Breakdown recovery and dogs
As recovery services no longer accept pets in the cabs I would be grateful if people could let me know alternative ideas for getting their pooches home in the event of a breakdown.
Been with Mayday for years and we did check that they were dog friendly but it seems this has changed in recent years as we recently found out the hard way. Fortunately we were near enough home to get a relative to come out and take our dog home.
I sincerely hope we don't need recovery services in the future but I would like to ensure that I can keep my pet safe. I do not consider being placed in a overheating vehicle on the back of a recovery vehicle in summer, possibly for hours, to be acceptable. Welfare issues aside I daren't even ask what you would be expected to do with your pet if, god forbid, your vehicle was involved in an accident.
Any ideas/suggestions anyone?
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As recovery services no longer accept pets in the cabs ......
That is not a recent change. Such recovery is frequently provided by private agents and some may permit and some not. In the event that pets are not permitted the only alternative is to use alternative transport (expensive and inconvenient though that might be) and ideally have a cage available.
I no longer have a dog but we will see if current owners have a solution
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The carriage of pets in recovery vehicle cabs ,as far as i am aware , has always been at the drivers descretion,, when we had our motor caravans ,our other vehicle was a very unreliable Suzuki, and we had to be recovered twice by Mayday , on the first occasion our dog travelled in the car on the transporter , which evolved the driver having to drop OH at home with the dog , then taking car to garage and then me home,
The second time , after I mentioned to the driver what was involved with our previous breakdown , he agreed that our dog could travel in the cab with us
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Wow, you were lucky. I went home with the dog while OH went onto the garage with the car and had to get a taxi home
- don't have a clue what we would have done if we had been any distance from home. If we'd chosen to go onto the garage with the dog we really would have been stuck as most taxis round here don't take dogs. As it was, they sent an unsuitable vehicle and we had to wait a total of three hours in freezing conditions for the correct recovery truck to turn up.0 -
Helmarpop, if you don't want your dog to ride in your broken down car on tne back of a flat bed truck you have several options - to come home with your dog on the train and let the breakdown man bring your car back, to hire a car one way and drive your dog home, to stay where you happen to be after the breakdown - either in your caravan or in a hotel - until your own car is repaired.
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It has been an issue for a while. We had a problem in our MH in Norfolk a few years ago, we were around 120 miles from home, but they were not easy motorway miles, mainly B and A roads. We broke down on way back to our CL, with no indication of what the issue was. We had our two Labs with us. Recovery driver came, put MH onto back of pick up, and was happy to put dogs in cab with us, as it was his business, and he was a dog lover. Took us a convoluted route back to our CL (Low bridges) and we agreed with our recovery that they would send a mechanic out next morning, to see if problem could be resolved, otherwise, we would have MH relayed home. But, not the dogs! No way were we going to put them into the MH, as it was bouncing around madly on back of pick up. Totally unsafe for them. We ended up with OH going with MH relayed home, while I waited for my lovely BIL to travel all way to Norfolk to pick me and dogs up. The CL owners were wonderfully kind and helpful, kept me warm and fed. ( Fault was traced to a Spanish fitted alarm that was shorting out electrics, quite a cheap fix)
Its a big problem for dog owners. You have to use an alternative method of getting home. I suppose then you rely upon claiming somehow via insurance if you can, or just stand the cost. Recovery services just don’t like accommodating dogs, no matter how well behaved or clean they are. No doubt a bad few owners will have spoiled it for everyone. On the plus side, as far as I am aware, dogs often go free on trains. One of our Airedale’s once did the Eurostar.....for free!
So, unfortunately, the only thing you can do safely is either await a relative or friend to rescue you, take a convoluted dog friendly route/method home, or put up in a hotel until someone comes back to rescue you. Easier in a caravan, bl**dy nightmare in an MH! It’s because the Recovery Services rely on local recoverers nowadays, rather than having dedicated recovery trucks of their own.
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I daren't suggest putting your dog in kennels - there would be uproar - so it looks as though you and he/she just stay put in your caravan on a nearby site for a few days while a garage fixes your car breakdown. I have sat it out for four days in that situation at Sallanches in the French Alps and we don't even have a dog. No need to cry Take me home, take me home. Just get the problem fixed.
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Enterprise hire cars allow dogs.
This really isn't something for which you can draw up a coping strategy as breakdowns have a habit of being unpredictable and occurring when and where they feel like it. All you can do is be aware of the problems and possible solutions and just make the best arrangements you can if/when it happens. In other words, just get on with sorting things as best you can.
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Erm.... hire car. It’s you driving, not an escort. Just line the boot, get the dogs home, clean it thoroughly. The tales I have heard and seen about the mess some children and adults make in hire cars, courtesy cars, I doubt the hire company would notice if you taped a blanket in boot.
