Yep, that'd be the way to do it.

Plenty of countries have rabies outbreaks with dogs roaming the streets.
Spoiler alert for them spoil sports out there! Y'all like spoiled milk, stop crying over it!

Yeah.

I know this is an old post but I wanted to comment anyway. I think they could solve the cell phone problem by her having it in her hand when she gets out of the car the first time at the Camber house. She could have grabbed it when she gets out to see whether or not anyone is home. Then, when Cujo attacks she could drop it and in the scuffle to get back in the car it gets kicked under the car. It would have to be far enough so that she couldn't just open up the door and reach it whenever the dog isn't around, but also far enough under so that the dog, being too big, couldn't get it either. Then, instead of having the Camber's phone being the one that keeps ringing, it could be the cell from each time Vic tried to call or text or Steve. The cell ringing and making noise could be what keeps setting Cujo off and having him attack the car and it would be extra torturous to Donna to keep hearing it and knowing that it is just out of reach. At some point she should be able to reach it but, just as she calls for help and she can hear ringing, the battery dies and her moan of exasperation triggers Cujo to once again be all mean and growly. Does that work?

I don't suppose it occurred to you that the the cell phone battery might conceivably run out. You know, like the car battery did.
~.~
There were three of us in this marriage
http://www.imdb.com/list/ze4EduNaQ-s/

It's something horror movies an thrillers have been having to deal with for a while now but it can be easily and unimaginatively fixed

Or they could place the movie in the 70s or 80s
Does not have to take place in modern times.

I think a more effective way to incorporate the cell phone is to have her leave it in her purse on the porch or drop it outside somewhere near the car. Then she's constantly debating her chances on whether she can get to the phone before the dog attacks. She could make a run for the phone and actually get it only to find the battery dead or no reception out on a farm in the middle of nowhere. But having the phone nearby as a constant source of hope would raise the tension a lot.

As others have already pointed out, there are numerous ways in which a cellphone could be left out of the story.

It's rural Maine, not midtown Manhattan. Look at an effing cellular mapMaine has immense holes in coverage.

This message has been deleted.

Here's how I would do it: do a little foreshadowing, she complains that her phone has terrible reception, then at the farm when the car won't start, she tries calling, the 911 operator picks up right away, the reception is so clear that you would think she was in the car with them, then Cujo comes through the window, snatches the phone in his mouth, crunch crunch crunch.
"My girlfriend sucked 37 d*cks!"
"In a row?"

I said that very thing today when we caught it on TV

The movie came out in 1983, and cellphones were unheard of back then. When I saw the play Extremities, they updated it by having her try her cellphone after tying up her attacker, but there was no signal.

I'm very tired of movie/TV "no cell phone" excuses.
It's true, I guess, that most adults and teens have cell phones. But there really ARE reasons why a cell phone is not available sometimes. I would say you don't have to explain it in a story if there is only one person involved.
Coffee's for closers.

• the guy from Mitch and Murray (Alec Baldwin)

Dead battery.
cocktailssssss.

How detracting/distracting is a 30 second scene where she breaks her phone, drops in water, leaves it at home, shows the phone is dead i mean would that really ruin the movie for you? I mean I would find it more distracting if they tried to pretend like cell phones don't exist and seriously I find a hard time beliving in 2011 a young mother married to a rich ad executive with a Jag and a New England Victorian wouldn't have a cell phone.. That would be a bigger distraction.. I know two people in this thread already mentioned they don't have cell phones but I seriously know like 3 people who don't have them over the age of 15, mentioning why she can't use the phone is as necessary as showing why she just can't drive away it's necessary and it's not that big of a deal.

I said that very thing today when we caught it on TV

It could be worked out though. Cujo could make a grab for her bag and she drops it with her cell inside. That would make sense.

SK hates cell phones so if he had a hand in a remake ( which I hope never happens) he could write it so she doesn't have one. I don't have one, no need for one, so everyone in the world doesn't have one.
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."

No imagination.
There are dozens of ways this could still happen, cell phone or not.

This just made me lol.

u.s. cellular!
good one.
We're not soldiers and he's not the enemy. He's a pizza man.

They pretty much have to address why they don't call for help or it is a huge plot hole.
I'll go with, 'left phone in the house and was going back to get it when Cujo attacked.' That way there's the extra kick of the phone being just a few feet away.