My experience testing out a new car seat - for my dog: Julian Norton

The large box that eventually arrived, contained a novel in-car-dog-carrying-safety-device. Once assembled, it turned out to be a canine version of a baby car seat. It reminded me of the space-travelling capsules in the film Cocoon.

Cleverly, the base attached to the safety points on the back seat and the body of the carrier, complete with carrying handle and fold-back hood, clicked on top.

Inside, there was a fleecy liner and safety points for attaching a dog lead or harness, offering both comfort and safety.

It was undeniably a well-engineered piece of safety equipment, every bit as safe as the human-baby equivalent. It would surely give great peace of mind to the doting owners of any dog small enough to fit inside.

It would have helped the two dogs which had been brought to the practice recently, having been found inside a car that had upturned after a collision with a lorry.

Luckily, both dogs were unscathed. After twenty-four hours of analgesia and monitoring, we felt happy they could both return home. The driver, too, was recovering well and nobody- human or canine-had been badly hurt in the accident.

I put Emmy in. She didn’t look convinced. My poor terrier looks crest-fallen when she has to sit in the car boot, let alone in a safety capsule. Jack Russells are loyal dogs and love to be with their masters at all times.

Over the years, I’ve seen them sitting next to farmers on tractors, squashed into the cockpit seat.

I recall one landowner whose tiny terriers used to sit in the dashboard of his vehicle as he hared around the country lanes.

Maybe they wanted to be as close as possible to their driver; maybe they had the best view from there; or maybe they consider the dashboard to be the safest place to sit. But, of course, in-car safety capsules had not yet been invented.

I took various photos of the carrier, with and without Emmy in situ, and sent them to the manufacturers, along with my thoughts. I explained that I had never been one for utmost security within the car (my bad), but I could tell that this carrier was clearly top of the safety pops.

Before long, the images had appeared on Instagram, along with my smiling face and Emmy’s gloomy one. It wasn’t long before I started to received messages. One thought that Anne and I were expecting a baby. A second suggested it was for a grandchild!

At first glance, it certainly looked like a seat for a new baby! Rest assured, neither is true.

Today, half way up a singletrack road onto the moors, I stopped to chat to a farmer friend. “I’ll get the gate,” I said. “Don’t worry,” he replied, as we crossed paths, “I’m coming back to collect a sheep in a minute or two. You can leave it open.”

“How’s that new pup getting on?” I asked. I’d given the second part of his vaccination to the dog a few months ago and he was already making a big impression on everyone he met.

Just then, the wiry terrier- part Border, part Patterdale, part something else- arrived from the passenger seat and landed directly on top of the farmer’s head.

“He’s an absolute belter this one!” And with that, he waved goodbye and headed down to the village, covered in terrier.

Like Emmy, I’m not sure he would be rushing to get his hands on one of the safety carriers!