Are you contained?

I never thought there was another person more anal about a vehicle until I met my husband. It was a bit of a relief actually knowing I wasn't alone in finding the perfect parking spot on an edge or obsessing over a potential door ding. I found my match!

The idea of transporting a dog was a concern.

My daily driver, our 2002 VW Beetle Turbo Snap Orange Special Edition, became the dog transport vehicle, but not until we equipped it with a soft crate.

Diesel needed to be contained.

No scratched leather seats or clawed door frames for us. Random dog hair needed to be kept to an absolute minimum. So the permanent state of the OB (Orange Beetle) has been back seats folded down so the entire back of the car is an open hatch where the soft crate sits neatly inside. Diesel has a clear view out the front window, he's safe in his own space in case we need to come to a sudden halt, he has a snuggly (and removable for frequent washings) flannel sheet to take a nap on, and our car remains in like-new condition. For Diesel, it's like car-camping every time we go to the dog park. Wait a minute – it's been my life-long aspiration to have a car to sleep in at a moment's notice and here he is fulfilling my destiny on a daily basis. My dog prodigy.

Now that summer is here and our 1967 VW Karmann Ghia is out of storage that opens up a whole new world of dog transportation. Easy-care vinyl seats have found Diesel sitting in the passenger seat with his head out the window like a regular dog.

Ah, the dog days of summer. Those ears were made for flapping in the wind anyway.