pet restraints

3 april is distracted driving month but tonight – a story about one distraction you’ve probably never thought about. thousands of pet owners take their pets as passengers, never realizing they’re putting themselves and their pets in danger. in this special report, our cassandra arsenault reveals some crash tests every pet owner should see. a reminder — all the dogs you see in this piece are crash test dummies. 3 *trt: 2.55 outcue: anyone’s best friend:*1:49-1:54 2:44-2:51 nats:”firing!”i happens in the blink of an eye nat sound: then dog being crash tested with harness on with violent forcenatsjust like with humans, labs have created crash test dummies for dogs– .and as these crash tests reveal… products that are supposed to protect your pet may not. nat. 11:39 we are concerned about every product that is out there on the market right now, i’ll be honest with you.lindsey wolko founded a nonprofit group called the center for pet safety– and started this testing program– after her own dog was hurt in a crash. 1:17 we started crash testing in 2011, where we looked at these harness products to see if they actually hold up in crash protection mode, and unfortunately we had 100 percent failure rate. while you wouldn’t think twice about buckling up your kids, the same isn’t true for pets. triple a estimates that 80 percent of dogs are unrestrained while riding in cars. mark oman’s dog was part of that statistic.5:36 we had him in the back//his paws were on the console between the seats and a car pulled out in front of us. we had to slam on the breaks//he went flying between the seats his head right into the gear shift. standupa triple a study says an unrestrained dog is a hazard to itself and the driver.. an unrestrained 10- pound dog traveling at 50 miles per hour flies forward with 500 pounds of pressure in a crash, and an 80-pound dog at only 30 mph packs a 2,400- pound punch. oman’s car didnt’ crash, but his dog 3 still suffered severe injuries 3 from the sudden stop…6:01 he had spinal injuries, head injuries..nats: winnie get in your kennel, good girl now, oman keeps winnie in a kennel in the back nats: its pinned down by these wires….but new crash tests show that kennels can cause severe injuries too. nats from testno law in california prohibits unrestrained pets in cars but the california highway patrol says driving with a pet can be just as distracting as calling or texting on a cell phone-and just as dangerous.19:04 we recommend that anybody who is traveling with a pet to make sure that pet is restrained in the vehicle. we don’t want the pet to become a projectile in a crash.veterinarian, greg marsolais, says most pet owners aren’t even aware they need safety restraints.32:46 very few clients restrain their pets so it’s a real problem.and when we showed the crash test video to veterinarian lolly hagensnat sound she reacts to failed harness test “oh no! that’s going to be a spinal injury.it was a powerful reminder– she says pet owners should do their homework before buying any pet safety product, because the 60 billion dollar pet products business is highly unregulated, 23:42:31 go to a consumer’s report//do the research before you go because you can’t always count on what the package states or what the employee is telling you.this website from lindsey wolko’s center for pet safety offers more information, like ratings for pet restraints, including this one that actually worked when they put it to the test.nats4:29 we are a consumer advocacy group for most, so pet owners can trust us to do the research, do the leg work, find the information they need, where they can’t get anywhere else.because this crash test shouldn’t happen to anyone’s best 3 friend. 3 to get another look at those canine crash tests, and get more information on the dog harness that passed the safety test, check out our website- kionrightnow dot com. and for instant coverage.. follow us on facebook and twitter. 3 tonight