dog kennel vs. truck rollover: crash-tested

12-26-161 min read

Gunner Kennels owner Kody Van Pelt was in a vehicle accident over a holiday weekend that flipped his truck and tossed his dog crate 15 yards down the road. Here's their story.

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Words by Kody Van Pelt

I was traveling with my black lab, Kase, through Arkansas one day when it began to rain. I had a funny feeling as I was riding through a town called Russellville, so I pulled over to put Kase in his G1 Intermediate dog crate in the bed of my truck, instead of the passenger seat where he had been riding.

Not long after, I was traveling down the mountain in a light misty rain when my backend lost traction, scary stuff.

The Rollover Accident

I spun 180 into the cliff side – luckily for both me and Kase, it wasn’t the canyon side. My bumper caught part of the bluff, causing the front end of my truck to pick up and layover, rolling and laying on its side (see the photo below).

I was shaken up, but as soon as I could get the truck door open, my dog was my first concern. Thankfully he was in a Gunner kennel.

I had not secured the crate to the bed, so I found the Gunner kennel had launched about 15 yards down the road from where the truck landed. Kase was still inside his crate: the G1™ door stayed locked and secure the entire time. You could tell Kase was scared, but happy to see me and didn’t have any bodily trauma. He was back to his old self the next day.

“I am very thankful for Gunner Kennels for keeping him safe and alive.”

As much as we hate to hear about situations like these, we’re proud that Gunner Kennels helped save a dog from a potentially deadly situation. As the only 5 Star Crash Test Rated pet travel crate, we engineered this crate specifically for your peace of mind in scenarios such as this. To watch Gunner Kennels undergo various crash tests – including those from the Center For Pet Safety study – click here.

*note: Gunner Kennels always recommends anchoring the kennel to your vehicle with our strength-rated tie-down straps.