The Paw Rating System for Vehicles

Over the last month or two I have been shopping for a different car. My 1990 Subaru Legacy wagon had served me well over the last 8 years and I am grateful that I had such a low maintenance vehicle. It has over 200 thousand miles on it and lots of little, head-ache repairs that need to be done to make it as lovable as it used to be. That could be a story in itself.

I will jump to the current. In the beginning of my search I was sure I wanted another Subaru wagon. What better car for someone who is prone to lugging around lots of stuff and who takes her dog pretty much everywhere? Okay, I hear all of you suggesting mini-vans and SUV's, but I like a wagon.

A friend of mine has a Forester and I suggested that if she wanted to sell it, I would be interested. I love the 1 owner, used cars. She told me it was a '4 paw' but the new ones she has looked at are definitely '3 paws'. What?! Oh, the paw rating system. On a scale of 1-5 how well does the car accommodate dogs and the needs we have with our dogs, 1 to 5 paws. Now that she mentioned it, there are more considerations than I had originally thought.

The next step was searching Craigslist and hitting car lots. The first thing I noticed was that big paw rating reducer, the seats did not fold down flat in the cargo area. Not great for several reasons. Another downside, cloth upholstery. My '90 Subaru had beautiful dark blue brushed upholstery...with little white furs stuck in it, everywhere, thick. Hmmm, to increase paw ratings my next wagon needed a flat cargo surface and leather or vinyl upholstery.

As I began looking at other makes of cars, I got choosier and could tell with a glance whether it was dog friendly or not. Too high off the ground, nope. No sunroof, huh-uh. You get the idea.

All of this lead me to what seemed to be the perfect choice, the Volvo wagon. Skip ahead now as I knew that was what I wanted and was on a mission to find the right match. Mileage, wear and tear and price were the main considerations. Found it. Bought it.

After getting it home and transferring the important stuff like the "wag more, bark less" stickers and the dog beds, I was ready to take Devi for her initial ride in the new, luxury, 5 paw wagon! Da-da-da-DA! She jumped in and sniffed it over, saw her stuff in it and knew we were going somewhere. She jumped into the front seat a little precariously due to the new feel of leather under her paws. She settled into her co-pilot's seat, sitting up straight, looking out the front window, occaisionally checking out the sides. Wait a minute! She couldn't see out the front window and barely out the side. The seat is low and the dash is high. She stood up and stretched as high as she could but slipped and crashed back down to an awkward sit. Feeling unsure of herself, she curled up in her nap position and rode the rest of the way without standing up.

Could it be? After all of that searching for the perfect 5 paw wagon I got it wrong? Would any dealer let me take my dog along on the test drive? Next time I will check. But for now, we have a 4 paw wagon that has a new foam, non-slip, booster seat and some rubber, non-slip, covers on some key areas of upholstery. Devi loves the sunroof and the flat cargo area, oh, and the air conditioning (another must on my list of paw rating advantages). I am happy with the car and my decision despite the alterations. And Devi? Well, she puts up with anything as long as we are together :-)