It's a Team's Life

Pets in the Truck

How many of you travel with an animal in your truck? We have been driving for over ten years. It has only been in the last two years that we have added a pet to our truck. When I asked what people would like to see in an article about traveling with pets, the list was well thought out and comprehensive. Due to the fact that we are new puppy parents, I can only tell you what our experience has been with our boy Rocky. Rocky has been in the truck with us since he was 8 weeks old. We had no clue what we were doing as neither my husband or I have ever had a dog before. So here is what we have learned over the past two years.

Rocky has been described as a horse. He is 75 pounds and loves to meet people. He has literally stopped traffic! My husband was walking him one day when a car stopped in the middle of the parking lot. A lady got out of the car, approached Rocky and said “I need to get some puppy love!” This is just one example of how a pet provides happiness to not only us but complete strangers too!

Once Rocky broke his collar and we did not have a spare on hand. This taught us to always make sure that we carry extra equipment not only for us but for our dog as well. We carry an emergency kit with salve and bandages in case Rocky gets hurt. Fortunately, Rocky has not needed to go to a vet while we have been on the road but  pet owners have had to take their pets due to an emergency situation. How do you find a good vet? I would have to google “vets near me” to find one. We also carry plenty of food and water. 

We have learned to have a variety of toys in the truck to keep Rocky busy. Once while I was driving and my husband was sleeping, Rocky must have gotten bored and decided to start chewing the back of our sleeper wall. Needless to say, we were not happy with Rocky. He must have figured out how unhappy we were because he has never chewed on the truck since.

We do try to find places that have dog parks so that Rocky can get off leash and run off some steam. He really likes to stretch his legs. We have found that the Love’s truck stops seem to have dog parks at most of their locations. Trucking is not the best life for some types of animals so we do all we can to get Rocky the exercise that he craves and needs. 

While having a pet in the truck can be challenging at times, the rewards of animal love far outweigh the time it takes to train and manage a pet. I am sure that those of you with pets would agree.

Rocky says, "Here's to many profitable and safe miles!