Use a pet carrier

by J Rowe
(Salt Lake)

We use a pet carrier which allows more control. Privately with a rabies certificate I was able to cross a border with a pet as long as there was no outbreak. Don't ever try to cross a border with a child or a dog if you don't want your company to see them on a manifest (unauthorized passengers). Also it is a criminal offense with great penalties if you don't declare a passenger.

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Response from Vicki:

Thanks for sharing.

Traveling with a pet presents its own set of challenges. (See our page on pet travel.) For professional truck drivers who want to take a pet on the road, there are at least two options:

• either make sure that as a company driver the company for whom you drive has a pet rider policy
• or control your own truck by being an owner operator.

From an "authorized passenger" perspective, it may be part of law enforcement's thinking that they don't want animals of any type being transported across international borders that do not belong to the driver. (Imagine what would happen if all sorts of wild animals started being transported.) While having vaccination records on hand is a good idea, we do not know what kind of paperwork a driver needs to show proof of ownership.

I wonder where the line of compassion is for transporting a domesticated dog or cat for hours at a time in a pet carrier. Of course, the driver needs to concentrate on driving, not caring for a pet wandering all over the inside of the truck. By necessity, the driver would have to be sensitive to the pet's needs for food, water and bathroom breaks. This would be true whether the pet was inside a carrier or not. Which type of pet carrier works best for professional truck drivers, we wonder. Would a carrier like the one shown at left work best? Also, we suppose that it would matter how large the animal is (or is likely to grow) in order to plan for the right size carrier. If the pet is a large dog, it may be rather awkward to have a carrier in the truck (because it may have to be continually moved around inside the truck, such as on and off the lower bunk).

You may be able to find a good used pet carrier online. Another option is to ask at your veterinarian's office if they know of a source. If they don't know of one right away, they may allow you to post a contact card on their bulletin board (assuming they have one). There are lots of websites where pet owners may connect.

We would be interested in learning how other professional truck drivers restrain their pets while driving. For what it's worth, most of the animals we have seen being walked at truck stops have been smaller in size.

Thanks again for sharing.

We wish you safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.

Best regards,
Vicki Simons

http://www.truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/