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Meet Sammy. With a cushioned dog bed, a built-in water bowl, a fan and a ramp, this pet-friendly version of the Element utility vehicle debuted this year at the New York Auto Show.

 

 

 My favorite feature is the little paw print logo on the side. The car is expected to go on sale beginning this fall.

From Reuters:

Senior (Honda) product planner James Jenkins said Americans spend $41 billion a year on their pets, a figure forecast to rise to $52 billion in two years, indicating a big market for the car.

"Pets have become more like family, more important to households than ever before," Jenkins said.

The current model of the Element starts at a little over $20,000 and Honda has yet to determine how much the pet-friendly features will add on to the price tag, Jenkins said.

The car was named for a rescue dog named Sammy, owned by Heather Cammisa of the Humane Society of the United States.

I spotted this HUGE shaggy dog hanging out the passenger side window of a truck as I was driving home from work Wednesday night.

The winter holidays are behind us at last. Coming right up before you know it: spring, summer, vacation time. And no one wants to leave their best friend behind these days.

Petlovr.com has some good tips on preparing your dog (or other pet) for a road trip:

With more and more hotels becoming pet-friendly, an increasing number of pet owners are deciding to take their cat, dog, ferret or other pet along for the ride on that road trip or vacation.

It takes a lot of preparations in order for a vacation to be fun and stress-free for both pets and owners. There's several things that pet owners will need to do in order to get their animal ready to travel.

Among the issues covered in the post are getting the pet used to temporary living quarters (meaning a crate); taking "practice" car rides; getting vaccination records and a health certificate in order; making up a new pet tag with a cell phone number and, if applicable, your temporary location; what cleaning supplies, toys, collars and other items you should bring along.

 

I've never taken a long road trip with my dogs, but it sounds like lots of fun. Or not. (Some of us at the dog park are now talking about organizing a day trip with our dogs to go folic in the snow before it all melts. This could lead to either great fun or great tragedy; and probably a little of both.)

 

Any tips or experiences or funny tales that our readers would like to share about traveling with their pets? Good, bad and ugly, send 'em on.  

 

A story out of Florida  tells the tale about a kitten that was rescued from under the hood of a car.

Cries for help came from a parked car in a resident's driveway. "There he is. He's going toward the back," said a firefighter.

A tiny kitten somehow found its way under the hood of a car and couldn't get out.

It wasn't easy, but they finally got him, with much teamwork and patience. The stowaway kitten survived a ride of some 16 miles before being detected.

When last heard from, car owner Fateh Karimin was trying to reunite the kitten with its mother and possible siblings at the point of departure.

 HT: RPN

Seatbelts and other car restraints for dogs have been around for a while now. I confess I've bought a couple, but either they haven't worked or I am too lazy to deal with it.  

My first experience was with my dog Mercy, an Australian shepherd-collie mix, when I was in the process some years ago of moving from Long Beach to San Pedro.

Mercy liked to ride shotgun, in the passenger seat of my VW Jetta (though she preferred the driver's seat). I was trying to train her to stay in the back, for her safety and mine.

So on one of the pre-move trips when I was still hauling whatever I could over the bridge to the new place, I carefully buckled her up safely in the back seat.

By the time we got off the VT Bridge in San Pedro, I looked over and there she was, sitting next to me as always, in the passenger seat. I'm not sure how she managed to get out of the contraption, but she did. The ones nowadays are probably better. Or maybe I hooked it up wrong.

 Anyway, all that's to say, there's a group called  Bark Buckle Up that is that's dedicated to pushing the message that dogs riding in cars should always be safely secured.

Because the group has named Volvo as its 2008 "Pet Safe Vehicle," they're having a Pet Safety Day event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 21) at Volvo of Santa Monica, 1719 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. Bark Buckle Up will help educate pet owners about the importance of pet safety in the car and demonstrate how to use pet restraints.

"Seat belts protect millions of people very day," said Christina Selter, pet safety advocate and founder of Bark Buckle Up. .... "In the event of an accident, an unrestrained pet can escape and be hit by another vehicle, cause another collision, or attack emergency crews trying to reach an injured party."

Selter buckles up her dog, Betty, even if she's just going to the supermarket.