Family credits Ch. 2 investigation for saving dog in crash

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County family credits a Channel 2 consumer investigation with saving their dog from death or serious injury.

Valerie and Kent Stephens purchased a Sleepypod dog crash harness for their pet after seeing Channel 2's Jim Strickland's story exposing the weaknesses in some harnesses on the market.

Valerie Stephens had been securing her Irish setter, Dexter, with a pet safety harness that underperformed in test video Strickland revealed in an investigation in February.

Stephens ordered a harness that out-performed the competition, called a Sleepypod.

"He's in place.  He's not shooting around like a rocket.  He's in place," said Stephens as she demonstrated the harness.

Weeks later, their Prius crashed at 55 mph.  Stephen's husband had to swerve to avoid a wrong-way driver.

"And we see a car in our lane coming at us. He never saw our car," said Stephens.

Dexter stayed put and walked away uninjured. The car was totaled.

“I just think it was meant to be that we actually saw that report," said Stephens.

The Sleepypod is the first harness to earn a certification from the Center for Pet Safety.  CPS is the non-profit advocacy group that sponsored the harness tests.

"I want to make sure these products do their job, and if you don't do your job, then you shouldn't be doing this," Lindsey Wolko told Strickland in an interview for his original investigation.

A program for other pet products to apply for certification just began last month.

WSBTV