With them in the back, I am free from doggy distractions and able to focus on driving. Earlier this week, we were the third and final vehicle in line waiting for the light to change from red to green. I looked into my rear view mirror and spotted a white Toyota Tundra 4-by-4 truck barreling our way. Bam! This giant white truck collided into the rear of my SUV, propelling it forward. Fortunately, there was enough of a gap that I did not hit the vehicle in front of me.

My first thought: my dogs. As I opened my door, I fell onto the pavement, picked myself up and hurried to the passenger side to open the door leading into the middle row of seats. “Chipper! Cleo! Are you okay?” I cried out.

As I opened the door, I saw my two dogs shaking violently, cowering and lip licking. I then went to the back hatch that was miraculously able to open despite the more than $3,500 in damage done to the vehicle.

Chipper and Cleo know the “stay” command – which they heeded as I quickly put their leashes on them and assessed them. They were clearly scared, but uninjured. Whew. The gate kept them from propelling forward in my car and possibly, through the windshield.

I was not so lucky. A three-hour trip at urgent care revealed I had whiplash, soft tissue damage to my neck and shoulders, a swollen left shin – not to mention a rattled state of mind.

The driver of the truck and I were able to limp our vehicles a block away into the Oceanside High School parking lot to exchange information. As fate would have it, a police squad car was there. Naturally, the officer was a K-9 officer with his trained German shepherd, Ranger, in his squad car. Call it pet karma.

The driver of the truck readily took full responsibility and the reporting of the accident was handled in a civil manner. Chipper and Cleo were able to walk on leashes with no signs of injury for which I am grateful. Each sport collars with their names and my phone number embroidered on them – as well as microchips. My cell phone identifies three people on my “in case of emergency” list and all three know my pets, my veterinarian’s information and access to my house.

Accidents can happen to anyone at any time. But, I share this as a reminder of the importance of keeping our dogs as safe as possible when they ride with us in our vehicles. It saddens – and frustrates – me when I see little dogs riding on the laps of drivers with their heads and sometimes, front legs dangling out the car window. Or big dogs untethered in the back of truck beds. Or dogs racing back and forth in the middle seats with no harnesses or restraints.

Seriously, folks – show how much you really love your dogs – and cats and other traveling pets – by keeping them safe when you drive. Last year, I happily agreed to post a short safety video for the “Be Smart, Ride Safe” campaign being conducted by Bark Buckle Up and “Pet Safety Lady” Christina Selter.

She shares these facts:

• A 60-pound pet becomes a 2,700 pound projectile, at just 35 miles per hour.
• Pet travel has increased 300 percent since 2005.
• Unrestrained pets delay emergency workers’ access to human occupants.
• Pets escaping post-accident pose many dangers, including catching the loose pet.
• Injured pets may bite first responders and rescue workers.
• Pets may escape through a window or open door and cause a second accident.
• Driver distraction is common when unrestrained pets are rambunctious.

Selter created the “Be Smart, Ride Safe” pledge, allowing pet-owners to commit to being safer with pets for the safety of the owner, the safety of pets and to protect first responders. I encourage you to get size-appropriate harnesses for pets who travel in the middle seats or inside pet carriers that can be held in place with seat belts and to never allow your pet to ride in the front passenger seat due to driver distraction and the airbag deployment injuries.

I hope you check out the Bark Buckle Up site for more helpful info, including how to obtain a pet safety kit you can keep in your vehicle’s glove box.

As I type this, I am wearing a neck brace and taking medication to relive the pain in my neck and back muscles. And, I am delivering prayers of gratitude that Chipper and Cleo escaped physical harm and are cuddled up next to me. Let’s be safe on the roads – for the sake of ourselves, others and our pets.

Photo credits: Arden Moore, www.fourleggedlife.com

An estimated 1,200 dogs at a Kansas kennel were euthanized after an outbreak in Wyoming of the highly contagious disease distemper was linked to the large-scale breeding operation.

Kansas Livestock Commissioner Bill Brown said the state started investigating the Beaver Creek Kennels near Oberlin in September after being contacted by Wyoming’s state veterinarian about distemper cases at a pet store in Cheyenne.