Don't over think it, you either get on with it, taking the hit if it occurs, or you simply stay at home.
I spent an extremely wet day in the Laundry at Exeter Racecourse, two dogs, their baskets, a big flask and my lunch, plus some knitting. OH went into Exeter to get new exhaust for MH. We survived, the dogs had lots of walks, I got plenty of knitting done.........and no one, including the Wardens, were any the wiser😂
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All the solutions folk have mentioned here are fine as long as you don’t break down on a motorway. This happened to our daughter and family on the M1, the recovery driver refused to allow their dog to travel in the cab with them and the poor thing had to stay in the car on the back of the truck. We’re with the AA who will take dogs that can be restrained in their crate or with a harness that attaches to a seat belt.
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A number do. https://www.sixt.co.uk/pet-car-hire/
There are others https://www.pbspettravel.co.uk/blog/pet-friendly-car-rental-uk/
When I had dogs there would always have been me, my wife and at least one daughter and one dog. In case of difficulty I would have gone for or called for a hire car whilst they stayed with the dog. I would not have discussed with the hire company. Different solo.
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How about puting the dog(s) into kennels local to the breakdown and coming back for them later? Would mean an extra loop in the journey for the transporter, so it would be an extra cost option in the Mayday/Whatever insurance policy. With the number of dogs that are associated with caravanning it could be a good selling point.
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That's viable, I'll save sixt in my phone and hopefully never need it
.I have checked with Enterprise and they told me no dogs so will have to check out some of the others.
Motorway breakdown still potentially a problem so I'll have to keep looking.
Thank you x
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A viable solution in some cases.
I think most people don't know that their pets aren't covered and unfortunately it's too late when they find out.
I certainly wouldn't mind paying a premium to keep my dog safe, I'm sure there is an opening here for somebody.
Thank you
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When did Enterprise change their ways regarding dogs?
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Probably about the same time organisations started banning peanuts in public areas - and for the same reasons.
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Yep, some of it is to do with allergies, but a lot is to do with idleness on the part of recovery vehicle owners as well. Bit like the big coach tour firms that have swish onboard toilets. Drivers can’t be @rsed to clean them out, so they ban use. Some dog owners don’t help by having badly behaved noisy and nasty animals that no one would want to accommodate but that’s for another thread.........
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See my post of last night - the AA will take a dog in their cabs. With the AA it’s the member that’s covered, not the vehicle. My dog is part of me so goes where I go 🤣
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Pets are allowed in rental vehicles. Customers need to keep pets crated and return their rental car in clean condition and free of pet hair to avoid cleaning/detailing fees. Service animals used by customers with disabilities are allowed in the vehicle without a carrier.
A quote taken from their website ,enterprise car hire
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AA quote:
Is my pet covered if my car breaks down?
We do our best to welcome pets wherever possible. If we can't take your pet, we'll do what we can to help get them home.We recommend you use suitable travel carriers for your pet or restraints that you can use on any vehicle – so we can take your pet where they need to go safely.
Sounds to me like they will take my dog...
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I seriously wouldn’t bank on it VB. The AA are much like all the other rescue and recovery firms, if you have a vehicle that requires relaying, then they most likely contract to a local recovery service, and it’s their say as to whether or not dogs can go in cab. Most definitely do not. Some are so bad, if they can get away with it, they grumble about service dogs.
Being stuck with a caravan isn’t so bad, it can be left on a site and the dog and a n other can stay there until transport/ pick up is arranged. You don’t get that option with a MH. It either stays unmended, or the MH is relayed home on the back of a bouncing, totally unsafe environment for a dog, leaving dog and owner at the side of the road! So alternative accommodation or the train it is.........☹️
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I've just had a 'live chat' with Green Flag and asked the question. The reply was that it's at the discretion of the driver & they'll ask you if you're carrying pets when you call for assistance. 🙂
(In practice I've never been asked so I'd expect emphasis is on you to tell them you have a pet with you)
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Our car had a flat batt this morning (not used for over a week,) Mayday arrived in 40mins, real problem , as car in garage with no access to batt,and also in Park so had to use emegency release so it could be winched out of garage , got it going, fault traced to faulty dash cam auto switch off not working
,During our chat I mentioned pets and he reiterated that he loves well behaved dogs in his cab, but some owners "well behaved dog"at times is stretching it?
Also when taking car /caravan combinations,he did not see a problem , when the caravan needed to be in a storage , and the car at a garage before taking the member home , and did not know of any problems
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This is my understanding also. In practice, we have never had a problem - the dog has always been allowed to go with us in the cab. However, she is only small and quite happily sits on Carols lap. She does have separation anxiety though, so I'd be happy to wait for longer for a dog friendly 'cab'.
David
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