Other than nuke plants, I've run into a problem maybe 3 times, and then maybe 4 or 5 nuke plants where my co-driver or I stood outside with the hounds. So it seems the ones with no pet policies are the odd ducks.
Odd ducks? Not at all. If you ask the manager of the facility about their pet policy, I would be willing to bet that more than 95% of them have a no-pet policy, since insurance companies require it of nearly all businesses, or rather, the insurers will not cover anything related to a pet without a specific rider on the policy, and most businesses won't pay extra for the liability rider. That's why most business have a no-pet policy. The odd ducks are really the ones who strictly enforce it. But even the ones who don't strictly enforce it, if you arrive and let your pet run lose around the lot, the warehouse or the manufacturing facility, watch how fast it gets enforced. Most places simply don't enforce it unless it become an issue.
Which, back to my first assertion, if that's the case, the onus is on them to specify that when bringing in outside vendors or delivery people. If that's your policy, SAY SO, and I won't accept the load. If you don't say so, I hope your forklift can get to the gate
Actually, the onus isn't on them. They're a business, and unless their business is veterinary medicine, the onus is on you to realize that there are very few business that allow pets on their property and have no pet policy.
The problems are many, from a pet being run over on their lot which they don't want to be liable for, to a dog running around the warehouse marking his territory, to a dog taking a chunk out of someone's leg, or from a forklift driver being startled or distracted because of the sudden appearance of a potentially dangerous animal and then driving off the dock or running someone over. It's simply not something that businesses want to have to deal with. Nor should they have to make sure that every one of the thousands of drivers of loads that come in or get shipped out get the memo on something that should already be known.
Shippers and receivers know that there are a lot of truckers with pets, and most who have a strictly enforced policy will make it known to carriers and brokers, but sometimes they fail to mention it or the message fails to make its way to you. That's not their problem, it's your problem, and you have to be prepared to deal with it in whatever manner you choose, be it calling your carrier to have them send a truck to baby sit your pet while you make the delivery, or to make arrangements for a crossdock to shift the freight to another truck. But trying to put the blame on the shipper or consignee is probably the worst way to deal with it. Bottom line is, these people are in the business of shipping or receiving freight, not catering to pet owners. Your pet, your responsibility.
Now, having said all that, I can't believe people are getting so worked up over this, since you can probably count on one hand how many times this problem will crop up over the course of a year. Rather than get all pіssy with a security guard who won't let you in, just say, "Fine," and then call your carrier and see how
they want to handle it. They're the one who booked you on the load, and they know you have a pet. Put the ball back in their court, because they dropped the ball by booking you on the load, or the paying customer dropped the ball by not informing the carrier of the no-pet policy. It's real easy man.
