Pets and Customers

asjssl

Veteran Expediter
Fleet Owner
I have had my dog with me for 6 years...I have always found...rules and regulations go out the window....when they REALLY need what's on your truck...then pets seem to be ok all of a sudden....
 

Dallen323

Seasoned Expediter
Driver
I found this thread very entertaining to say the least. I used to have a co driver that i would make stay in the bunk at the customer. He yapped like a ankle biter and would pee outside all the time. But he would drive all nite without stopping. just like with a pet in the truck its a trade off i guess
 

ttruck

Expert Expediter
Owner/Operator
I had a load the other day that almost caused a problem for me. I was getting unloaded and the guy on the forklift said, "Don't let the guard see your dog!" I told him she already knew about my dog because she was barking while I was talking to the guard. On the way out, I told her the guy said I shouldn't have my dog there, because I was wondering what they do when a driver has a dog. She asked, "YOU HAVE A DOG?!?!" She said when she heard the barking, she assumed it was a neighborhood dog.

I asked her what they do when a driver comes in to deliver and has a dog. She says they turn them away. "How do you get your freight?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders.

So it got me to wondering what everybody else with a dog does when they run into this situation. If you don't have a codriver to stand outside the gate with the dog or to go inside to make the delivery while you do, what then?

I figure if a place has some crazy rules like "NO REDHEADS," "NO BLUE SHIRTS," "NO WHISTLING ON TUESDAYS," "NOBODY WITH BROWN EYES," or "NO DOGS," they need to state that up front with all their carriers or their broker. If they don't say anything so I take the load and show up with my apparently bad brown eyes or my dog, they should have made it clear beforehand, so the fault is theirs.

How have people handled this in the past?
Use to have a pet she did as she was told laid in the back and stayed there, I was told once that the drivers used to let them out and run.
 

vandriver2

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
In the 4 years of Expediting in my 2011 Sprinter, only twice have I been asked to "Secure" Maggie. Once at a Power Plant in southern FL. and secondly at a Steel Mill. They told me Dogs were not permitted inside, said to me "I never saw your dog" if someone asks. lol I placed her under our high bunk, with leash attached to collar and bunk upright.
Very recently at a 3 Rivers, MI Factory the Guard shared with me that a TT Driver who let their pet loose to potty at the back of the Plant in their grassy area is no longer permitted to PU or Deliver there.
The Co. I drive for is "Pet Friendly". I take the responsibility of being loved and needed by my canine very seriously. I prepare for, and respect the rules of the Business Properties that I enter onto. These Corporations help me earn my living. I won't jeopardize that relationship, nor mine and lil Maggie's. I wish I got as many treats as her by the dog-loving guards, sweet talk and pats on my head! lol
 

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Worn Out Manager

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Air Force
In the 4 years of Expediting in my 2011 Sprinter, only twice have I been asked to "Secure" Maggie. Once at a Power Plant in southern FL. and secondly at a Steel Mill. They told me Dogs were not permitted inside, said to me "I never saw your dog" if someone asks. lol I placed her under our high bunk, with leash attached to collar and bunk upright.
Very recently at a 3 Rivers, MI Factory the Guard shared with me that a TT Driver who let their pet loose to potty at the back of the Plant in their grassy area is no longer permitted to PU or Deliver there.
The Co. I drive for is "Pet Friendly". I take the responsibility of being loved and needed by my canine very seriously. I prepare for, and respect the rules of the Business Properties that I enter onto. These Corporations help me earn my living. I won't jeopardize that relationship, nor mine and lil Maggie's. I wish I got as many treats as her by the dog-loving guards, sweet talk and pats on my head! lol


I never got a treat from a guard and I sit op, fetch and roll over too!
 
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OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
pet loving aside these companies have a right to NOT let you in....IF the load broker OR your carrier messed up by not relying the message its on them....that pets are NOT allowed...Myself I've heard people being refused to load, I've heard loads being refused when Fido comes running over the top of food packaging material...
YOUR carrier should know that most anything to do with food usually has this restriction, You should never been put on the load...

I myself run into the Non Citizen rules at times at Power Plants and anything to do with military...the rules vary from place to place...some where I am NOT definitely allowed, to having to be escorted...or they'll send a lift truck out to the gate...

IMO its the dispatchers responsibility to KNOW the rules before he/she puts you on that load! They should call the customer or facility as part of their job to ensure secure/safe delivery..IF there is any doubt at all you should not be on that load....but we know it comes down to $$$$$$$.....
 

BillChaffey

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Navy
It only happened to me once. I said I'll be happy to park in the street and you can send out a fork lift. After a minute or so they said come on in.
 
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blizzard2014

Veteran Expediter
Driver
One of my drivers just picked up a food grade load. The company that brokered it to us wanted to know if my driver had a pet on board - she didn't. We also had to have the driver sweep out the back of the truck before he/she arrived at the shipper. I wonder what would have happened if my driver showed up with a dog in the truck. I guess I'm glad I didn't have to find out.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
I wonder what would have happened if my driver showed up with a dog in the truck. I guess I'm glad I didn't have to find out.
More than likely they wouldn't have loaded the truck. Every once in a while a customer will request no pets even when such a request isn't necessary. But the shipper knows for sure. There are some things, like liquid flavorings in a drum, that can certainly be shipped with a pet and it won't affect the liquid inside the drum at all, but if a dog, for example, were to lick the side of the container, it could kill the dog or make it severely ill. Many of the no-pet rules and regulations are for the safety of the pet as much as they are for the prevention of contamination in the shipping process. Dogs have peed on freight, ruining the entire shipment even if just one box on the pallet received the spray, the entire shipment will be rejected. There's a freight claim you don't want anything to do with.
 
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OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
Its amazing to see how many EXPECT others to be responsible for their choice of pet ownership....this is a JOB people.....you don't take your pet into the factory or the retail store where you work either....
these places are NOT responsible for your pet....and you are to follow the rules of your customer, there should be no expectation that these places should have to accomodate your pet in any way...water? shade? cooling/heat? thats on you.....
 
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