A Moment of Silence . . .

. . . for the Jedi Mobile

The car in happier days

A couple years back I told you about buying a car for my dog. I liked my Jedi Mobile. Hubby, Jedi and I took it up to Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina when we did our road trip last April. Everything was great . . . then I turned 50.

The day after my birthday I was stopped at a red light, thinking about getting home and meeting RK for a walk. Before the light changed I was rear-ended and jammed into the car in front of me. I was car four of a five car pile-up. Some young twit in a Honda (Car #1) wasn't paying attention -- I'll bet she was texting! -- and didn't notice the light was red. There were no skid marks from her vehicle. (I looked.)

Twit was going at least 50 MPH and slammed into a Mustang (Car #2). The Mustang hit a Jeep (Car #3) which hit me (Car #4) and I hit a Toyota (Car #5). The Jeep had a rear bike rack and a nice Rubicon package on the front. The accessories protected that car from body damage, but did quite the number on me and the Mustang. Both of us were towed from the scene. My car was actually lifted up in the rear and the force of the hit drove me forward. When all was said and done, my front end was under my back end. Yeah, it sucked.

I ended up with whiplash and bruised bowls from the seatbelt. I didn't even know that was a thing! I was sore and nauseated for several weeks. My 50 year old body doesn't heal like it used to. The silver lining -- I have a new dog mobile (along with a new car payment). I found a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan with the Fold and Go seats. I can seat up to seven people, or I can do this:

Not my actual van. Mine is black and has much more dog hair.

This layout is great for dogs. Rarely do I put up the back seats. Even with her bum leg, Roxy was able to climb in and out of the van. She loved car rides, so we gave her as many as possible -- sometimes it was just a trip around the block. The side windows roll down, so she'd stick her nose out the window and grin the entire time. I have a thick blanket that I lay on the floor so the dogs don't get their feet caught in the seat anchors. The inside is incredibly roomy. I expect to be able to fit two large dog crates and everything else needed for a show weekend inside the van. (I'll test that hypothesis in September -- our potential first show!)

I hate buying cars, but I think we did pretty good. (Hubby is awesome.) Before I go, I want to share my car buying tips.

1. Get a pre-approved loan from your bank ahead of time. It saves a lot of headache at the dealer.
2. Enterprise Rent-a-Car sells their used rentals. You get the Carfax report and a full dealer warranty. Even the local dealers didn't offer a warranty on used cars.

So now I've got new wheels and a new show puppy. I hope to have new things to share soon. Stay tuned, -- K

P.S. The day after my accident my Facebook account was hacked. My 50s didn't start out all that great. Thankfully, they seem to be improving.