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Our Commitment to Service
At Viles and Beckman, service is at the heart of everything we do. We exist to serve our clients, our employees, and our community. Our commitment to service originated with our founding partner, Marcus Viles, and lives on in our vision and mission. It was Marcus Viles’ dream to start the Viles and Beckman Foundation, to channel the proceeds our firm makes serving our clients into making a greater impact on our community. We continue this commitment because we make all our hiring decisions with our core values at the forefront, resulting in a Viles and Beckman team driven by a desire to serve and given the room to carry out that service through our firm’s initiatives.
We do this by partnering with other local non-profits to support worthwhile causes. Previously, our team members volunteered at the Community Cooperative’s Mobile Soup Kitchen, and last month two of our team members attended the Gulf Coast Humane Society’s Bark in the Park event, as part of our support. Two of our team members joined the Gulf Coast Human Society, their partners, and pet lovers in our community on a beautiful Saturday in November in Centennial Park. Our employees had a great time connecting with members of the community and their furry friends. They were able to provide Viles and Beckman branded collapsable water bowls and waste bag holders to help take care of the pets of Fort Myers.
Serving Our Community’s Pets to Serve the Community Overall
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The mission of the Gulf Coast Humane Society’s shelters is “being a safe haven for pets in need by providing medical care, promoting adoptions, and nurturing the bond between pets and people in Southwest Florida.” Animal Shelters make a tangible positive impact on the communities that they serve. They provide vital services for animals while serving as a safe haven for pets. This helps to prevent overpopulation of strays, by making sure animals are spayed or neutered. Overpopulation of stray animals can have negative impacts on natural wildlife and plant ecosystems.
The benefits of shelters are not limited to the animals that they serve but increase the quality of life for the people in the community as well. Shelters promote adoptions, connecting pets in need of a home with individuals and families that can benefit from them. That benefit goes beyond the joy and fun that having a pet around brings, households with pets show an increase in holistic well-being. Communities with animal shelters are also safer, with lower decreased crime rates in communities with pets and animal shelters.
Click To ContactThe Gulf Coast Humane Society does not receive government funding, their no-kill shelters rely solely on grants, donations, and fundraising events such as their Bark in the Park event. Which is why Viles and Beckman is proud to support their events by renting a booth at their event. Our employees had a great time connecting with members of the community and their furry friends.
Protecting Your Pets in an Accident
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We supported the Gulf Coast Human Society because we know that pets, such as dogs, are not just animal companions, for many of us they are equal members of our family. At Viles and Beckman, we support our clients through their most challenging life events. This is often when our clients have been victims of a car accident. The last thing that someone who has been injured in an accident needs is to be worried about is the safety of any pets that may have been travelling in the car with them. Here is how to best keep the four-legged members of your family safe in a car.
Safe Ways to Transfer Dogs in a Car
For the safety of pets and their owners, dogs should not be travelling in the car unrestrained. In an accident, a pet can become a projectile. This can lead to serious injury or death for the pets, and potentially cause injury to the driver or any other passengers in the car.
Car Harnesses
Seatbelts in your care are optimized to keep humans safe; they are not effective in securing dogs in the car as they are. The seat belt in your care can be adapted to keeping your dog safe in the car as well by using a dog car harness. These are not the same as a harness that is used to walk your dog, because it’s designed to connect to the car’s seatbelt, and are often thicker and more padded than walking harnesses for increased safety and comfort. These harnesses keep dogs secure in the car, allowing them to sit or lie down in the car while they travel.
Not all dog car harnesses have been crash-tested, it is recommended that pet owners do their research to find a harness that is certified for crash safety by the Center for Pet Safety (CPS).
Car Seats
The same way we use car seats to keep small humans safe in the car, special car seats can be used to help protect small dogs. These let small dogs sit securely while propping them up to look out the window. To date, no dog car seats have been CPS crash-test certified, so the CPS recommends that if using a dog car seat, secure the dog in a crash-tested harness before placing them into the car seat.
Travel Crates
According to the American Kennel Club the safest way to transport a dog in the car is a travel crate. The crate should be large enough for the dog to sit, stand, or lie down comfortably, but a crate that is too large can risk injury to the pet in the event of an accident. It’s recommended that you measure your pet from nose to tail and add about six inches to determine the best carrier size. Crates should be made from sturdy materials such as aluminum. Some crates also have extra padding for pet protection.
Travel crates can also be used to soothe dogs with motion sickness. When placing the crate in the car, it should be as close to the center of the car as possible to keep the pets protected in the event of a crash. Place the crate on the floor of the car or in the open storage/trunk area, they should not be placed on top of the seats. When putting pets in a travel crate ensure that it is ventilated and that dogs have access to a toy and water for comfort.
Unsafe Ways to Travel with a Dog
Traveling on Your Lap
We love keeping our pets close to us all the time but holding a pet on your lap while driving is unsafe for them and you. Having a dog on the driver’s lap is distracting to the driver and other drivers on the road. Pets on your lap can also block visibility, potentially leading to crashes. Most states cover having dogs or other pets on the driver’s lap with their distracted driving laws, though multiple states are considering following Hawaii’s example of passing a law banning pets from riding in the driver’s lap.
Even if you are not driving it is not safe to transport a pet on a passenger’s lap either. This can still be a distraction to other drivers. Lap sitting also leaves the pet unsecured, which could cause injury to the pet or human passengers in the event of an accident.
Passenger Seats
Pets driving in the passenger seat are at a greater risk for injury if they are secured or not. This is because pets are at risk of being injured by the airbag, which is designed to keep humans safe and not safe for pets when deployed. Unsecured pets in the passenger’s seat are also at greater risk than unsecured pets elsewhere in the car, because of the risk of propelling into the windshield.
Other Safety Tips for Pet Travel
Aside from securing pets in the event of an accident, additional ways to keep pets happy and safe during travel include:
- Do not leave pets unattended in a car
Cars can overheat more quickly than you think, even if the windows are rolled down. On the opposite end of the spectrum, cars can become dangerously cold in the winter.
- Pack pet travel supplies
- Prepare your pets for long car trips by getting them used to shorter car trips
- Take frequent breaks on longer car trips
Help keep yourself, fellow drivers, and our pets safe on the road by taking the necessary steps to secure pets in the car. When accidents do occur, someone who is injured faces a significant challenge to recover. You can give yourself peace of mind by knowing that your pet is secure in the car. Getting medical treatment and recovery takes a massive toll and the victims of an injury need to be focused on their recovery, you can’t be worried about their pets. You also can’t be worried about handling their personal injury claim. You need someone who can fight for you like family, advocating for all your needs fiercely while you focus on your recovery. At Viles and Beckman we provider a 5-star client experience while we fight for our clients like family.
Continuing Our Mission for Service
We at Viles and Beckman are committed to continuing to serve our community with the same 5-star commitment that we serve our clients with. We look forward to continuing to partner with other non-profits that work diligently to improve the lives of everyone in Southwest Florida, including protecting the pets we love. We look forward to supporting the Gulf Coast Humane Society’s mission in the future.
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