybe higher than halfway down (or I guess to the point where she couldn't fit and jump out). It terrifies me!!! Ughhh and my nightmare came true. Robbie knows I'm afraid and hate it, but I guess he just didn't think a dog, especially our dog, would ever jump out of a moving vehicle. I wouldn't think so either, but again, I have that phobia. I don't know what posesses a dog to do it, but she did it! I guess she didn't know. I'm trying to let go of the "what if's" because I'm just so glad she's okay. I can't help but feel like a bad parent though.

It was just such a BIG SCARE. She's my BABY! A miracle baby at that, she landed on her feet and without a scratch. Thank goodness that someone was watchin over my puppy today. Anyways, thanks for reading, I'm all alone and just had to let it out somehow. My nerves are so frazzled and my stomach is still in knots.

And of course I have share a pic of my little angel baby.... (she's bigger now, but I don't have any recent pics on my computer) Such a doll face.

P.S. That's a piece of a toy stuck in her furry face.

 

[Mara]

chelle i am so sorry to hear about your scare....i think my heart would literally have stopped if that happened to me. but you really should have some sort of restraint or something for sophie while riding in the car.

our trainer told us some horror stories about dogs riding loose in cars, as a result portia only goes in a car if she has her doggie seatbelt on. they are required for people to have them on to keep them safe, so why would it be safe for a dog to be riding loose in a car? forget jumping out, what about getting into an accident? the thought of the dog hitting the windshield at 60mph is horrible.

portia''s doggie seatbelt was $25 and it is a godsend. she loves riding in the car and this way i can roll down the window and know she''s as safe as i am. hopefully you guys will get something like that and train her to wear it. that way nothing like this will ever happen again. anyway there are various brands out there but portia''s favorite that she is most comfortable in is made by Travelin Dog and they sell it at petsmart and at various stores online.

she''s such a doll...give her lots of hugs from us!!

 

[chellebelle]

Thanks Mara. I never knew about the doggie belts. I wish I would've known about them sooner. Honestly, we never knew anything like that existed. Being first time dogowners, I guess we just saw dogs riding in cars roaming freely and thought that's how dogs rode around in cars. Seatbelts for dogs. Genius. Sophie hardly rides in the car and most often I bring the crate along and crate her, but even then it's not safely secured, which I never even thought about. Even when I try to put the seatbelt over it, it's kinda weird. How irresponsible. *sigh* I might as well be Britney Spears riding around with a baby on my lap!

Duh. I really am frustrated with myself. Well maybe other people will read this and go out and buy doggie seatbelts. I'm going to buy one tomorrow and Sophie is just going to have to like it. She's getting spoiled (our fault), but I'd rather have a whining Sophie than a hurt Sophie. Thanks for the recommendation, I'm going to PetSmart ASAP!!!

 

[chellebelle]

So Mara, is this what it looks like? I know you said doggie "seatbelt".... is it more of a harness? I found this at PetSmart online.... it''s the Comfort Ride Travelin Dog Harness....

Thanks again!

 

[VegasAngel]

Wow how scary! Glad she is ok though.


They have lots of dog seatbelts on ebay too.

 

[Mara]

hehe yes that''s it...it''s a harness, i just call it a seatbelt !! portia LOVES it because she knows it means she''s goin'' for a ride!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Oh dear--how upsetting! Glad the little sweetie is OK.

cheers--Sharon

 

[MelissaSue]

You are really lucky she is okay. i was JUST reading in my town paper that there was a doggie around here that jumped out of the owners car while it was moving and got struck by an oncoming car.. It didn''t say whether the doggie lived or not.. it was just the police report summaries I was reading.. but I''m thinking the doggie didn''t make it.. I felt ill reading the story.. of course it was no ones fault.. just so tragic..

I guess you should not let doggie stick their head out the window no matter how much they like it! keep those windows up!

Your doggie is BEAUTIFUL.

 

[Mara]

chelle, since this thread was bumped up that reminds me, did you get sophie the seatbelt?!?! i should take a picture of portia in hers, its kinda funny but she LOVES it becuase it means she''s goin'' for a ride!

 

[jcrow]

i had no idea about the seatbelt. thanks for posting about it mara! with cosmo, we usually put him in his tote/soft kennel. i always thought it''d be horrible if we were in an accident and if the door were to open, he run. a doggie and the highway- NOT good. turns my stomach just typing it! with the seatbelt, maybe cosmo would feel more a part of the action. i''ll look into that!

and, chellebelle, hope your little one is ok!

 

[sumbride]

Oh, I''m so glad this turned out ok!

When I was a kid, my sister used to drive around with her dogs in the back of the truck. I always worried they would fall out but they didn''t. Then one day, our family dog jumped off the back of the truck at a drive-thru to chase a cat, we think. It was across town and she was missing for 3 days! She actually came home on her own during a thunderstorm (she was afraid of thunder) and we were very impressed that she knew the way, and she was unhurt, but she never rode in the back of a truck again!

Stuff like this is a reminder that you have to be the parent to the pet... they don''t know they can''t fly.

 

[Tybee]

Oh My God!
I''m so glad she was okay! I can totally relate to your shaky feeling Chellebelle! Our dogs are our babies,
aren''t they? Honestly, it makes me wonder if I could actually ever stomach having children with the
guilt and concern I feel about my pets.
Did you end up getting the car restraint? I never considered one, but I might now after reading your post.