Why pets need reflective clothing

Reflective clothing – the equivalent of high-viz jackets and collars – can save pets’ lives in the darker months of the year.

While Dartmoor ponies are being given a lick of road safety paint , an (unpainted) llama is causing traffic chaos in Offaly. Apart from these larger traffic hazards, dark mornings and evenings make it more likely that pedestrians – including dogs and cats – may be hit by cars This is something that I see from time to time as a vet in practice – dogs on leashes skipping from pavement into road, and a car passing by closely clipping the dog, causing serious injury or even death. This really does happen.

It’s worth improving visibility of pets (and people) on the roads – very easy to do this

• Put a reflective collar around your cat’s neck – cheap and effective – cat can then be seen easily in headlights. You can also get LED-lit cat collars that are light sensitive i.e. they are turned off in daytime, only coming on in the dark
• Reflective collar/lead/ flashing light/ for dogs – LED technology has improved, and so you can light up your dog like a Christmas tree, around the collar and all the way up the lead to your hand.
• Reflective collar/ flashing light around arm for person walking dog

Also make sure that you have a strong, short leash so that your dog does not dash unexpectedly into traffic
And finally, only walk in areas where you know there is a wide pavement, with plenty of space on the road, or head for the local park where there is no traffic hazard

We had a good discussion about this on the Pat Kenny Show and also answered some questions from listeners.