Wow Liz, I'm so sorry you lost your baby and your friend. Drunks are the worst. My grandma was killed by a drunk driver before I was born. I don't think I will be wanting to drive for a while and I will definitely be getting something to keep Monster safe and I don't think I will ever put him in the front, even in a crate. Those airbags are brutal. I don't think I even wanna sit in the front either. If I need a new car, I will be getting a big one!
Lorena Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Liz Bickel & Irv Weinberg <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:42:52 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] What a night... (OT) Lorena, Sorry to hear of your accident. You're 100% right that it really isn't safe to get on our highways. Several years ago, a drunk in a van rammed my my brand new car at 70MPH. However, losing my new car was the least of my worries. Had the accident happened just several hundred yards before/or after where it did, my car would have been pushed over a 30 foot cliff. In that case, I absolutely wouldn't have "walked away" with just bruises and a bad head ache. As it was, I hit a concrete wall and left bits & pieces of my car all over the expressway. After seeing how badly my car had been demolished, I can now only say good things about "big cars", seat belts, and airbags. Plus a guardian angel. I was coming home from a routine visit to the vet; so I had three Chihuahuas in the car with me. Because all of the dogs were protectively crated - with their crates strapped in with seat belts - none was outwardly hurt in the crash. However, our senior girl (17) died that same night while I was still in the hospital. Our vet thinks the stress of the accident was too much for her... The two younger dogs were fine. Their crates protected them from any sort of injury. All the dogs were fortunately in the back seat. The front end and the middle of the passenger door of the car took most of the impact. The hood was pushed back almost into the front seat. Despite the accident not being my fault (beyond being at the wrong place at the wrong time), it took me a full 6 weeks before I could psychologically get behind the wheel of a car again. Once I finally started driving again, I was fine. But I'll never get over that loss of my senior girl. If that drunk hadn't hit my car, who knows how much longer we would have had her with us? Many of my Chis live well past 20. Although I don't know if a doggy car seat is as protective as being crated in a hard side carrier, no one really should be driving anywhere without having some sort of "protection" for their pets in the car. A car seat is better than nothing. Pets should never be loose in a car. Even when it's not our fault, accidents do happen. And some can have deadly results. Therefore, we need to do everything possible to protect our little ones. Glad to hear that you're okay from your accident tonight & that Monster wasn't with you. Yes, getting a car seat (or better yet a crate) for Monster - for whenever he's in the car - is a very, very wise idea. Crating saves lives. Liz PS To back up this last statement, I had a close friend - years before my own accident - who was killed in a car accident while she was coming home from a dog show. Her dogs, all in crates, however survived the brutal crash. In fact, they weren't even hurt beyond some bruising. This is why I always crate my own dogs whenever I take them in a car. Well, I have had a horrible night. Someone pulled out in front of me and I hit them causing the airbags to blow... So, I'm all sore, bruised, and burnt. Other than that I am doing ok. My car on the other hand, is not... I will probably be needing a new one. I'm a little sad about that since it was my very first car and I've had it for around 7 years now. Anyways, after the initial shock and after I realized that it really happened, one of the first things I thought was I'm so glad Monster wasn't with me. He would of been hurt so bad! It makes me really want a car seat for him. Actually, it makes me never wanna be in a car again. Especially with Monster. I'd rather walk... I hope none of yall ever have to experience this. Driving is so dangerous! I think we need a new, safer mode of transportation... Lorena
