Parksville Qualicum News
May 22 2007
I am a veterinarian and over the years I have attended to several dogs that have been injured or killed as a result of being in the back of pickup trucks.
I have seen broken legs, necks, and pelvises; loss of eyes, permanent nerve damage, loss of skin, muscle and bone, of course, death due to severe trauma or strangulation.
While I have seen these injuries in the hospital, I had not witnessed the accidents that cause them until this weekend.
As I drove down the Alberni Highway, I watched in horror as a truck turned onto the highway and catapulted one of two dogs from the bed of the truck. The driver, completely unaware the dog had fallen out, continued toward me dragging the dog by its neck along the pavement and gravel as it body fishtailed behind the truck.
In a desperate attempt to get the driver to stop, I opened my door and began flailing my hand and yelling to try to get the driver’s attention. Ultimately she did stop and I pulled over and ran back to see what I could do. The dog was alive but had sustained significant injury.
When are we going to figure out that it is not safe to carry dogs in the back of pickups?
Common sense tells us that it is not safe. Section 72 of the Motor Vehicle Act tells us it is illegal. Yet, somehow people seem to think it is acceptable.
It is not acceptable on any level.
Dogs should be transported in the cab of the truck with you. There are seatbelts for dogs. If they must be in the back of the truck they should be inside a travel kennel that is secured (not by a bungee cord) to the bed of the truck, or the dog should be tethered to the centre of the bed by a harness, not a collar.
They need to be protected from sun and rain.
This is my plea to stop and think about how they are taking care of their best friends.
All of the injuries we see associated with traveling in the back of trucks are severe and completely preventable.
Please protect your dog.
Holly Tillotson, DVM
Mid-Isle Veterinary Hospital
Qualicum Beach
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