With New Pet Products, Buckling Up Isn’t Just for Humans

If you’re taking your pets along on your end-of-summer vacation, you can prevent accidents and injuries by keeping the furry creatures under control in your vehicle.

A loose dog or cat roaming around your car or minivan poses the risk of distracting the driver or injuring itself and others during a sudden stop or crash.

Despite the common-sense notion that pets on the loose can only mean trouble, there are no known research studies of the issue and no laws in California to prevent your dog or cat from riding unrestrained in the front or back seat. And auto makers have generally sidestepped the issue, seeking not to give any advice that may later be used against them (Highway 1, Nov. 19).

Bucking this trend, Saab of Sweden earlier this year became the first auto maker to offer a line of restraints and accessories designed to make traveling with your dog or cat safer and more enjoyable.

“Pets are subject to the same safety hazards as their owners when traveling unrestrained in a car,” says Stephen Janisse, a spokesman for Saab Cars USA, the auto maker’s U.S. marketing and distribution arm. “We did some pretty extensive research, and as far as we can tell, about 60% [of Saab customers] like to travel with their pets.”

Saab developed its Pet Gear equipment line in consultation with the Humane Society of the United States, which endorses the products and receives a portion of all sales, Janisse says. The equipment was introduced in April with the debut of the 1999 Saab 9-5 station wagon.

*

The auto maker, which thus far has reported modest sales of the equipment, is tapping into a potentially huge market for pet seats, harnesses and restraint systems, given the more than 110 million dogs and cats Americans own and the large portion that apparently ride along in the car.

Indeed, a recent survey by the American Animal Hospital Assn. found that 35% of U.S. pet owners take their dogs and cats on vacation, 61% take them in the car on errands and 39% include their pets on day trips to the beach and other destinations.

Although agencies such as the California Highway Patrol and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration don’t keep statistics on how many accidents, injuries or traffic citations are related to loose animals in vehicles, the issue is a concern, says Sharon Granskog, a spokeswoman for the American Veterinary Medical Assn.

“Obviously, your pet needs to be restrained in a car,” she says. “Not only can the animals be injured, but they can become a projectile in an accident and injure others.”

Officer Frank Sandoval, a spokesman for the CHP, says accidents and injuries related to loose animals in cars are rare--in fact, he can’t recall ever personally ticketing a driver for allowing an animal to pose a danger in a car. But he concedes that loose pets sitting on a driver’s lap could be a problem.

Although there’s no law prohibiting animals from roaming loose inside a vehicle, it is illegal in California to keep pets in the back of an open truck.

Nevertheless, some dog owners continue to do so, says Dr. Peter Eddy of the Veterinary Centers of America’s Lakewood Animal Hospital in Bellflower.

“The most common injuries I see are in dogs that have been chained in the back of a truck and they try to jump out,” he says. “The injuries can range from body abrasions to fractures, shock and death,” says Eddy, who treats emergency and critical-care cases.

Best-selling author Stephen King, known for his terrifying tales of horror, became a victim of a pet-induced accident in June. King was seriously injured when he was struck by a van as he walked along a country road near his home in rural Lovell, Maine. The driver of the van reportedly lost control of the vehicle after he was distracted by his dog, which was loose in the vehicle.

*

Saab sells a line of 10 pet products through its dealerships and through its mail-order and online accessory catalogs.

Its Batzi Belt restraint system attaches to one of the rear safety belts and comes in three sizes, for small, medium and large pets; the belt, bearing the Saab logo, sells for $19.95. The auto maker also offers the VersaLeash, a restraint designed specifically for the cargo area of the 9-5 wagon; the harness, made of black Italian leather and designed to be worn with the Batzi Belt or a leash, costs $24.95.

In addition to such safety-related items, Saab markets a $62.95 pet backpack (“Lets your pet pitch in and help,” the catalog reads) and a $21.50 spill-proof travel bowl for your pet’s food and water.

Of course, you don’t have to own a pricey Saab to buy protection for your pet.

Aquiline Innovations Corp. is one of the dozens of firms that have jumped into the pet safety arena. Its Comfort Ride is a 6-inch-high seat that fits on a car or truck seat and is held in place by the safety belt; it retails for $59.95 through pet product catalogs. Perfect for lap dogs, it’s designed to secure pets no heavier than 30 pounds, says Randy Wilson, president of Aquiline, which is based near Sacramento.

The firm even capitalizes on the King accident by marketing Comfort Ride as “Cujo’s Revenge,” a takeoff on the author’s book about a killer dog named Cujo.

Buckle-Up Concepts Inc. of Broomfield, Colo., is another company with an interesting pitch for a pet product. It sells a belt that can be adjusted to fit any animal capable of wearing a harness, whether it’s a dog, a cat or--as Buckle-Up’s advertising suggests--a ferret.

*

Jeanne Wright cannot answer mail personally but responds in this column to automotive questions of general interest. Write to Your Wheels, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Via e-mail: highway1@latimes.com.