Seat Belt for Dogs

Those who believe that dog is man’s best friend must wince whenever they see a pet bouncing around in the back of a pickup truck.

By some estimates, more than 100,000 pets are killed or seriously injured each year on the nation’s roads because they are thrown or jump from vehicles.

George Krekelburg learned the hard way. A couple of years ago, the National City, Calif., man’s Irish setter died of traumatic injuries after leaping from a truck.

Heartbroken, Krekelburg committed himself to inventing a device that would help prevent such tragedies. With a loan from his mother, he started Mother & Son Industries to develop and market Safe*Dog, a patented safety restraint consisting of a leash that slides along a strap stretched between two clamps on the truck’s sides. The pet is free to move within a certain area but can’t fall or jump from the vehicle.

Many drivers who carry their pets in open trucks argue that the animals are well trained and would never think of bolting. However, said Dan Gibbs, vice president of sales and marketing for Mother & Son, “it only takes one time for the dog to lose its concentration and lunge for something. That’s all it takes.”

The $29.95 product, which fits most makes and models of trucks, is sold through pet magazines and humane societies throughout the country. So far, the company has sold about 3,000 of the devices, according to Gibbs, who is also a finance major at San Diego State University.

San Diego joined Los Angeles and about 10 other California counties in enacting legislation effective on Jan. 1 that requires drivers to secure pets in the back of open trucks. Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria), who describes unrestrained pets in vehicles as “an accident waiting to happen,” has introduced a bill to make the law effective statewide.

Given her druthers, Lauren Joniaux, assistant director of the San Diego Humane Society, would, of course, prefer that drivers not carry pets in the back of their pickup trucks. “If people do insist, though, we find this to be an alternative that’s very good.”