Anyone ever lose a load because they had a pet in the truck with them?

Jack_Berry

Moderator Emeritus
i talked to suds last nite. this was a broker load. customer told broker the load was sanitary. evidently the message was not passed on to suds.
 

tallcal101

Veteran Expediter
A post very close to my heart. It's been 1.5 years since I sold my 5 expediters,but the memories are forever scorched in my mind (whats left of it).
I ran White Glove reefers for FECC. They used to be,and probably still are,extremley offended by animals (for pets or meat) in these trucks.Being the snob I am,I could care less about hairy things that poop and stink up houses and vehicles,but some regard critteres as family members.I don't get it,but thats another story.

Being the trusting soul I am,I invested might tall dolllars in equipment only too be contunually lied to by critter loving truck driver teams that kept smelly fur balls in the trucks against my specific instructions not to. When their lies would be exposed,it was always under a load that paid thousands of dollars that they would turn down. FECC would call me to report the drivers turned down the load , I would get really ****ed and much later find out it was over the stinking fur ball.Once the truth was out,they would be fired on the spot and told to bring the truck to me and find there own way home.
If this were an isolated event,that would be one thing. But it went on and on.Otherwise normal people except when it came to the beast. Unfortunatly,these were most often experienced husband and wife teams that simply could not be separated from Princes.
It's just one more commentary on why I'm soooooo glad to be out of it.
In China,dogs are for sale in the public markets,they don't call them Snookums,they call them dinner, black dogs prefered.
 
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x06col

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Retired Expediter
US Army
I betcha he say " tolerance my azz, I wanna kill sumpin".
 

ebsprintin

Veteran Expediter
I've seen one more reason pets can be banned from shippers. Dog comes bolting out of a cargo van, up the loading ramp, into the warehouse and starts barking and darting between the legs of the dock foreman (so what if it was less than 5 lbs). Leave it to the few to spoil it for the rest.

eb
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
ebsprintin
You are right it is often the bad pet owner that ruins a customer from ever wanting a animal back on their property and I cannot blame them. Drivers go on a customer’s property and do not clean up after their pet and then allow their pets to bark incessantly.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Precious little 5 pound doggie comes bolting out of a cargo van, up the loading ramp, into the warehouse and starts barking and darting between the legs of the dock foreman. Very cute. Dock foreman not trying to step on the dog trips, breaks his arm and splits his head open.

Precious little 155 pound snarling rottweiler comes bolting out of a cargo van, up the loading ramp, into the warehouse and starts barking and taking large chunks out of the legs of the dock foreman, fingers are lost, dog wraps teeth around downed foreman's throat and emphatically shakes his head "NO!" when you tell him to stop.

It's a matter of eliminating the risks.
 

pelicn

Veteran Expediter
Tallcal, anyone that brings a pet into an owners truck without permission deserves to be sent packing!

The biggest problem with pets in the truck are the owners.
 

MsSnow

Expert Expediter
We have a cat in our truck. never lost a load due to her being with us. We also never have to worry about her getting out of the truck at a shipper or a consignee because she hates getting out of the truck even when we are at home.

I have had to sit outside at a Dupont plant in NJ with her. Also had to sit off military property with her while John went in to get loaded.

On another note we drove for an owner with our cat in the truck. He never had a problem with us having her with us basically because he knew that we treated his vehicle like it was our own. It was also a White Glove truck and FECC was well aware that we had Sugar with us. We were never told by them that we could not have her in a W/G unit.
 

gotta go

Veteran Expediter
I think that anyone who would try to sneak a pet would be untrustworthy in other aspects also.
When I drove for fleet operators they knew upfront that I can't drive without Dingle. Who else can keep me in line?
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
This is another reason to own your own truck you make the decision to have a pet with you on the road. To lie and say you do not have a pet and to get into WG and have a pet is just not ethical as far as I am concerned. How anyone is in all of Expediting at any carrier could not know the FedEx Custom Critical does not allow pets in WG be it a cat, a dog or a canary is beyond me.
We have compared what our income is to what we could earn in WG and we could make a lot more without Molly in the truck. We are doing just fine with our income and we still have Molly with us so money is not always everything.

