RUN, DON'T WALK AND GET YOUR DOODLE A CAR HARNESS RESTRAINT SYSTEM!!

[Kate C Pappas]

 Yindi and I who were in an accident on Saturday on one of the busiest freeways in the world, Interstate 10 in the Los Angeles area. I rear ended a car and while I wasn't traveling at a high speed due to traffic, in a blink of an eye, it happened.

Thank G-d I was driving a big Escalade but it was totaled. I hope the other people in the accident will be OK and I'm still having nightmares about it.

Yindi was wearing her Champion K9 harness that is connected to a tether fastened to "U" shaped tie downs that protrude slightly from the rear seats where the seat belts are.

Within minutes of the accident there were more CHP officers on the scene than I could count. There were fire dept people and some EMTs there instantly.

They wanted to take me to a hospital there and then but I wouldn't go because of Yindi. I had to wait for DH. They had shut down the whole east bound I-10 Fwy so DH managed to work his way over to the shoulder and 'badge' the police to continue down to get to me.

They had to pry my driver's door open to get me out.

A lady behind me, stopped and gave her statement saying only that she saw the crash.

I was sobbing hysterically and she grabbed me and hugged me. It was so sweet and I don't even know her name.

Poor little Yindi was standing up, still tethered, trembling like a leaf. I got out my Lavender essential oil from her grooming bag, and gave her a massage. She trembled until DH got there and carried her to his car.

One of the young CHP officers even hugged me and kept repeating "it was an accident".

My car was towed away and I'll have to go down to the tow yard in the next day or so and get my things out of it. I took anything of value.

We then went to Cedars Sinai where I was checked out and ultra sounded to make sure there was no internal bleeding.

I'll be calling my own doctor's office today although right now she is vacationing in Israel. Wish that's where I was right now.

I feel horrible physically as I slammed my already wrecked knees, my chest, shoulders and neck hurt and I must have hit my head when the airbag deflated.

So PLEASE, seat belt your precious fur babies like you do for yourselves and your human children.

The CHP looked at Yindi in surprise saying in all his years of handling accidents, he'd never seen a dog in a car restrainy. She said she would have gone through the windshield!

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Im so glad your both ok, I hope there are no lasting effects from your injuries. Cooper wears a Kurgo car harness - one thing I must add to all of you, make sure the harness you use is CRASH TESTED, especially for big dogs. If you are in a big crash then the weight of a big dog can cause regular (not crash tested) car harnesses to break. 2 that come to mind that ARE crash tested are Kurgo and Clix, but im sure there are many others. 

Im surprised at how many people DO NOT use any kind of restraint for their dog

[Kate C Pappas]

I've never heard of those but am glad to hear that you did your homework. And yes, the Champions are tested. I like the wideness of the straps as it's very comfortable on the dog.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Kate, I am so sorry that you had the accident at all, but very grateful that you and Yindi were not badly hurt.

[Kate C Pappas]

Thanks Nancy. It's amazing how fast something like that can happen.

[Frances Pendrous (Horan)]

Dear Kate. So very, very sorry this happened to you as I know first-hand what a ghastly experience this all is. It does take months to get over something like this as I recently did the same thing , but not to the extent you did and I did not have the furkids in the car at the time. Now everytime I drive past the place where I rear ended the car, I shudder and find myself being extra cautious. Thank you so much for expressing and sharing the need for all of us to tether our pups with seat belts as I, for one, have been very lax regarding this. After reading you sad story and seeing you poor car, I will definitely invest in two for Frankie and Johnny. I hope you feel better soon and once again, many thanks for trying to prevent us from experiencing the same one day or even worse....xxx

[Kate C Pappas]

I'm so glad to hear you'll be buying restraints! :) And thank you for your kind words.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Boy Kate, what a horrible thing.  I am so glad you and Yindi were in your belts/harnesses.  My husband and I once were at the emergency pet hospital with my mother's dog for a different issue and someone brought in a dog that had been thrown out the back of a station wagon when an accident occurred.  It was sort of a action/reaction type thing.  There was a surgeon being flown in from Sacramento to San Diego to work on the dog.  Horrible thought and we never found out the final results.  I have the same harness as you do and I am guilty to say that I don't always use it for Gracie Doodle.  When I am just going down the hill no more than a mile to the park she is not harnessed.  Though when I drive up for the romps she is always in her harness...Yes, I now get the message loud and clear...ALWAYS in the harness.  Now I need to convince my husband when she is riding with him and I am not around to yell at him!!  I am so glad you both are OK.  How is little Yindi now about getting into cars?  Hope she isn't scared.

[Leslie and Halas]

I hope you are starting to feel better, and that Yindi is her usual self.  This reminded me of something else with the harnesses (and seatbelts for people).  The harness can definitely save your doodle's life, by keeping him from flying around the car in an accident.  But it also prevents your doodle from becoming a dangerous projectile.  Besides the doodle being hurt, that kind of weight flying into another passenger could also seriously injure that passenger.  There was a tragic accident near here this past winter.  Four teenagers were in a pickup truck, the kind with a backseat, on the highway, when the driver lost control, went through the median, and got hit by a bus.  The driver was wearing his seatbelt, but was still killed.  The front seat passenger also died, but she was not wearing her seatbelt.  They found her in the backseat, where she had slammed into the backseat passengers, one of whom was her sister.  The sister lived, but it looked for awhile like she wasn't going to make it.  The poor mother (single mother) couldn't even plan the first daughter's funeral, because she had to be by the other daughter's side in the hospital.  The 4th passenger was injured, but not as severely as the sister. I think the story was that the backseat passengers did sustain some injury from the force and impact of the front seat passenger coming into the backseat.  They would have been seriously injured anyway, but slightly less so if the front seat passenger hadn't hit them. So seatbelts and harnesses may save many lives, not just the lives of the people/dogs wearing the seatbelts and harnesses.  As a side note, the driver of the bus was considered a hero for managing to keep the bus on the road.  Bus vs pickup truck sounds like the bus wouldn't have a problem, but the impact was so strong that it was a challenge to keep the bus upright. There were some injuries on the bus, but nothing serious.  And in a most bizarre twist, the bus was full of students from the same high school as the kids in the truck.

[Linda and Murphy]

So scary, Kate. I know today is worse, but thanks for alerting us.  So glad you and Yindi are okay.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Kate, I am sorry you were in an accident, but so glad you and Yindi are ok. Take care of yourself!!

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Oh thank goodness that you and Yindi are o.k.!!!!  Cars can be replaced - people and doodles can not.  Rooney and Stuart both have car seats and harnesses that hold them firmly in place.  Glad that you shared your story, it is a good reminder to us all.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Jane you should keep her info (website) as clearly Stuart will NOT be in the car seat long - haha!