Brown said Wednesday that the Kansas Animal Health Department quarantined the kennel twice after investigators confirmed several cases of distemper in puppies that were being sold out of state. When breeder Jeff Fortin couldn’t sell dogs because of the quarantines, he ran out of money to pay staff members and take care of the animals. [...]  Brown said no shelters would take the dogs because of the outbreak, so the decision was made to euthanize them.

Here’s the rest. Wait, you say! Isn’t distemper preventable with an inexpensive vaccine? Why yes, it is.  But Mr. Fortin isn’t exactly the kind of person who seems to care about such details as providing medical care for his “livestock.”After all, as the same article reports:

Nearly three years of USDA inspection reports for Fortin’s kennels show violations for things like failure to keep adequate records, failure to adequately treat animals with health problems and allowing trash, junk and discarded kennel materials near large dog enclosures.

USDA spokesman David Sacks said Fortin was fined $8,795 in February 2006 for facility violations, and was issued a warning letter in March for facility violations and denying access to inspectors.

The State of Kansas has agreed to let him get back in business after six months, by the way.

A better way to spay: Writing for the Whole Dog Journal, Pet Connection favorite Dr. Nancy Kay (we like her so much we let her borrow our Dr. Tony Johnson for her blog when she was in the hospital!) looks at spay surgeries that remove ovaries only, instead of the entire reproductive system (hey, weren’t we talking about this the other day?). From the article:

When some savvy veterinarians took a fresh look at performing spays, a surgery we’ve been doing the exact same way for decades, they came up with a revised technique that accomplishes all of the objectives of the spay surgery with fewer complications.

[...]

What happens when we leave the uterus behind? Isn’t it subject to becoming diseased later in life? Actually, the incidence of uterine disease in dogs whose ovaries have been removed is exceptionally low. Pyometra (pus within the uterus), is the most common uterine disorder in unspayed dogs, and typically necessitates emergency surgery to remove the uterus.Without the influence of progesterone, a hormone produced by the ovaries, pyometra does not naturally occur. The incidence of uterine cancer is extremely low in dogs (0.4 percent of all canine tumors) – hardly a worry, and studies have shown that the frequency of adult onset urinary incontinence (urine leakage) is the same whether or not the uterus is removed during the spay procedure.

If you are not already convinced that the “new spay is the better way,” consider the following complications that can be mitigated or avoided all together when the uterus remains unscathed.

Go on … click over. It’s really cool stuff.

The wisdom of crowds? We have enough people trying to comment on this blog who are obviously being paid by one company or another to boost their benefactor or tear down a competitor to make me suspicious of any site that offers anonymous reviews of anything, from a restaurant to a car mechanic to a veterinarian. And frankly, I would never choose a health-care professional for me or my pets based even on reviews with actual names attached. That’s because too many times what others value does not match up with my thinking on priorities. Cheap and convenient seems to be what a lot of people are looking for in a veterinarian, but competence, cutting-edge knowledge and compassion is what I want. If I needed any more reason to ignore review sites when it comes to healthcare  — which I don’t, really  — I’d have found it on the VIN New Service.  In an article last week, VNS reported on negative reviews turning up on website regarding a veterinarian about the same time that a service offered to help her remove the negative comments — for a fee.  Everyone denies everything, but … well, read it for yourself.

And while we’re on the subject of anonymous commenters who aren’t representing themselves honestly, I’m guessing the sudden uptick in people swearing by so-called “anesthesia-free dental cleanings” has something to do with this, also reported by the VIN News Service.  We always attract a fair number of outraged “customers” who swear by the cosmetic-at-best non-alternative to what veterinarians do, but they usually turn up on one of these posts of Christie’s.

Sociopaths aren’t fixable: Did your head explode over the suggestion by HSUS alpha dog Wayne Pacelle that Michael Vick would probably one day make a fine pet-owner? You wouldn’t be alone. Nor would you be alone in noting that the focus  of one history’s  biggest and likely most expensive PR campaigns ever sees the addition of a dog as the next step in his image overhaul. Not because he, you know, gives a damn about animals. Oh, but he does think his daughters are being short-changed because they can’t have a dog. Mr. Vick, if it were up to me,  you wouldn’t be allowed near your children, either.

