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petsmartcharities.orgAfter seven years, truck driver Karyn Marshall decided she refused to make the long journeys alone. Knowing depression affects truckers, Marshall stayed one step ahead of her mental health.

Her company, Amistad Freight Service Inc., actually encouraged pets.

So, Marshall began to look into pet adoption.

She went to PetSmart but wasn’t allowed to adopt the black cat who caught her attention. The staff learned she intended to travel with the cat in her truck and voiced concern.

Marshall told PetSmart in a later interview, “I was heartbroken… I’ve had many adopted cats throughout my life. But because my home was a truck, it wasn’t considered to be a good one. That really hurt.”

Luckily, PetSmart referred her to another adoption partner called Safe House Animal Rescue.

The shelter worked together to find the perfect cat for Marshall. They introduced her to Snickers and petsmartcharities.orgthe two shared an instant connection.

Snickers was pampered immediately by Marshall as she bought him a new bed, carrier, toys and food. She said he fit right into the truck from the moment he walked in.

Not long after, Snickers gained a friend when Marshall and a few other truckers came across an abandoned litter of kittens at a California truck stop.

Each of them took one or two and Marshall came back with two kittens which she named, Pebbles and BamBam.

Pebbles found another home with one of Marshall’s friends, but BamBam stuck around, soon becoming best friends with Snickers. “The only life he knows is in that truck,” Karyn said to PetsMart. “And he loves it. He’s like a little kid – very active, and all over that truck all the time.”

As they say, opposites attract and the two cats became quick friends. BamBam’s activeness was a balance to Snicker’s mellow nature.

petsmartcharities.orgThe addition of the two cats in Marshall’s life have added stability, relaxation and a portable alarm clock, since BamBam is an early bird.

“He’s the alarm clock,” said Marshall. “You do not go past 7 a.m. Eastern time — no matter what time zone you’re in – without feeding BamBam. He’ll meow, nibble my fingers, bite my nose – anything to get my attention.”

Marshall encourages all truck drivers to adopt a pet for the road, as long as their employer allows them.

She says both of her feline friends have enriched her life completely. Though she’s not against dogs, she asserts that cats make the best trucker pets, no constant stops for bathroom breaks.

“They’re quiet, they don’t bark and they want to be with you, they couldn’t care less about what’s going on outside. They want to be loved on and worshipped like they feel they are worthy of,” Marshall states.

Do you bring your pet on the road? Share a picture with us and follow us on Facebook to see how your fellow drivers live life on the road. 

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Jack in a flannel shirt

On a truck somewhere, there’s trucking dogs that hates to be naked. The brindle-colored Chihuahua, Jack, belongs to truck driver Rhonda Spahlinger. “If he’s naked, he’ll stay in the corner and give me the evil eye,” Spahlinger says. “He hides from the world until he is dressed.”

Spahlinger’s pooch serves as one of many trucking dogs who dresses to impress.

In the process, the dogs bring joy to those with CDL driver jobs. Jack likes wearing T-shirts, flannel shirts, even a certain turtleneck sweater.

“I don’t care how hot it is, he better have a shirt on,” Spahlinger laughs. He even has a T-shirt that reads, “I’m naked under this shirt.”

Spahlinger, a lease operator for KLLM Transportation based in Jackson, Miss., drives throughout the Southeast. She drives solo for 26 years. Jack serves as great company on the road, she says. At truck stops, he often picks out the biggest dog there to play with. “He loves everybody,” Spahlinger says.

Emma in her puffy coat

Angela Neumayer’s dog, Emma, dresses up daily, too.

In fact, the cocker spaniel- dachshund mix has a full wardrobe that includes everything from a red raincoat to a plaid Christmas dress. Also in her doggie closet: sweaters, T-shirts, coats and boots.

“When I say, ‘Come here and put your coat on’ she puts her puffy winter coat on,” Neumayer marvels. Much of Emma’s apparel shows off her proud Canadian heritage, like Neumayer herself.

Neumayer, a Canadian owner operator leased to Erb International, dresses Emma to keep her warm.

Emma and Sam in raincoats

She even adds little boots to her tiny paws in the winter. Neumayer buys her pet clothes at PetSmart stores on her routes between the United States and Canada. And Emma isn’t the only dog she dresses. Two years ago, Neumayer took in an abandoned dog at a truck stop in Missouri. His name is Sam, and he’s partial to raincoats and sweatshirts.

But it’s Emma who relishes fashion most.

Rescued from a puppy mill, Neumayer found her at a shelter in Belleville, Ontario, in 2009.

“When I saw her picture on the website, I knew she was the gal for me,” Neumayer says. “She’s come a long way from being this tiny dog that was afraid of everything to developing her sense of adventure (and fashion).”

Pets brighten a driver’s life on the road in so many ways. Connect with us on Facebook here to see more pet-related content.

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Man Uses CDL Trucking Job to Rescue Animals

David Binz with Spartacus

David Binz is a longtime owner operator leased to Alaska West Express. His CDL trucking job requires that he move mining, construction and oil field equipment, day-in, day-out.

But, as a volunteer for Kindred Hearts Transport Connection, Binz also moves more precious cargo—pets in need. For Binz, who’s ridden shotgun with his own dog, Izzy, for 10 years, rescuing animals is a privilege. Binz likes Kindred Hearts for its compassion. Overall, it works to place orphaned animals with caring owners nationwide.

To date, Binz has placed 111 pets in need in the hands of caring owners along his trucking routes.

And while he typically moves cats and dogs, he’s also transported birds, gerbils—even a potbelly pig.

“I’ve been known to transport four or five animals at a time,” says Binz. “I draw the line at snakes. I will not move snakes.”

Kindred Hearts has nearly 30,000 volunteers around the country, though few of them are people with CDL trucking jobs.

The group posts upcoming runs on its Facebook page, and if one of them fits with Binz’s route, he lets the administrators know.

Also, Binz recalls the time he moved a military macaw bird. “That one was kind of unusual for me,” Binz says. “It would tell me I was on the telephone too long and that I needed to hang up.”

Man Uses CDL Trucking Job to Rescue Animals

Binz and a pit bull rescue

Meaningful Mission

Transporting the animals “means a lot to me,” Binz says. “It allows me to give back to society. If you have a 9-to-5 job, you have a lot of ways to give back, but those options are not out there for truck drivers. This is one thing I can do as a truck driver to make a difference.” These days, Binz rides with Izzy and Spartacus, a rescue dog he hasn’t yet found a home for.

Kindred Hearts is a natural fit for Binz, a lifelong animal lover who grew up on a horse farm. His son trains wild mustangs in the summer, and when Binz gets home time, he helps his son find loving owners for the horses. To transport animals as he does, “you’ve gotta love an animal,” Binz says. “No matter what the animal does, you have to be able to love it. If a dog craps in the middle of your bed, you have to clean the mess up and love the dog.”

PetSmart Partnership

When he’s on the road, Binz relies on PetSmarts all over the country for help. He buys pet food there and uses their training rooms to give dogs off-leash exercise.

Man uses his CDL trucking job to rescue animals

Izzy, right, befriends a dog Binz was transporting.

“I love PetSmart,” Binz says. “They always cut me a break on the bill for bathing the dogs. In the winter, when the weather’s really nasty, they let me bring my dogs in and they can run around and play.”

Binz admits he gets attached to the animals he rescues. “You end up crying a little bit sometimes,” he says. “Sitting there for an hour and reflecting. You have to say, ‘OK, I helped that one. Now it’s time to go help another.’”

 

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