Monday, May 07, 2007
On The Way To A Rabbit Show
How many miles has your bunny mobile clocked? Mine has over 165,000 miles now. I have a feeling that is pretty typical, especially for those of us who travel a lot to shows. I know that I put over 14,000 bunny miles on my van last year alone!
So with all of these miles on the road, we bunny people have exceptional awareness of road safety, right? We're prepared for any emergency, right?
Okay, so we're not as prepared as we should be. I know I'm certainly not. I had my head so firmly planted in the sand that I traveled widely for well over two years without so much as a cell phone!
But now I'm ready to get ready. Why? Because a rabbit friend of mine had a bad experience Friday night as she attempted to drive from North Carolina to Ohio. And I know that it could have just as easily have been me and my daughter instead of her and her little girl.
So here's Lisa's story.
First, she ended up in the emergency lane off of a ramp that transitioned from one interstate highway to another. The cars just zoomed by her. How much of that was from inconsideration and how much was from limited sight or just the sheer busyness of the highway, I don't know. But I do know that it made Lisa very uncomfortable. Her first wish was that she had some cones, flags, flares, triangles or some other kinds of markers that would give drivers the heads up that there was a car in distress.
Please remember that you are safest inside your car with your seatbelt fastened, but if you need to get out, please crawl out the passenger side, no matter how uncomfortable it is.
Years ago, Andrew's first cousin stopped to help a stranded motorist. She was standing at the end of the car when it was struck by another motorist. She lost her leg in the accident. Do not assume that because you are in the emergency lane that your car will not be hit.
Lisa called the state Troopers on her cell phone. She had charged it before the trip, which was a very good thing. But she wished that she had brought some method of recharging the phone, just in case she were there a long time. She also wished that she had purchased some roadside assistance. She'll be looking into that now.
Be aware of any services that your auto insurance may provide. Join an auto club if your budget allows.
And if you have to call to have your vehicle towed, make sure you tell them that your vehicle contains live animals. I know of one case where the presence of the animals, especially since they didn't have water in their dishes, moved the bunny mobile to the top of the list with the towing company. That's handy thing to remember.
But of course, you are not going to be traveling without water for your rabbits, now that we've brought up that topic, are you? I never do, but I know that many people make short trips without water. Well, I shouldn't say I never do. If the trip is about an hour or less, I wait until I get to the show. But over an hour from home, which most shows are, my rabbits all get water in their dishes. And, since I always carry water from home for the trip anyway, I'd have enough to refill their dishes if we got stuck for a long while.
And Lisa was there for a long while. The Troopers never showed up and it got dark. Now she was very glad that she had her pepper spray with her, but very sad that it was out of date. The next thing on her to-do list is to make sure she has a fresh can of spray before she hits the road again.
Whether you use pepper spray, a taser, or a personal alarm, make sure you have some sort of personal protection. Not everyone who stops to help you wants to really help you.
Lisa was also pleased that she had a flashlight with her as it got darker. Too bad her batteries were dead. So, you guessed it, fresh batteries will now be on her list of things to carry in the car on trips.
She did have snacks, pillows, and blankets. Blankets are especially important during the winter.
During the summer, traveling with water, ice, and rags is a good idea. If your rabbit becomes overheated, wet the rags in the water (no ice needed) and cover the rabbit's ears, armpit, and groin.
One thing Lisa did very wrong was that she didn't call me. All of this happened about an hour from my house. I told her she's in big trouble if that ever happens again.
It's great to carry numbers of people who live in the area you are traveling through, if possible. When I was planning my trip to Oklahoma (I'm still going to make it out there one of these days), a breeder from Maryland gave me the number of his father in Oklahoma. Chances are that I'd never need it, but it was nice to know I'd have one number to call if I ended up in an emergency.
In the end, things turned out okay for Lisa. She made it home about 2:00 a.m., exhausted, but with her head full of ideas for traveling safely. The next day she wrote me and suggested that I write a BLOG post on the topic. I thought it was an excellent idea.
