Cosalt leads way with dog lifejacket
30 June 2008
COSALT is helping the fight against crime - by designing a lifejacket for police dogs.
The company's Gosport-based Crewsaver arm got together with the Metropolitan Police before launching its new Petfloat range.
And the updating brought one improved product for pet owners to use when on beach or boating holidays and another for the Met's drugs and explosives search dog team.
BBC TV has been filming the dog team in action for a future documentary series - and they were wearing their new Petfloat lifejackets.
Petfloat is manufactured using a super-soft, closed cell foam that offers excellent buoyancy and flexibility. The outer fabric is extremely durable and provides high levels of wear resistance for longevity.
It is easy and quick to fit. Padded webbing straps on the underside clip easily into place using quick release buckles.
These straps pass through a foam-padded harness that sits underneath the pet, holding it in a secure horizontal, swimming position.
An added feature of the harness is that the pet can be safely lifted from the water using the incorporated lifting handle.
This can be attached to a halyard for lifting larger pets. A standard "lead" attachment point is also supplied.
The design project was headed by Crewsaver's Beth Gill who explained: "There was a customer call for the last Petfloat to be updated.
"There was also a need for an extra size. This was to cater for such dogs as Yorkshire terriers so I added a size in between the original extra small and small.
"The police were concerned about the ease of lifting the dogs safely and comfortably as they worked from boat to boat.
"We used components with very high breaking strengths, ensuring there was no chance of the dogs falling out.
"The floats needed to be extremely comfortable given that the dogs work such long hours. That is where the girth padding originated, to spread the load well."
With a standard Petfloat and a super police version, Beth had a lot of testing to do before coming up with the final designs in a project which saw her complete her Masters Degree in performance sports wear design at Derby University.
She explained: "The testing was quite fun. Sometimes I used a friend's dog 'Belle' and when she wasn't available I took size sets down to the common where I live to 'accost' dog walkers from the neighbourhood.
"This gave me a wide range of dog sizes, small and large, to fit to, and also consumer feedback on the design."
Most of the testing was 'dry' though Chester, a labrador owned by Beth's next door neighbour, wore the Petfloat when he went 'fishing' in the Solent.
Added Beth: "The police also tested the Petfloat and gave us good feedback from the working dogs."
To ensure that leads, treats or pooper scoopers are not left behind, Petfloat has a zipped mesh pocket on the back so pets can be self-sufficient on long days out.
Available in bright red, Petfloat features reflective safety piping for high visibility on and around the water.
It comes in five different sizes, from extra small to extra large, ensuring suitability for most breeds of cats and dogs.
Issued on behalf of Cosalt Safety and Protection by Nigel Lowther Associates Ltd. Media inquiries should be referred to Sarah Avery on 01472 504288 or Nigel Lowther (0792 0102303).