I took that a step further when I sold my dream car because it nearly killed my last dog, a boxer named Bailey. I had a mint condition red Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce with 'mint' a relative term in that the top was only somewhat water resistant (it leaked) and it overheated when it was hot outside.
So when I decided to drive to Northern California on the 5 freeway in 115 degree heat with the dog in the car, she nearly expired from heat exhaustion. I even had to stop at a roadside motel to put her paws in an ice bucket to get her body temperature down. The next day, the Alfa was put up for sale and I bought a VW GTI with air conditioning and a nice back seat for the dog.
The study on canine automotive needs was done by Good Morning America veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and the staff of Petconnection.com. It took into account a number of factors to determine which vehicles were most dog friendly. Here are a few of them.
—Easily removed or folding seats.
—Cargo space.
—Maximized space by using wide, square backs with minimal sloping.
—Door and window locks.
—All-wheel or four-wheel drive (I don’t know why a dog needs four-wheel drive, but I guess dogs must love Subarus)
The Dog Car of the Year for 2007 was then concluded to be the Honda Element. According to the study, its “versatile cargo space, easy-clean flooring, crate-friendly rear design, and optional all-wheel drive" make it ideal for dogs. I can see that but -- in all apologies to my dog -- I refuse to drive a box on wheels.
Car enthusiast dog owners need not fret, though, as there were a number of different categories of vehicle listed that are considered Fido friendly. Catching my attention was the Best SportsDog Car winner: the Mazdaspeed 3 . I will have to consult with my current boxer Willow to see if that would be an acceptable ride for her. It would have to be that, or the F-150, winner in the Dog Truck Category. As those old Nissan ads used to say, “Dogs Love Trucks.” Here are the rest of the winners by category.
—Best Luxury SUV: Land Rover Range Rover.
—Best Midsized: SUV: Volkswagen Touareg and Volvo XC90 (Tie).
—Best Small-Sized SUV: Mitsubishi Outlander.
—Best Sports DogCar: Mazda Speed3.
—Best Pickup Truck: Ford F-150.
—Best Minivan: Dodge Grand Caravan.
—Best Hatchback: Honda Fit Sport.
via Dog Cars and guest blogger Jim Hamel