For the record, I do agree with Terrierman Patrick Burns’ assertion that shelters kill more pit-bulls than Michael Vick ever could have because efforts to reduce the numbers of pit-bulls to better match number of people who want and/or can care for these dogs have utterly failed. (Although I don’t agree with all his conclusions on how to change that.)

But you know, I gotta tell you: It’s not for lack of trying on Sick Vick’s part. He and his pals killed as many as they could, but he did have to take time out to play football.

Here’s the thing: I can actually think Michael Vick is unrepentent slime AND also think we have failed to protect many more pitbulls than the ones he owned. I’m good at multitasking!

Better care for animals and people in Afghanistan: One of my many veterinarian friends had two wishes growing up. She wanted to serve her county as a soldier, and she wanted to be a veterinarian. So she signed up to have her schooling paid for by the U.S. Army, and then put in a few year of active duty and a quite a few more in the reserves. She spent part of her military career caring for the Army’s K-9 soldiers, but a lot of what she did was public-health outreach in other countries. I thought of her when reading this article by Maj. Loren Adams, DVM, about his work developing rabies-control programs in the Kunar province, working with local veterinarians. If you don’t know about the important role veterinarians play in public health or the important work they do in our military, you ought to give it a read.

A whale of a tale … but it’s true: A hat-tip to regular reader Dorene for passing along a link to a BBC story about a dog who sniffs out whales for a living on the Oregon coast. Wonderful pictures, too.

Honda says it’s not so Elemental: Finally, the sad news that Honda has decided to stop production on the two-time DogCars.com Best In Show DogCar of the Year, the Honda Element. The 2011 model year will be its last. We shutter the DogCars.com website, and Honda ditches the Element. Coinkidink? Hmmmm. Notes Autoweek:

Rather than the Generation Y-ers for whom it was originally intended, the ute mainly appealed to 50-year-olds and animal lovers.

I’ll be 53 in a couple of weeks, and you know how I feel about animals. Guess it’s no surprise I love that vehicle! In fact, if you haven’t picked out a gift yet …

***

David will be back Monday. Send your tips and links to PetConnectionNews@gmail.com.

We also do silly, heartwarming and just plain cool pet stuff, because we all need this from time to time.

Christie and I started this blog, before I became business partners with Dr. Becker, before she started consulting for Maddie’s Fund and long before we brought new bloggers and an advisory team on board. During the pet-food recall in 2007, we worked 24/7 (me on the day shift, Christie on the night shift) for about six weeks trying to report what had happened (overseas crooks misrepresenting ingredients), how many thousands of pets were killed or sickened (tens of thousands in all) and what could be done to prevent a recurrence (alas, the food system for pets and people continues to be a grave threat to our health).

In time, we brought in more bloggers, and we’re still adding them now. Our advisory team is about to jump by another half-dozen top veterinarians and one well-known pet-care expert, and we still have our eyes on a couple more people to join us. None of our bloggers or advisory team members are full-time: They’re working veterinarians, dog-trainers and reporters specializing in pet care.

Earlier this year, we here at PetConnection talked about how we can make our entire website more helpful to visitors. We’ve always had a free searchable archive of articles, a free e-mail newsletter and, of course, this blog that a lot of people enjoy following. After much discussion, we decided to break out two new sections for the website, one that’s splitting off from this blog (and absorbing the content from our now-defunct DogCars.com website) and another that’s completely new, a section set aside just for the video podcasts.

The blog  for reviews of products, book and vehicles is already live, although I’m still adding the content from DogCars.com to it, as well as older product reviews moving from this blog to the new one. We’ll “tease” to new reviews on this blog, but the entire review will be in the new section. Our Ericka Basile will continue to coordinate our product reviews, and starting Jan. 1, our Phyllis DeGioia will coordinate book reviews. I will coordinate the DogCars reviews, and will write them along with Kim Campbell Thornton, who picked them up when I flat-out got tired of driving a new car every week. (Yes, it happens, but in my case it took three years.) Click on “Product Reviews” in the top navigation to get to that new section. (For more on our product-review policies, click here.)

