Center for Pet Safety Certifies Four Sleepypod Pet Carriers

CARS.COM - Nearly a year after doing well in the Center for Pet Safety's 2015 Crate and Carrier Crashworthiness Studies, pet product manufacturer Sleepypod has achieved CPS certification for four of its carriers.

CPS, a nonprofit pet-safety research and advocacy organization, recently published its test protocols and ratings guidelines for certifying pet travel carriers; participation in the program is voluntary and Sleepypod is the first manufacturer to earn pet carrier certification.

Related: Make Traveling With Your Pet Easier, and Safe

Three of the tested carriers - the Sleepypod with the Pet Passenger Restraint System Handilock, the Sleepypod Mini with PPRS Handilock and the Sleepypod Atom - earned five stars. The Sleepypod Air carrier earned four stars. CPS awards ratings of five stars, four stars or not recommended.

"The test evidence indicates that Sleepypod has completed ample research and development on its entire line of travel carriers to achieve the highest crash test ratings from Center for Pet Safety," said CPS founder and CEO Lindsey Wolko in a statement. "Sleepypod consistently outperforms other pet product manufacturers who struggle to even attempt to meet our rigorous testing and performance requirements. There is a level of commitment here that we simply don't see from the rest of the industry."

In an email, Wolko explained that CPS ratings are based on carrier excursion (including connection integrity); retention of the test dog before, during and after the test; overall construction integrity (materials, stitching and closures); and carrier lift (vertical movement of the carrier during the test).

When it comes to lift, Wolko wrote, CPS would "like the carrier to remain as stable as possible on the seat ... so carriers that meet all other requirements will be downgraded if they exceed a vertical limit."
Lift is the reason the Air carrier received four stars rather than five, she added.

"Sleepypod carriers have transformed how pet owners travel with their pets," Sleepypod co-founder Michael Leung said in a statement. "As more pet owners take their pets with them on vacation, errands and to work, Sleepypod carriers offer ease of use, maximum comfort and proven safety when traveling in cars."

Sleepypod also earned CPS certification for its small, medium and large Clickit Sport pet travel harness in 2014 and the extra-large Clickit Sport in 2015.