This is certainly one BLOG that I hope you never personally get any use out of. But I hope you'll prepare all the same. Maybe it will turn out to be your good luck charm against trouble with your bunny mobile.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 10:15 AM
So with all of these miles on the road, we bunny people have exceptional awareness of road safety, right? We're prepared for any emergency, right?
Okay, so we're not as prepared as we should be. I know I'm certainly not. I had my head so firmly planted in the sand that I traveled widely for well over two years without so much as a cell phone!
But now I'm ready to get ready. Why? Because a rabbit friend of mine had a bad experience Friday night as she attempted to drive from North Carolina to Ohio. And I know that it could have just as easily have been me and my daughter instead of her and her little girl.
So here's Lisa's story.
First, she ended up in the emergency lane off of a ramp that transitioned from one interstate highway to another. The cars just zoomed by her. How much of that was from inconsideration and how much was from limited sight or just the sheer busyness of the highway, I don't know. But I do know that it made Lisa very uncomfortable. Her first wish was that she had some cones, flags, flares, triangles or some other kinds of markers that would give drivers the heads up that there was a car in distress.
Please remember that you are safest inside your car with your seatbelt fastened, but if you need to get out, please crawl out the passenger side, no matter how uncomfortable it is.
Years ago, Andrew's first cousin stopped to help a stranded motorist. She was standing at the end of the car when it was struck by another motorist. She lost her leg in the accident. Do not assume that because you are in the emergency lane that your car will not be hit.
Lisa called the state Troopers on her cell phone. She had charged it before the trip, which was a very good thing. But she wished that she had brought some method of recharging the phone, just in case she were there a long time. She also wished that she had purchased some roadside assistance. She'll be looking into that now.
Be aware of any services that your auto insurance may provide. Join an auto club if your budget allows.
And if you have to call to have your vehicle towed, make sure you tell them that your vehicle contains live animals. I know of one case where the presence of the animals, especially since they didn't have water in their dishes, moved the bunny mobile to the top of the list with the towing company. That's handy thing to remember.
But of course, you are not going to be traveling without water for your rabbits, now that we've brought up that topic, are you? I never do, but I know that many people make short trips without water. Well, I shouldn't say I never do. If the trip is about an hour or less, I wait until I get to the show. But over an hour from home, which most shows are, my rabbits all get water in their dishes. And, since I always carry water from home for the trip anyway, I'd have enough to refill their dishes if we got stuck for a long while.
And Lisa was there for a long while. The Troopers never showed up and it got dark. Now she was very glad that she had her pepper spray with her, but very sad that it was out of date. The next thing on her to-do list is to make sure she has a fresh can of spray before she hits the road again.
Whether you use pepper spray, a taser, or a personal alarm, make sure you have some sort of personal protection. Not everyone who stops to help you wants to really help you.
Lisa was also pleased that she had a flashlight with her as it got darker. Too bad her batteries were dead. So, you guessed it, fresh batteries will now be on her list of things to carry in the car on trips.
She did have snacks, pillows, and blankets. Blankets are especially important during the winter.
During the summer, traveling with water, ice, and rags is a good idea. If your rabbit becomes overheated, wet the rags in the water (no ice needed) and cover the rabbit's ears, armpit, and groin.
One thing Lisa did very wrong was that she didn't call me. All of this happened about an hour from my house. I told her she's in big trouble if that ever happens again.
It's great to carry numbers of people who live in the area you are traveling through, if possible. When I was planning my trip to Oklahoma (I'm still going to make it out there one of these days), a breeder from Maryland gave me the number of his father in Oklahoma. Chances are that I'd never need it, but it was nice to know I'd have one number to call if I ended up in an emergency.
In the end, things turned out okay for Lisa. She made it home about 2:00 a.m., exhausted, but with her head full of ideas for traveling safely. The next day she wrote me and suggested that I write a BLOG post on the topic. I thought it was an excellent idea.
This is certainly one BLOG that I hope you never personally get any use out of. But I hope you'll prepare all the same. Maybe it will turn out to be your good luck charm against trouble with your bunny mobile.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 10:15 AM