Within a couple of weeks or so, we’ll have a “Videos” tab in the navigation bar, and that new section will also be live. Relatively inexpensive HD videocams are pretty common these days, and so, too, is basic video-editing software. In addition to a monthly video from Dr. Becker, we’ll be featuring video reports from conferences, and video features from other members of our PetConnection team.

Finally, we’ll be beefing up our existing online store in the weeks to come to include 99 cent e-books as well as all the books authored by our advisory team and bloggers — which is a lot of books, as in dozens and dozens. We’re also going to play with some other items in the store, but that’s still not far enough along to have firm details. More information when I have it.

Hope you enjoy the additions!

Kim and her crew thoroughly enjoyed the sporty feel and driving ability of the Mazda3 around the hills of Southern California, but not before she tested various configurations for crates in the compact hatchback to ensure that her three small pups would be safely secured during their daily driving.

However, while the Mazda3 was able to handle her needs, Kim points out that drivers with bigger dogs or heavier hauling duties will want to opt for something a bit more sizable than the petite Mazda3.

“Read on if you’re an urban dweller with a small or medium-size dog or three who wants a car that’s fun to drive, easy to park, and gets good mileage. Skip it if you live out in the country with two or more large or giant dogs and need a vehicle that can haul big crates and bales of hay.”

Read the rest of Kim’s review here, and all of our pup-tested vehicle reviews at DogCars.com.

As the net’s top resource for dog-loving drivers, the PetConnection’s DogCars.com team tests new vehicles from a dog-lover’s point of view, and then reports our canine-friendly findings in detail, along with a general overall award rating of one-to-five paws.

That’s where the dynasty is developing. One manufacturer has produced models for DogCars.com testing that have all been awarded ratings of five paws – the highest possible honors. One can bet that even if we added a higher rating – say, five paws and a tail wag – this automaker would still be on top.

The winner is . . . Subaru!

The Japanese automaker has done nothing but impress the heck out of our DogCars.com reviewers. A few months back, the 2010 Subaru Outback scored five paws in a review by Kim Campbell Thornton, who admittedly owns an Outback as her personal DogCar of choice.

And now the 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium has arrived in Kim’s driveway for testing, and the results are the same as they were when we tested the 2007 version – five paws!

Here’s a sneak peak at Kim’s review:

The 2010 Subaru Forester has grown up to be a practical and attractive vehicle. Because I have small dogs, height isn’t essential, but I prefer to be able to fit my crates in the cargo area without giving up valuable passenger space. Thanks to a longer wheelbase, that’s now possible.

You can read the rest of Kim’s review, and many others at DogCars.com.

Another reason to stick with Subaru is the fact that Consumer Reports has named the 2010 Subaru Forester its top pick in the Small Sport Utility Vehicle category.

That’s certainly worth a wag or two!

But the idea of a achieving a rating of five paws is a little bit off. After all, isn’t five paws on a dog considered a bit of an odd occurrence? Inquiring minds wanted to know how this was a good thing in a vehicle rating. Plus, some automakers shied away from wanting to achieve high DogCar status, especially if their pride and joy model had the opportunity of being nominated for “DogCar of the Year.”

DogCar of the year, is that a good thing? They quietly asked.

Well, as it turned out, it is a VERY good thing, as proven by the success of the Honda Element, the very first (and subsequent repeat) winner of the DogCars.com Best In Show award.

However, just as five paws on a dog is a rarity, a five-paw review is as well. It means that the vehicle meets or exceeds the main features that we consider when reviewing a potential DogCar:

• Plenty of interior space for multiple crates;
• Tiedowns or hooks to secure restraints, crates or barriers;
• Good ventilation or outlets for fans in the tailgate area;
• Easy in/out access for all dogs, including miniatures and elderly canines;
• Ability to do at least a minimal amount of driving in less-than-ideal circumstances, such  as to get to canine-centered activities that are off the beaten path.

