Change in Pet Policy?

My suggestion would be to call you're local home terminal and talk to their safety manager
or terminal manager, or contract Phoenix AZ (swift home terminal) and ask them.

 

Look!

Pets are no longer allowed to be carried by company drivers. You could lose your job, be fired right on the spot of any terminal you would be at. Otherwise, they would route you back to your home term for a conversation with your DM that would be. either the pets goes and you stay, or you go. Its just that simple and basic.

Any one sitting at one of the terms computers can look up and see if your authorized to have one.

 

That's what i got at orientation, i personally wouldn't take the risk

 

Well some do and get a way with it, but the real danger is getting caught 500, 1000, 15 - 2000 miles away from your house and being unemployed with no way back home. You can't take a pet on Grey Hound, you would have to rent a car, which is very expensive to rent one way. I heard of one guy that had a dog in his truck, they wouldn't let him out the gate. He was given the choice right there, the dog has to go or you do! Can you imagine having a pet that you love, and having to decide to leave it hundreds or thousands of miles away from where you live? And then, what to do? Either put it in a shelter or kennel, then hope to some how go and retrieve it later?

Oh yes, its in the employee handbook under the Rider Section I think, NO PETS.

 

policys on a #### disk now. If u ain't got a CPU good luck reading it. The Books were better and more assessible. But what do I know. Anyhow no pets allowed in company trks unless u were grandfathered in.

 

I'll tell ya, our company used to allow pets. But we could never let them out at customer locations to use the bathroom. Plus if we wanted a new truck every three years, if you had a pet you drove that truck till it died. Company explanation was it ruined the resale value or some crapola. My guess is, if they deliver to any walmart DC's they do not allow pets. Walmart will not allow you to let a pet use the bathroom at a DC. And lets face it, you can sit in line at some of those DC's for hours. Not to mention any rail yards or ports you can't take pets into either. I think the days of pet policies with most companies are over unless you buy your own truck and run as an owner opp.

 

There is even a problem as far as pets with L/O. When we have a pet on board it is in the computer regarding truck info. Many times a planner does not look at this, then send a nice pplan, we accept, and then arrive at customer only to find out, pets not allowed on property. Now we are stuck there because the planner did not do their job. We have the same problem having a rider on board. In the few months that my wife was with me, had to leave her at the guard shack or a truck stop close by, and she is not from the states, and does not speak English, and again, the planners not looking

 

My wife is with me, I'd be willing to tell the planner to pound dirt, find someone else to run the load, if that bit of info was left out. But I'm also a company guy, so the deadhead miles wouldn't count agenst me if I did that.

 

That info is usually left out of the pplan. Sometimes it might be on the disp after you accept, but not always. Luckily one of the guard shacks was a decent place and she was okay there. It is the t/s that I fear, especialy since we were in Louisianna. She gets very fearfull and with someone trying to talk to her when she is not understanding. One of the reasons that she is no longer on the road with me.

 

There's one hazmat customer I go to, they want all my lighters and matches if I have any plus require Abby to stay in the truck while on their property. Plus no phone or qualcomm/satellite communication on their property either.

Other than that I have only had one problem at a customer but the guard held Abby in the guardshack while I went in and completed the drop and hook. Most of the loads will have the "no pets" in the comments of the preplan which I can turn down. On the very front screen of my truck info when they bring it up I had my DM implant the words Dog On Truck so they can't miss it.