Newbie questions re' Pets

[Kweasye]

*I apologize if this has already been posted but I read a lot of pages and searched with no results.*

My husband and I are seriously considering signing on with a co. to get training and team otr, we do not have any children however we do have pets. Obviously we are looking for a co. that allows pets, and finding a list of those is hard enough as they don't all want to say yes or no. But! What we have drawn a blank on is what kinds of animals are typically allowed? How many animals? Both of us have been around trucks, he's a diesel mechanic and I've worked parts counters, and have seen lots of pets but no idea if they were O\O or not. And at the time didn't think about driving as an option so didn't make note of the co.'s. So.....What, if any, do you have in your rig? How many? Pros and cons other than the obvious face licking? How do your driving companions interact with the state laws on particular animals? (Ex: ferrets in Cali) Companies you know the pet policies for co. otr teams? Any info would be great!! If you know where I can get this info and I managed to miss the site please please PM me!!

Thank you all for the masses of questions and answers!!

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by Kweasye

*I apologize if this has already been posted but I read a lot of pages and searched with no results.*

My husband and I are seriously considering signing on with a co. to get training and team otr, we do not have any children however we do have pets. Obviously we are looking for a co. that allows pets, and finding a list of those is hard enough as they don't all want to say yes or no. But! What we have drawn a blank on is what kinds of animals are typically allowed? How many animals? Both of us have been around trucks, he's a diesel mechanic and I've worked parts counters, and have seen lots of pets but no idea if they were O\O or not. And at the time didn't think about driving as an option so didn't make note of the co.'s. So.....What, if any, do you have in your rig? How many? Pros and cons other than the obvious face licking? How do your driving companions interact with the state laws on particular animals? (Ex: ferrets in Cali) Companies you know the pet policies for co. otr teams? Any info would be great!! If you know where I can get this info and I managed to miss the site please please PM me!!

Thank you all for the masses of questions and answers!!

well let's be honest here.....ok....??

how many pets do YOU THINK should be allowed inside of a rig...??

i mean, the rig does indeed look big when you are looking at it from the outside, but it can get cramped in there real quick when you have 2 people. now, you want to add in pets into the fray..........

well first, no miniature ponies, or llama's.......

would you want a huge St. Bernard....??

then too, there most times would be a "deposit" for damages done by your pet, like those "little accidents". then too, people are allergic to animals, so when you leave your truck, some poor sap will be getting it.

this really did happen to me in fact. i had a beautiful freightliner columbia sleeper. great truck, was only 30,000 miles when i got it.

but wait, there was pet hair in every nook and cranny, that i was constantly trying to get rid of. AND, I DO have allergies. my company could not give me another truck, reason being, back then, i was on a dedicated account for DHL and i had to "fly the colors" of DHL.....so i was trapped..........

soooooo...............you need permission first and foremost. you might need a "pet damage deposit" which you may very well lose even if your truck is super clean when you turn it in...!!

then, if allowed, you might want to start small, say start with a hairless, hypo-allegeric, cat....???

[SevenOfNine]

Por1driver gave you a good answer and you can find more on this subject by going to this link
Domestic & Pet Questions

[Kweasye]

I apologize, I think I rambled too long. I understand the size and limitations of a sleeper. I don't have a dog at all so no worries.

My questions are just something that I am curious about. There are laws against certain animals in certain states. I wanted to know if those applied to animals inside a rig. I also wanted to know if there is anywhere that I could be directed to that would shed more light on the companies policies rather than spending more days contacting them individually and waiting for my "in 24 hours" answers. I will check out that link. Thanks for the responses.

[SevenOfNine]

A driver I was talking to the other day at a TS I stopped at to get a drink was telling me he stopped bringing his dog while he drived because his dog got badly sick from an infection he developed because the dog licked his paws(like ALL animals do). Think about it,the diesel,urine and other nasty crap on a TS parking lot is what an dog walks through. Let's also remember the broken glass,rusting metals,etc.,etc.

Do you really want to subject your animals to this possibilties?

Pets like children require room to play and if they don't have that,they get bored and just like children they could cause damage trying to play in the truck.

Most truck companys will require a pet deposit and will limit you one pet.There might be some small private owned companys that will allow more then one but it's doubtful.

Most pet deposits range from 100 to 300 bucks. Steep maybe but considering the possiability of damage and cleaning to the truck,I can't blame them.

Owner Operaters can pretty much do what they like,afterall it's their truck. But like pro1driver said,the tractor only has so much room and more then one animal might be a hazard by getting in the way of driver causing an accident.

Also there is the chance that some places your might end up deliverying at will not allow anyone or pet on their property. What you will end up doing is sitting outside the gate waiting while your husband goes in and makes the delivery. This goes for riders at times too.

My opinion is just this, I would no more make my pet ride hours and hours in the car. To me it's cruel and not safe for me or the pet.

[SevenOfNine]

I also wanted to know if there is anywhere that I could be directed to that would shed more light on the companies policies rather than spending more days contacting them individually and waiting for my "in 24 hours" answers.

As each company is different there is no real catch all link for the pet policies.

You might try researching the companys you are interesting in on the web,most companies do have web sites. Some web site list the requirements and benefits (like pet and rider policies)

Here is one site to get you started. It's a trucking company search engine :)
Trucking companies hiring trucking jobs: Truck driving jobs available here at BubbaJunk.Com