So it deserves some sort of recognition when we find a vehicle that rates a full five paws. When DogCars.com reviewer Kim Campbell Thornton completed her test in the 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander, she came away with many more pup-friendly pluses than minuses so, after some consideration, she gave a big High Five to the Outlander.

Read about her Outlander experience and a wide variety of other makes and models at DogCars.com.

Our DogCars checklist includes such must-haves as easy access for smaller or older dogs, fold-flat seats, enough room for crates, and rear climate controls for keeping canines cool. We recently drove a host of potential DogCars that represented a sampling of the style and substance available in today’s vehicles.

Kim Campbell Thornton took her pups Twyla, Bella and Harper on many trips across Southern California in the 2010 Hyundai Tucson GLS, putting the small sport utility vehicle to the test. Her findings revealed that the Tucson is fun to drive, gets good gas mileage and is priced well, but some may find the interior space truly less than big-dog worthy.

Another newcomer that we’ve been excited to test is the 2010 Ford Transit Connect (pictured), a boxy cargo van with a low-to-the-ground clearance and versatile interior that makes it highly attractive to those who routinely travel with lots of dog and lots of gear.

The Jeep Commander was a pleasant surprise because while it looks like a bulldog in armor, it rides as smooth as a silk and carries many of the features necessary to make the grade as a decent DogCar.

And we also put our four-legged friends to work running with the Toyota 4Runner, the fifth generation of this stalwart SUV that is bigger, yet more fuel efficient that the previous model.

To get the details and discover how all these and many other vehicles stack up in our DogCars.com paw ratings, click here.

You see, as PetConnection’s sibling site, DogCars.com takes great pride in the fact that if not for us, the 2010 Dog Friendly Honda Element would most likely not exist. That’s because back in 2007, the doggedly dedicated auto reviewers at DogCars.com came out with our first-ever DogCar of the Year awards for vehicles that are popular among folks who routinely travel with their pups.

Topping off that debut DogCars awards list was the Honda Element, which we honored as Best In Show for 2007. The Element’s versatile cargo area offers many features that dog owners can appreciate, such as an easy-to-clean interior; squared-off rear hatchback that easily fits crates and side doors that open opposite each other to provide extra access for dogs to jump in and out.

The Best In Show award was immediately embraced by Honda, which proceeded to create an advertising campaign that featured our four-legged friends enjoying the dog-friendly attributes of the Element. But Honda didn’t stop there. In 2009, the automaker announced that a special Dog Friendly edition of the Element would soon be available. This special package, which is priced at just under $1,000, offers dog lovers a host of items that are designed to make the ride safer and more comfortable for all involved.

Dog Friendly features include:

– A stowaway rear ramp

– Built-in nylon crate on comfy bed

– Rear fan

– Bone print rubber floor mats

– Built in doggie bowls

– Special dog print emblems

And much more.

The new Dog Friendly Element is so impressive that it warranted a repeat honor as Best In Show for 2010, tied with the versatile Toyota Venza.

The new Element has also been getting plenty of attention and accolades from dog lovers and automotive writers alike. And when you combine the two – an auto writer who loves to travel with dogs – you get a first-hand account of how well Honda had hit the mark with dog owners.

Here’s a sample of what Alex Nunez, of AutoBlog.com, has to say about how his pups rated the Element:

Our Honda Element pooch-pack tester was a loaded, all-wheel-drive EX with navigation ($27,270 MSRP including the dog package). The centerpiece of the kit is a crate secured to the Element’s cargo bay via straps that loop right into the standard floor-mounted tie-downs. Once it’s in there, know that you have zero storage behind the second row seats; the crate eats up all the usable space. Installation is rock-solid, though, and the top and sides of the crate are a breathable mesh material that the dogs can see through. Not that they’ll be seeing too much – the clamshell-style tailgate obstructs their view backwards and the side windows are too high for them to really see out of. Since the roof of the crate is mesh, light still gets in and they can see the sky.

Frankly, I was okay with all this, because my dogs’ general reaction to seeing any living thing out the windows is to bark loudly and incessantly, as if they have just spotted flying saucers unloading giant cat warriors in a mass invasion. That gets old in a hurry. In the Element, Millie and Pepper basically sat quietly once zipped into the crate. However, if your dogs get motion sickness or really like to look out at the passing world, this is likely a less-than-ideal setup

Read the rest of Alex’s review here. And for more dog-focused reviews, check out our comprehensive list at DogCars.com.

