Ford Mondeo Estate Dog Vehicle
4 July 2017
We are really excited about the launch of our brand new Ford Mondeo Estate dog vehicle. This design has arrived as a result of collaboration between ourselves. Police forces across the UK and dog handlers.
The task was to create a solution which would fit in the rear of an estate vehicle (allowing prompt response), meet DEFRA and RSPCA guidelines in terms of kennel sizes and welfare whilst at the same time come within a certain price point for potential customers. For the last two weeks we have been travelling around the country in our completed demonstrator showing everyone and their dog (literally!).
The kennel basically comes in two parts in what we call a ‘clam shell’ design. The two halves have been molded specifically for to Mondeo Estate and designed to maximise the vehicle space whilst not causing any damage to the vehicle trim. Apart from moving the rear seats, the integrity of the vehicle is not affected.
It is a two kennel unit with a centre divider down the middle of the pod. This allows either a 50/50 or 60/40 configuration. At the rear of the vehicle there are two steel gates with lightweight aluminium frames. To the front of the kennel unit there are two emergency escape hatches which can either be operated from an electronic switch in the centre console or a manual over ride button beneath the drop down hatch.
The front bulkhead of the kennel has acoustic properties which is massively important to the occupants of the vehicle. We have also made a storage unit which is specifically for the Ford Mondeo Estate and provides storage for the dog handlers along with a separate box for in vehicle electronics.
The dogs are kept cool by the vehicle air-con system being ducted into the rear of the vehicle but not directly into the kennels. All in all we think we have come up with pretty much the optimum design for animal transportation, animal welfare, and well-being for dog handlers. We are looking to market this product to both public and private sector organisations including security companies and dog handlers.