a quad, a 30 ft drop, and a roll cage. things got scary.

04-29-221 min read

With the GUNNER secured to the back, Ted and friends headed 90 minutes out from their starting point. The return trip is where things got…scary. 

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As one of the largest expanses of undeveloped land left in the lower 48, the Owyhee Canyonlands are impressively vast and unarguably wild. Located on the far eastern border of Oregon, this remote playground occupies over 2 million acres of ancient canyons, colorful volcanic rock, and unforgiving terrain. 

It’s in this isolated locale that Ted Penge and his 4-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, Patton, are hungry for birds.

His transportation of choice is a quad, allowing him and his friends to cover more ground and get into those hard-to-discover spots. After hauling Patton around in Petco crates on past trips, Ted decided to spring for a GUNNER in 2021. 

A few weeks ago, with the G1 Intermediate secured to the back, Ted, Patton, and friends headed 90 minutes out from their starting point. All was well for the few hours the group was out hunting, the return trip is where things got…scary. 

Coming back along a river, Ted’s path balanced between a sheer rock wall on the right and a shale-covered 30-foot drop on the left. In this already precarious situation, Ted was jolted by a rock and his finger accidentally hit the throttle.

The force caused his quad to slide over the side and roll down the hill, making at least two full rotations with Patton on board. When he finally came to a stop and got his bearings, Ted couldn’t believe what he saw. 

There was no surprise that the quad sustained broken parts and bent wheels. Ted suffered a nasty bump on his head and some serious stiffness but was otherwise fine. He was “thoroughly impressed” with the quality of the kennel and that the damage was so minimal – by his account, only 3 scratches.

Not only did the kennel protect Patton, it also created a makeshift “roll cage” for Ted that absorbed the impact with the ground and protected his head/neck.

Ted believes that, without a doubt, the kennel saved both his and Patton’s life:

“If it had been any other kennel I know my dog wouldn’t be alive and you wouldn’t be talking to me today, or I’d be terribly injured.”

While cost is a factor for many when considering a GUNNER purchase, Ted says to think about it this way:

“You get what you pay for and in my opinion, GUNNER is the best on the market. I’d buy another one in a heartbeat.”