What vehicle was the distinguished recipient of that first-ever DogCars.com Best In Show award? And the winner is . . . the Honda Element! The Element’s versatile cargo area and easy-to-clean interior were just some of the key points that made the Element the best among many other vehicles ranked high on the DogCar of the Year list.

The Element’s popularity among dog owners was so impressive that the marketing folks at Honda jumped at the opportunity to capitalize oncater to the dog-loving public by creating a cute little ad campaign featuring pups and the DogCars.com Best in Show logo.

It also set into motion the design of a new dog-friendly version of the Honda Element for 2010 that features a built in dog bed, flexible crate, stow-away ramp and many other accessories that make it appealing to those of us who like to travel with our dogs.

And the praise keeps rolling in for the Element. This year, the Dog Friendly Honda Element was back in the Best In Show winner’s circle when it tied with the Toyota Venza for top honors by DogCars.com.

Last month, Bark BuckleUp named the 2010 Dog Friendly Honda Element as of the Top 10 PetSafe vehicles. And DogSmith.com gave high praise for the Honda Element by endorsing it as the vehicle of choice for dog training professionals.

“The Honda Element reflects our DogSmith standards of superior quality and professionalism in pet care at an affordable price,” says  Niki Tudge  of DogSmith,

Now just because the Element is right for some dog-loving families, doesn’t mean that it’s right for everyone. That’s why DogCars.com provides in-depth reviews of a variety of vehicle makes and models, providing pluses and minus each one tested. Check them out here.

(Photo: Twyla, Harper and Bella pose in the dog friendly Honda Element during DogCars.com reviewer Kim Campbell Thornton’s test drive.)

That’s one of the reasons that PetConnection sister site DogCars.com was developed: To give dog owners a sneak peek at what a vehicle has to offer in the way of protection for our pups and convenience for pup lovers.

DogCars.com reviewer Kim Campbell Thornton puts today’s vehicles to the test as she transports her girls – Twyla, Bella and Harper – on their daily rounds.

In fact, her recently posted reviews of the Nissan Versa and the Mazda CX-9 provide some surprisingly opposite ratings from Kim and crew.

Speaking of DogCar safety, Bark Buckle UP did an extensive study of the safety factors in today’s vehicles and came away with a list of the Top 10 pet safe vehicles. Michael Coates of mightycomm reports from Chicago:

Last week at the Chicago Auto Show, Bark Buckle UP founder and Pet Safety Expert, Christina Selter, announced the winners of the third annual Pet Safe Vehicles[ ... ]at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show.

The Top 10 Pet Safe Vehicles are (in alphabetical order):
Chrysler Town and Country (Similar to the Dodge Grand Caravan)
Dodge Journey
Ford Edge
Ford Flex
Ford Transit Connect
Honda Element (2010 DogCar Best In Show)
Kia Soul
Smart Car
Subaru Outback
Volvo XC60

The safety features that qualify these vehicles are rear climate control, side curtain airbags and d-rings to harness pets.

A whole pack of dogs and their owners appeared Wednesday evening to model proper safety precautions. Selter demonstrated how a full-sized crate can comfortably fit in the back of a Smart Car.

In case of an accident, pets should be secured in vehicles so 1) they don’t get hurt, 2) run out of the car and cause another accident, or 3) attack safety personnel. According to Selter, a 65-pound dog riding in a vehicle going 35 m.p.h. becomes a 2,700-pound projectile if not securely fastened. Traveling with pets in their crates is the most cost-effective safety measure because most people already own a crate.

For these and many other dog friendly vehicle and product reviews, visit DogCars.com.

(Photo:Debbie Freidstat and Bentley show off the pup-carrying capabilities of the Smart car, which took home one of Bark Buckle UP’s Pet Safe Vehicle awards. The Smart has side curtain airbags and D-rings to harness pets, and it also features a fold-flat passenger seat that can hold pet transport carriers.)