We though as the truck owner get to make the decision if we have a pet or we do not and we are ethical in the pet ownership as our carrier is very aware that Molly is in this truck.
 

BillChaffey

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Navy
Money is nice, but it's hard to beat the companionship of a dog or any other pet when your on a long drive or just sitting.
 

Tempest

Seasoned Expediter
I started driving working for my brother and he knew when I started that Taco and Paco would be with me. Panther also was aware of the boys in the truck. About 3 months after I started I was in Rocket City at the Ammo Depot and they wouldnt let me in to get the load. Panther had neglected to tell me about the "No Pet" rule the shipper had. When my brother found out I lost the load, he "suggested" that I leave the boys at home. I asked where exactly he would like me to leave is truck. That was 3 years ago and my furry sons have seen every state in the lower 48 since then. I now have my own trucks and a pet policy of my own. It is simple and to the point. If I have to have truck cleaned or replace carpet seats ect. when you leave it comes out of your last check. Otherwise, if shipper doesnt want to let you in and panther didnt tell you up front, proceed to closest truckstop, walk your babies and wait for next load. Panther and the shipper WILL get over it.
 

tallcal101

Veteran Expediter
i thought I would catch more heat then that for my pet rant. In reality,I'm an animal lover with many good friends in the canine and feline family. And I've never eaten any dogs,not been offered any a far as I know.

But these drivers drove me crazy. They were in all other regards trust worthy and honest( as far as I knew). They wre making the big bucks in W/G fleet and all I asked was that they follow the well known rules.
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
I thought so too, TC - maybe you just left everyone speechless, lol. I'm with Jeanie - if a pet were that important to me, (and if I had one it would be), I'd do what I had to do to keep it - but lying is not acceptable.
 

simon says

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Power plants are starting to get real peculiar as well. I lost at least two loads in one week, and that was the end of the feline companion. (Not literally the end). The cat hair was starting to get on my nerves anyway. A TA waitress was very pleased to get a pet for her child.
So word to the wise, if you do not want a hassle make sure your dispatch knows you have a pet, and then you won't have last minute surprises on site..
 

BillChaffey

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Navy
I'm a little curious where you saw Dog's for dinner in China. I spent some time there in some good size cities in 2005 & only saw three dogs, all pets the whole time I was there. Most Cities have ordnance's against them because of the clean up after the pet.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
During the Beijing Olympics the government officially removed all dog from the menus of "official" Olympic designated restaurants. Beijing Tourism officials (a.k.a., the Chinese Government) also notified non-designated restaurants and all restaurants in the surrounding areas to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs, and for servers to quietly and patiently, but firmly, insist that those who do order dog figure out something else to eat. Soon as the Olympics ended, the ban was lifted.

Same thing happened in Seoul in the 1988 Olympics. There was even a law enacted that prohibited the sale of “foods deemed unsightly.” After the Olympics, the ban was no longer enforced.

Cats are real popular in Asian countries, as well. Both can be found on the menus of many, many restaurants all over China, Korea, The Philippines, Viet Nam, lots of places. In a classic example of cultural imperialism, PETA and other animal rights groups around the world are trying to convince the billions of Chinese to quit eating Fido and Fifi, just like they're trying to get the French (and me) to quit eating foie gras'cause it's cruel to the duck (but killing the duck and ripping out the liver, that's OK, not cruel at all). What happens if the Chinese tell us it's cruel to eat cows and want to impose their cultural will on us?

Pekingese and Shih Tzu were once honored members of the royal court. Shar-Pei were bred specifically for dog fighting. And chow chow were bred specifically, just like cows, by Mongolians for food and clothing, in addition to working dogs for hunting and herding. Betcha never look at chow mein the same again. ;)
 
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