pet connection

In response to our recent post about a dog that went for a surprise joyride when he inadvertently kicked the shifter from park into neutral, dedicated DogCars.com reader Patti Skorupa sent us a chilling comment.

It’s part of a letter that she received from a friend that detailed a similar, yet scarier incident.

We had some trauma last week, sorry to say. I double-parked my car to deliver a package to a parishioner. I was only gone for about 30 seconds, but Maisie was so enthusiastic upon my return, she jumped from the back to the driver’s seat, and in doing so she disengaged the emergency brake and shifted the gears. Since we were at the top of a steep street, the car began to roll. I tried to stop the roll, but in doing so, I fell, broke my left foot, and collapsed to the pavement. In absolute horror I watched the car careen down the street, envisioning worst case scenario: people dead, wounded, maimed; tremendous property loss if the car crashed into a house . . . and an injured or dead doggie.

Thank God, the car only went the distance of a two houses, when it swerved to the right, and crashed into a curb-side parked car, with no people inside it. Upshot of the situation, the car our car hit was a tank-like SUV, which suffered almost no damage. Our car was totaled [broken axle], but Maisie suffered no damage and I only suffered a broken foot. Which is small potatoes given what could have happened!

As a longtime lover and breeder of flatcoated retrievers and owner of the Ardenwood News, Patti says that she keeps the note as a reminder to the parents of new pups.

“. . . puppies can and will do what you never expected, and crate training is a must, both at home, and in the car.”

Thanks, Patti, for those words of wisdom.