Without malicious intent, we can sometimes cause our dogs the most terrible anguish and pain.
This is Jack’s story and sadly it’s real;
It happened during the summer of 1996 in New South Wales, Australia, where I had a beautiful 300-acre property, which I managed primarily for my horse rescue work.
Jack, my rescued and much loved German shepherd, accompanied me everywhere, he was my shadow. He had been abandoned on a local property the year before; the people there couldn’t hold him and ask me for help. Of course, I never say no to an animal in need and that’s why Jack came home to live with me.
The daily feeding routine on the property happened like clockwork, morning and night. Jack never missed one; he was a great colleague and a great worker. With approximately 200 horses depending on us, it was our most important job of the day.
Jack usually accompanied me in the front of our old Ute’s cabin, because the back was always full of buckets of hay and feed. In fact, the front seat was Jack’s proud throne; he coveted that place with great zeal. Visitors or other workers would simply have to climb on the back instead of moving it.
One day, in a moment of carelessness, busy and rushing to do all 100 tasks in the scorching summer heat, I insisted that Jack come back from the back of the property at the back of the Ute.
I had an older volunteer with me this day, and although I had happily traveled in the back, I felt that Jack might give up his throne this time to allow him some solace on the way back. It wasn’t going to be a long drive back, just about 5 minutes.
I motioned for Jack to jump on his back, although he was initially quite stubborn in his refusal, however, being such a good boy, he did as I asked. When he got up, he started barking and continued, jumping up and causing a big ruckus. I scolded him, telling him how rude and naughty he was being as he jumped up and walked away, ignoring his pleas!
As his rampage intensified and the barking grew louder and more shrill, I stopped, got out… “What’s going on Jack, it can’t be that bad, it’s just this once, you’ll get your throne back on the next trip” I told her as I leaned in to give her a reassuring hug. While doing this, to my utter horror, I got burned on the scorching metal side.
It did have a rubber mat at the base of the top of the tray though, when I put my hand on it I found that it was burning too, quickly knocking Jack off the back. I inspected its legs and found that they were burned. It was a shocking moment and one I will never forget or forgive myself for.
Now I’ve spent the next ten years warning people they have dogs in the back of Pick-Ups & Utes. I ask readers of this article to do the same. It is very easy to be unaware about simple things that affect the safety and well-being of our animals, especially when life is very busy. But, there really is no excuse we can think of for hurting our pets, even if it’s unintentional.
Since I started spreading this warning I have also been told that, even in cold climate countries, this issue is a real problem, for the opposite reasons. The metal freezes so much that it can cause real pain and do considerable damage to animals that come into contact with it.
I have been impressed by the good responses I have received from people with their dogs in the back of Utes & Pick-Ups who I have approached with my warning. For the most part, they’re very appreciative and, like me, hadn’t even thought about it, so it’s worth the effort to bring it to your attention. I have another horror story to share with you on the same subject, “Dogs: Riding in the Back of Utes and Pickup Trucks,” but now is not the time.
We must be aware and alert in the care of our beloved pets, they have no voice and depend entirely on our good judgment, therefore we have a moral responsibility not to let them down. Please let “Jack’s Story” be a lesson to all of us, so we can prevent this horrible and painful experience from happening to another innocent animal. We invite you to share your stories with me by clicking the link below.