In the past 10 days, Mrs Bitey and I have covered a fair few miles- travelling from south to north and back and to the west. We’ve clocked up about 1300 miles and have spent many merry hours in the car. Mrs B (thankfully!) enjoys motoring as long as she’s had a run beforehand, and inevitably curls up on the seat next to me and goes to sleep once we hit the motorways. Stop start journeys or routes that involve favourite Bitey places (over the common, across the moors etc) are more restless affairs and she makes it very clear when she wants to get out.
She is a pleasant enough passenger (or should that be pawsenger?) especially on long trips as periodically, she will nose my hand when it rests on the gearstick, just to remind me that she’s there. In traffic, she likes to be standing up against the door, snout in the air, checking out what’s going on around her. She is more intolerant of traffic queues than I am (and that’s saying something) and will often emit a frustrated squeak in the hope that this will magically speed up the snake of traffic ahead – if only….
One annoying factor of long distance driving is the unpredictability of service areas and the paradox of being urged to take regular breaks when tired- only to be at the mercy of greedy, tyrannical parking ‘management’ companies who pounce with excessive fines for overstaying a barely full car park by a minute or so when you do decide to stop awhile. Facilities for dogs at such places vary from meagre to nonexistent.
Let’s be clear here. I am not asking for 5* facilities for Mrs Bitey. Read on and see what you think- it’s not a huge set of demands is it?
Even stations that boast their Kennel Club approved facilities are pretty dire as these usually consist of a token dog water bowl, which is either empty or full of leaves, grit or litter, and a poster warning motorists that dogs can die in hot cars. There’s no reliable or convenient place (let alone anywhere in the shade) to anchor a lead so that travelling humans can go inside to use the loo or splash out on an overpriced coffee or undercooked burger without fear of Houdini pooches like Mrs B finding a way of breaking free. Looking for a grassy ablutions spot is usually problematic as many places only have a tiny verge perilously close to a slip road, and if there is grass easier to access, it’s usually a play area or picnic site which is not exactly the best place to be scented with dog piss of a million varieties. The best service area that I have come across is the glamorous M18 Doncaster North Services which sports a small lake with a reasonable amount of open grassy space. It’s not brilliant but it is the best dog friendly motorway stop en route to and from my regular North Yorkshire Moors jaunts- although sadly they can’t seem to get to grips with providing a clean and filled water bowl and a shady dog park hook either.
The costs of ensuring that water bowls have fresh water, installing some dog park hooks into the existing myriad of bollards and pavement furniture and ensuring that a couple are sited out of direct sunlight are not massive. Roping off a bit of grass for a dog loo or laying a roll of turf is a drop in the ocean when compared the revenue that service stations rake in from franchises, parking fines and the like. It is not rocket science to reach the same conclusion that 99% of dog owners have about dogs preferring to relieve themselves on a bit of grass rather than tarmac or concrete. It is all too easy to stick up a poster proclaiming that heat kills but not actually do anything to make it easier and more accessible for owners so that they don’t have to leave their dogs in a hot car in the first place.
Service station operators of course have a captive market. Most of the time, stopping at one of them is the only option. Yes, there is always the choice to get off the motorway to seek somewhere better, but the majority of folk don’t do that, as decent rest areas on A and B roads are rarer than rocking horse shit and unless you know the area, the chances are that you are not going to risk a potentially lengthy detour to search so will instead reluctantly trundle into the service station knowing that you will get ripped off with nasty, overpriced food, divisive car parking rules and nowhere for your furry friend to get a drink, have a wee or sit in the cool while you run the gauntlet inside.
We are supposed to be a nation of animal lovers. Actions speak louder than words so why don’t our service stations lead the way in showing the love???
