SACRAMENTO, CA. America’s recognized pet safety advocate, Bark Buckle UP, whose work with first responders brings the important message of traveling safely with dogs and cats, brought its message to Sacramento this week. Spokeswoman Christina Selter discussed the Bark Buckle Up’s BE SMART—RIDE SAFE® Pet Travel Safety Program and measures pet owners should adapt in their vehicles to lessen the risk of injury and even death when traveling with dogs or cats.
As a direct result of Bark Buckle UP’s mission, first responders, such as police, firefighters and animal rescue agencies throughout the country look for the Bark Buckle UP decal on a car, which alerts them that a dog or cat may be inside or may have escaped from a car involved in an accident. This insures that every effort will be made to get an injured pet to a veterinarian in the shortest possible time, or find the pet if indeed it has escaped from the accident scene.
Commissioner California Highway Patrol (CHP)Joe Farrow, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Capt. Christian Pebbles, Capt. Jim Doucette of the Sacramento Fire Department and Reina Schwartz, director of Animal Care Services discussed the importance of pet travel safety.
“When responding to a collision, our primary concern is coordinating the required medical needs of any of the injured victims and traffic control,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Any delays in the caring of victims because of the need to deal with a frightened or injured animal can and should be avoided.”
“With proper responsibility these animals do not have to die,” said Captain Christian Pebbles Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.
“The Firefighters of the Sacramento Fire Department respond to countless auto accidents. Unfortunately many of these accidents also involve pets that become crash victims, because they are not secure inside the vehicle. Many of our Firefighters are pet owners and we know first hand that by securing your animal inside your vehicle properly, you may save their life in an accident,” stated Captain Jim Doucette Sacramento Fire Department.
Special guest Doctor Tom Kendall, Director American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) demonstrated safety gear and the ease of traveling safe with your pet with his furry friend Sherry.
“Pets play such an important role in our lives; making sure they are safe when traveling helps ensure that they are around for a long time,” said Reina Schwartz, director of Animal Care Services.
National safety statistics indicate the number of pets traveling in vehicles continues to grow—and so do the number of pet fatalities. "I'll bet dog bones to dollars that 99.9 percent of pets travel unrestrained. Our mission is to make first responders—that is, police, fire fighters, and EMT's—aware of the fact that a pet may be a passenger in a car involved in a crash, and that they need to look out for, and care for, that animal if indeed it has been injured—or has gone missing,” Selter explained.
The number of pets traveling with their owners has increased 300 percent since 2005, and over 98 percent of pets that travel in cars are not restrained. “Pet owners need to realize that it is just as important to buckle their pet up as it is to buckle themselves up when the get into a car,” Selter said. “We all know that wearing a seatbelt saves human lives. Well, it saves pet lives, as well. It costs nothing to strap yourself into your seatbelt—but the cost of not wearing a seat belt can cost you your life. The same applies to your dog or cat.”
Crash tests show that a car traveling at 35 mph with an unrestrained 60-pound dog causes an impact of 2,700 pounds in a crash. That’s equivalent to an elephant crashing into a car seat, windshield or worse, a passenger. Chances are an animal cannot survive such an impact. A further difficulty is that an unrestrained pet can impede the progress of first responders. Every second counts in getting to those injured in a car crash. If the crash scene is complicated by a dog that has been injured, or worse yet, has escaped from the car and is frantically running loose, a secondary accident in which the dog runs into oncoming traffic can occur, causing additional injuries or even death.
