A Brief History of Keeping Dogs Safe in Cars

According to a 2011 study by AAA and pet-product maker Kurgo, more than half of American dog owners roll with a canine co-pilot, and a third of them admit that their furry buddy can be a driving distraction. Figuring out the best method of terrier transport has been a puzzle since the earliest days of automobiles. Here are a few milestones along the way.

Tired of hounds tearing up your Model T? The Bird Dog's Palace was a steel crate that clamped onto the running board of an early Ford and came in two sizes. A 1927 advertisement declares it "suitable for large pointers or setters as well as other breeds."

The dog sack is exactly what it sounds like: a canvas bag with a hole for a dog to look out from. It attached to the window frame and running board with two padded hooks and some clamps.

Sean Connery's 007 made the Aston Martin DB5 all the rage. But Aston boss David Brown wanted more room when he traveled with his Labrador retriever, Candy. Brown commissioned coachbuilder Harold Radford to construct an estate version, with a Lab-friendly boot. Only 12 DB5 shooting brakes were made—making it the rarest DB5 variant. One sold in 2019 for $1.8 million.

To keep police dogs cool in cruisers, the Florida-based company AceK9 offered climate-control systems that monitored temperature and could alert an officer if the A/C failed in a parked police car. Today the company has more sophisticated versions that in addition to pinging the officer's phone can turn on the car's sirens, roll down the back windows, and activate a fan.

For more than two decades, Volvo has been a pioneer in pet-safety accessories, including cargo-compartment dividers and harnesses. The idea is to keep dogs in place while you're driving and protect everyone in case of a crash. An untethered 10-pound Shih Tzu turns into a kinetic missile in a 25-mph collision.

In 2011, the Center for Pet Safety (CPS), a nonprofit partially underwritten by Subaru, began testing dog harnesses for crash safety. The takeaway: "None of the harnesses were deemed safe enough to protect both the dog and the humans in the event of an accident." Animal safety still has no standardized ratings today, but CPS has certified a few pet restraints with a passing grade.

In 2012, Rhode Island became the first state to make driving with an unrestrained dog inside a finable offense. First-time offenders might incur a $50 ticket. In the U.K., a loose dog will cost you a couple of thousand quid.

In 2017, after a survey of 1360 U.K. dog owners showed nearly 90 percent had interest in a vehicle with comforts for Fido, Nissan unveiled the X-Trail 4Dogs concept, a tricked-out Europe-spec Rogue with a modded hatch boasting pooch-specific features such as a slide-away ramp, a "luxurious" bed, a no-spill water bowl, a treat dispenser, and a two-way cam system so owners can monitor their pets and vice versa. There's even a shower wand and blow-dryer tube so you can clean your pup after a muddy outing.

Tesla released Dog mode, a feature that allows an owner to leave the climate control on while they're away. So that concerned passersby will know that the animal inside is safely chillin', the car displays the cabin temperature in large type on the infotainment screen. If the car's battery drops below 20 percent, the owner gets a phone notification prompting them to hurry back. Sure beats the dog sack.

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Sleepypod makes products that help furry family members travel comfortably. When the company decided to start testing its safety harnesses, there were no animal crash-test dummies, so it designed its own, starting with Max 1, a terrier-sized stand-in. The vinyl and foam dummies are weighted with pennies or lead and can house load sensors and cameras. Sleepypod now has seven crash pets, including big Duke, Max, a cat named Cleo, and Scout, a reclining mid-size dog. A new and improved Scout will soon join the pack.

Max Mini

Little six-pound Max was designed to test safety for small dogs in pet carriers, although here we have him in a harness to keep Duke company.

Duke 1.0

Weighing in at 75 pounds, big dog Duke bravely takes hits to protect his real-dog brothers and sisters. His crash-test-inspired design is purposeful. "Not only can we weight him realistically and place sensors," says Sleepypod designer Michael Leung, "but when tests are done with fluffy stuffed animals, it looks too real, and people get upset watching the videos."