BOO! For my right rear tire blowing out when I was driving down I-70 at
about 75 mph on my way home from running dogs. (and FWIW, the speed
limit is 70 but if you don't go at least 75 you are toast)

YAY! For Triple A Gold, and a supplementary yay for the operator
immediately bumping me up to priority when she heard I was on I-70. I'd
actually limped almost 1/4 mile on the shoulder to the start of an exit
ramp so I was a bit less likely to get actually dead.

YAY! For my friend Kathy for coming and helping me offload dogs from my
van to her car.

BOO! For throwing my back out bodily slinging Viva into her SUV when she
balked.

YAY! Me for breaking down only 2 miles from the training building, and
for having permanent crates set up there, so Kathy could just take them
there and crate them.

YAY! For the very nice (and rather sexy) tow truck driver for getting
there right after Kathy left and towing me to the nearest Wal-Mart.

YAY! For Wal-Mart's 100% road hazard guarantee. Only costs $9 when you
buy your tires there. Worth it.

BOO! For ending up eating at a really bad Mexican restaurant instead of
the great place we'd originally planned.

YAY! For the entire thing costing me a grand total of 50 cents (tax
donchaknow).

YAY! For getting myself and my dogs home safe and sound.

Seriously, it could have been very bad. I was lucky. I am SO glad I make
everyone stay in crates. That way, when Kathy came we could offload them
safely. They were completely unfazed by the traffic whizzing by just
feet from them. I-70 is the most heavily traveled highway in the U.S.

Yay! That the episode had a happy ending!!

Hope your back feels better soon, but it could have been a lot worse.

Which this story reminds me of:
A) why I insist any and all dogs in my vehicle have leashes on
B) why I train my dogs not to get out of the car without permission
C) why I have AAA Plus!!

On C, I've had vehicles break down en route to agility trials several times,
and without Triple A plus I'd've been toast.

"sionnach" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

On C, I've had vehicles break down en route to agility
trials several times, and without Triple A plus I'd've been
toast.

Yup. When I moved to Alberta where all out-of-town trials are a
three hour drive and weather conditions iffy, I bought a cell
phone and the best CAA coverage I could get.

My alternator went out 45 minutes from the trial site - and that
weekend the van was also my accommodation. The dog-loving tow
truck driver towed me to the trial site, backed me into my
camping spot, and came by the next morning to tow my van to a
Ford dealer open on Saturday. I didn't miss a run.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

sionnach wrote:

Yay! That the episode had a happy ending!!


Which this story reminds me of:
A) why I insist any and all dogs in my vehicle have leashes on

Mine don't have leashes on in their crates, but I always have several
leashes in the car and they always, always have collars on. Crates are
latched. Once I didn't get Zip's crate latched properly and next thing I
knew he was standing on the console. I got off at the first exit I came
to and put him back in his crate. It just scares the beejeebus out of me
to have a loose dog in the car when I'm driving on the highway.

On C, I've had vehicles break down en route to agility trials several times,
and without Triple A plus I'd've been toast.

That's why I got it. Triple A Gold will tow up to 100 miles one way
without charge. I lost a suspension belt in KC once, and an entire
tranny in St. Louis. Both of which are slightly over 100 miles away from
Columbia. Because of AAA Gold I was able to request (and receive) a
flatbed tow truck and get hauled all the way home. Dogs stayed in crates
in the car and were fine.

Rocky wrote:

The dog-loving tow
truck driver towed me to the trial site, backed me into my
camping spot, and came by the next morning to tow my van to a
Ford dealer open on Saturday. I didn't miss a run.

Wow. What a nice guy! My guy last night was actually disappointed I'd
offloaded the dogs. First thing he asked was whether I'd been at
Westminster! I said "no, but I was supposed to be going to dinner with
someone who had..."

"Robin Nuttall" wrote:

Mine don't have leashes on in their crates, but I always have several
leashes in the car and they always, always have collars on.

IF mine are crated, what I do is clip each dog's leash to the front of
the crate. However, I'm not able to do crates, so it's leashes in case we
have to exit the car in a hurry. Cen is always buckled in; Bren usually is
when on highways (same was true with Rocsi and Morag; the little one always
buckled in, Mw - along with Bren - buckled in.) I usually have Cen's leash
on a collar when he's in the car, even though I *walk* him on the harness -
that way there's no confusion over which clip gets unhooked if I need to get
him out.


Once I didn't get Zip's crate latched properly and next thing I knew he was
standing on the console. I got off at the first exit I came to and put him
back in his crate.

Yikes!!


Because of AAA Gold I was able to request (and receive) a flatbed tow
truck and get hauled all the way home. Dogs stayed in crates in the car
and were fine.

Yep, that's what I've done. (I've actually had my car towed TO a trial
venue, then towed to the shop at the end of the day, on three seperate
occasions.) I've only had one truck driver be ignorant about it.

Robin Nuttall wrote:

YAY!

For everyone ending up safe and sound!

Wow. What a day!

On Feb 13, 2:11*pm, Tara Green wrote:
Robin Nuttall wrote:
YAY!

For everyone ending up safe and sound!

Wow. What a day!

AMEN!

glad it all worked out ok

70 is not quite that crazy on the parts that I travel...

I"m glad you are safe...

In article ,
Rocky wrote:
My alternator went out 45 minutes from the trial site - and that
weekend the van was also my accommodation. The dog-loving tow
truck driver towed me to the trial site, backed me into my
camping spot, and came by the next morning to tow my van to a
Ford dealer open on Saturday. I didn't miss a run.

Yeah, I know several instances of dog trucks breaking down
en route to a race and being towed to the race site by a tow
service. When you've got 14 dogs on board you don't have a
whole lot of options when the vehicle craps out.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Robin Nuttall wrote :
... Once I didn't get Zip's crate latched properly and next thing
I knew he was standing on the console.

Saw a story last night on one of the "entertainment news" shows. Guy's
driving mountainous highway roads with his unsecured JRT in the car with
him. Dog jumps on his lap, car jumps off a cliff, guy is flung from the
car (no seatbelt for humans, either). The dog's trapped in the car, which
is wedged in a tree. The guy was thrown clear but busted enough bones that
he can't get back to the vehicle. His cell phone, of course, is with the
dog in the car.

Twelve hours or so later, some hikers find the guy, "help him call 911"
(?!), and he tells the operator "it's all my dog's fault".

Ummmm, no.
--
Mary H. and the restored Ames National Zoo:
The Right Reverand Sir Edgar "Lucky" Pan-Waffles;
U-CD ANZ Babylon Ranger, CD, RE; ANZ Pas de Duke, RN; and rotund Rhia