Small Dogs And A New Shape Avensis Tourer

[peterbalcombe]

Last year whilst on a caravanning trip my wife and I were horrified to hear a howl of pain from one of our two west highland terriers travelling in the back of our 2009 Avensis Tourer. On stopping the car we found one of our dogs had managed to trap part of his paw in the grooved rail for the cargo fastening hooks. We normally use a blanket in the back of the car but this had been displaced by the dogs. Extricating the paw was not entirely easy but was achieved without injury to the dog. Fortunately I had a roll of gaffer tape with me which I then used to cover the exposed length of each of rail. I have kept the tape in place subsequently to prevent any further danger to my dogs.

The hooks and rails ARE useful especially when caravanning / camping with dogs because they allow you to secure a suitable load at the front of the boot area and still leave space - at least for smaller dogs - at the rear, but others might note the danger posed to dogs paws by the unguarded rails.

Peter