It's a Team's Life

Our Growing Family

Our Growing Family

Many truck drivers have pets that travel with them. We have seen dogs of every breed, cats and even a bird. We have also heard of people that have kangaroos, pigs and other animals in the truck. In some cases, pets are not allowed on company property. This has happened to us a couple of times. Because we are a team, I usually stay with Rocky while Dave goes onto the property to either load or unload. Drivers without a co-driver have to find a place for their pets while they do their job.

Several months ago we went on our first vacation in several years. It was the first time that we  left Rocky for more than a day. It was important for us to find a place that he would be taken care of and be happy. We had tried a kennel for two days to see how things would go. It  did not go well. Rocky was so angry with us that when we said his name he would not even look at us. That led us to finding another option. We used an app called Rover. This company can also be found at Rover.com. We submitted an application and chose two different people on a list of many. The one person never responded while the other contacted us within minutes. This person was willing to take Rocky into her and her family’s home. There was one other hurdle that needed getting over. The family had a young child and also had an infant visit their home on a regular basis. Rocky had never been around children so we did an in-home meet and greet to make sure he would behave around the child. They also had a dog of their own which Rocky enjoyed. Before we even left the house the child had said that he liked Rocky. We were set. 

When we picked Rocky up after our vacation we found him to be so happy. When we saw how happy Rocky was it made us realize that he needs companionship with another dog. Rocky is a big boy. He weighs 80 pounds and takes up a lot of space in our truck. So trying to decide what type of dog was more challenging. We also decided that we wanted to help a dog that was displaced or abandoned. That was another challenge as some shelters were not receptive to truck drivers. Fortunately, we found an organization that was eager to accept us. We would like to introduce Barkley. He is half the size of Rocky so he fits in the only corner left on the bed. LOL

Barkley has been with us for less than a week so we are all learning to adjust to this new addition. Any tips from pet owners who have more than one pet in the truck with them is very much appreciated!

Here’s to millions of safe, profitable and PET FRIENDLY miles

Kelly Plumb