Safety tips for driving with pets

Once, when driving on the highway with our disabled kitten, we let our 10-year-old take the animal out to hold. Several cars ahead, a driver lost control, causing a chain-reaction crash. Our daughter wound up with a big scratch as a souvenir of our bad decision; the kitten was fine but not enthusiastic about future car trips.

Here are a few simple steps you can take to make traveling with a pet safer and less traumatic for you both.

Always try to restrain your pet. I tried to use the restraints to hook our two-year-old dog’s collar to the seatbelt, but he got tangled up and was yelping so loudly I nearly crashed the car. But a free-range dog in a car is a big distraction (not to mention a big projectile in the event of a crash), so it’s important to find an option that works for your pet.

Crates are a good idea for rambunctious dogs, especially on long trips or when driving alone. Harnesses are also available to keep the dog safely in the back seat, where it really belongs for its own and its owner’s safety. Pets riding in the front seat can be thrown into the windshield in a sudden stop--or can climb on the driver’s lap and be the one to cause that crash.

If you’re driving an SUV or station wagon, consider a wire or mesh barrier to block access to the back seat from the cargo area.

Don’t open car windows or doors wide enough for your dog to slip out. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals reports that many dogs and cats have escaped through open windows at tollbooths and rest stops. The Partnership for Animal Welfare in Maryland recommends that you keep current tags on your pets in case they get loose, and make sure the contact number is a phone you’ll have with you when traveling.

Dogs, like children, are at risk in parked vehicles. On a hot day, parked cars heat up quickly, even with the windows open. Dogs, like humans, can get heatstroke. It’s not much safer in the winter: A car can act as a refrigerator, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Bring food and water on long trips, but don’t feed Fido on the road. Just provide a light meal a few hours before departure. Provide water at rest stops. If your dog, like ours, is prone to carsickness, get some canine antinausea medicine from your vet, or give the dog some Dramamine. (Check with your vet first to make sure this is OK.)

Keeping your pet safe and healthy during a trip will make the adventure more fun for you both, so take these basic precautions, and enjoy the ride.