Saturday, January 26, 2013

Dog Car Seat and Lunch with Pete

My friend, Pete, drove up from Merced to visit me in Vacaville and we went out to lunch.  When I got into his car, he had to transfer his dog's car seat from the front to the back seat.

At the very beginning of our travels, I hit the brakes hard on the 5 freeway when TWICE drivers merging from the on-ramp cut us off suddenly.  The first time Katie and her dog bed went flying into the dash board while I was trying to stop the motor home and not hit the merging driver.  The driver seemed to be slowing down to merge into the traffic after me, then suddenly decided to step on the gas and merge in front.  The second time it was the car in front of me that had a merging driver speed up suddenly and when he slammed on his brakes, I had to do the same to avoid hitting him.  After the first time, Katie wouldn't come up front anymore, and I didn't blame her.

So... when I saw Pete's dog's car seat, I decided to do some research.  The other day I went to Petco and bought their brand, which was less than $40 and hangs from the headrest of the car's seat.


It was similar to the best rated on on-line that I could find, so I decided to get it.  You are supposed to hang the top straps from a headrest, but they fit around the top of my passenger seat just fine.  It was very quick and easy to attach and was looking pretty good... until...


One of the bottom straps just came loose and unraveled.  I hadn't even put Katie in it yet.  :(

Needless to say, I took it back.  This is the car seat in the box:


The photo below is of the Kurgo Skybox Pet Booster Seat.  From what I could find out researching on-line, this is the most popular one, but again, you need a head rest to attach it securely.  Or maybe it would fit around the top of the seat, like I attached the Petco one.  It's the same price, $39.67, and hopefully is sewn better.  I didn't see any reviews mentioning a flaw in the way the straps were sewn.


I decided to go back on-line and do another search for a car seat similar to the one Pete has.   One that is actually strapped in with the truck's seat belt.

The car seat below is the Snoozer Luxury II Lookout Pet Car Seat.  And you know what? I've ordered it. It's expensive, but Katie is worth it.


From the beginning of our travels I've been worried about Katie not being secure in The Palms. As soon as this arrives I'll install it on the passenger seat of The Palms and try it out with Katie.  I'll write a post about it to let you know how it works for us.  And show you a photo of Katie sitting in it. I can't wait to get it, but it will take a couple of weeks to arrive.

Pete and I went to Applebee's and had a delicious lunch of soup and a sandwich. Here's he is - sorry Pete, not the best photo, but it's the best of the three I took.  You were moving in the others and they were blurry.


The highlight of the day for me, other than visiting with Pete of course, was dessert - see below for the "Triple Chocolate Meltdown."  I don't know why, but I've been craving sweet deserts for a couple of weeks, and boy, did this hit the spot! 


WELCOME to our newest Follower, Danielle.  She and her husband, George, just started RVing full time and she has a brand new RVing blog, Exploring, RV-Style.   According to one of her posts, they  "purchased an RV (Winnebago Adventurer),and a CR-V, and been doing mods for a few months now."  It's always nice to start following a blog when it's new - not so much catching up to do.  Thanks for following along with us, Danielle, welcome aboard!  :)

From Me and Katie, have a great weekend, everyone!  :)



15 comments:

  1. Elaine and Rick have harnesses that attach to their rigs seatbelts. If they so much as start the rig without putting the dogs in their harnesses the dogs will bark up a storm. Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  2. So will Katie be in a harness in the dog seat? I always worry when my Katie is even in her crate in the back of the SUV, worried that we'll get rear ended or that if we roll the crate isn't tied down. Need to find a safer spot for her I guess.

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  3. It looks like the seat is limited to dogs under 20#. I've never had a dog that small!

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  4. The one you ordered looks great. Let us know. Yes, Katie is worth every penny! Doris has the one that you first tried. It works fine, but I have the headrest in my VW bug.

    Triple chocolate! Mmmmm!

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  5. Well from a fellow dog lover, I agree that nothing is too much for our beloved pets.

    Looking forward to seeing the set-up and Katie in it.

    As soon as I start the engine Bennie goes to his bed which is on the floor in front of the passenger seat.

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  6. Can't wait to see what you ordered. We have four pups 68 pounds to 11 pounds. They all lay on the floor at my feet or under our seats for traveling. I do worry about them but can't see them all in doggie seats.

    I'm with you on the desserts......yummy!

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  7. After we were in the drunk driving accident in Aug, and Cooper went flying we bought harnesses for them. They fasten on the seat belts and if you hit the brakes hard they can't go anywhere. We thought about the first car seats that you showed but they couldn't see out if they laid down. They can still lay in their dog beds but now we don't have to worry about them flying if we have another accident or like you have to hit the brakes hard. Be anxious to see your new seat for Katie. Have never seen one like that. And they are worth it for sure.

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  8. Our furr kids are worth it!! There are some crazy drivers out there and it seems everyone wants to cut off an RV just so they don't have to behind it. This happens more times than any of us like.

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  9. Our furr kids are worth it!! There are some crazy drivers out there and it seems everyone wants to cut off an RV just so they don't have to behind it. This happens more times than any of us like.

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  10. Hi! Thanks for the shout-out.... I love it. It's so funny to see my name. I've been following your and Katie's adventures for a long time, and you've been an inspiration to me while we were getting ready and purging our 'stuff'.

    I did add a follow gadget to the blog, thanks so much.

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  11. Angel has a harness and sit on the divider between the two front seats but can go into her crate in the back seat when ever she wants. (Always when I turn on the windshield wipers. LOL).

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