Securing dogs on utes a no-brainer
Tanya and Darren walked in to the consulting room and immediately asked where the sink was to wash off the blood dripping from Tanya’s arms.
Their dog Hooter had been roaming around the car on the way to see me when he stepped on the electric window button. He was halfway out the window when Tanya managed to grab him around the waist and haul him back, while Darren quickly put the window up.
Hooter was only in for a vaccination, but Tanya ended up getting a few plasters.
This is a new twist on an alltoo-common problem, which we have all seen.
That is: The dog on the back of the ute running from side to side barking at everyone and anything and flapping his ears in the wind.
Utes have become popular again and I guess that wet slobbery monster is better in the back than steaming up the windows inside the car.
Sid wasn’t so lucky. His owner’s story is a classic.
‘‘What was that noise, dear?’’ as they drove back from the river. ‘‘Just a stone on the road.’’ ‘‘Oh.’’ So they carried on home and took some things inside. ‘‘Did you let Sid off?’’ ‘‘No.’’
So began a hasty return along their route home to find Sid sitting on the side of a busy road, nursing a sore leg.
Ralph carried Sid in on Saturday to see us, which was a feat because Sid is a large, wellrounded 50-kilogram (at least) bull mastiff.
Poor old Sid was lucky he survived his bumpy landing from a ute travelling 100kmh, but he had a few nasty injuries.
He suffered ruptured ligaments in one hind leg, cut a deep cavity in his chin and had some large angry gravel rash grazes on his bum.
Painkillers and antiinflammatories were needed in large amounts and he has been an awesome patient as we have gradually helped his grazes and cuts to heal.
His knee injury is a common one in larger dogs and also occurs in the little guys and occasional cat. We reconstructed his knee with a new modern technique that is proving really great and within a week he will be back home to rest quietly with no more rides on the ute for a long time.
Please tie up your friend on the back of the ute, but also think about how to tie them on.
Don’t use a check chain. Only ever tie dogs up by a non-slip collar
Make sure the line or lead is short, so that they can’t try to jump off
Make sure the line can’t slip along the bar to the side.
Check where they are before you leave – seems logical, but read on.
We have had several sad stories told to us about dogs that have died after jumping over a fence when they were still tied up and another that jumped in a window.
If you need to tie your best friend up to an object please think carefully about the location and their possible movements.
When I started as a vet we regularly saw farm dogs that had been dragged behind a farm vehicle when the person had forgotten about them being tied to the back.