Most pet owners know not to leave their pets unattended in their vehicles in the hot weather. It can take only minutes for the temperatures inside a car to rise to unbearable levels that can cause permanent damage an even death for your pets.

But there is another safety issue pertaining to having pets in your vehicle that all too many people do not pay attention to that can also bring your worst fears to reality in a heartbeat.

That issue is restraint of your pet in your vehicle while you are driving.

Tow weeks ago I was walking my dog along Alder Street near Westside High School. A vehicle approaching me made a left turn into the subdivision. As it was going around the corner a small black dog jumped out of the back window and rolled across the street up to me and my dog. The vehicle from which the dog jumped kept going on its route, the owners obviously unaware that their dog had just jumped out the window of the moving vehicle

Miraculously the dog was unhurt, and it merely proceeded to perform its dog- meetdog behaviour.

I pursued the vehicle on foot while some other folks tried to corral the loose dog. I found the dog’s owner a few block away. He had not realized his pet had jumped out the window until he got home and realized she was missing. Apparently the dog had pushed the power window button down with her foot and jumped out when she saw my dog.

After a merry chase across the high school football field and a dangerous crossing of busy Riddel Road we managed to secure the lucky pet and reunite her with her family.

While this story had a happy ending it could just as easily have been a tragedy.

There are all kinds of safe and comfortable means to secure your pet in your vehicle. Please make sure you use them when you take your pet in the car even on short outings.

A second of forgetfulness can cause a lot of heartache.

Graham Burke

Orangeville