Transporting Pets for a Living!!! Perception vs Reality.

When we tell someone we transport pets, or we're pet transporters we get one of two reactions. The first is is "WOW, what a great job".  Then they go on to tell us that they have never heard of such an a thing, In the grand scheme of occupations, this is relatively new field.
Because of that we've had the privilege and sometimes nightmare of setting the standard on how we want our business to operate. As with any business there is a perceived notion of what our business entails.
For most when we tell them what we do they instantly think, AAH! cute puppies, and driving around the country seeing the great sights.
What we're really doing is cleaning up after puppies, listening to cats meow at 2 am, dealing with stressed, gassy dogs, tight deadlines, traffic, LOTS OF TRAFFIC, ignorant drivers, stressed clients. That is just to name a few issues. Once a driver leaves their residence they are committed for two weeks of service, minimum. That is two weeks of being away from family, friends, and off time. Once the first pet gets on the vehicle that driver is on "Duty" until the last pet gets off. Image yourself having to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for two weeks. Yea, that's it. Most people have a cramp thinking about it.
A person really has to love the pets, and understand we are working with a living, breathing being. We also have to realize that the pets we are transporting start out scared and confused. Well some do, others think its vacation time.

Then we have the second type of people's reaction when we tell them we're "pet transporters". "OH!, you transport for rescues." We explain no we don't transport for rescues. Then we get that disapproving look, and some are even brazen enough to tell us how wrong we are to charge for such a thing. We don't have a right to get paid for doing what we love to do.
Well it's time now we need to address this. 99.9% of the people that call us with regards to rescues have other jobs. They work 9-5, 7-11 or whatever their shift is. At the end of the pay cycle they get a check, big or small, it is still a check to pay their rent, mortgage, car payments, feed their children. You get what I mean.
We are expected to drive this country, in all weather conditions, listen to people cussing us out because we're "NOT GOING FAST ENOUGH" on the interstate, provide our own personal vehicle, pay all the fuel, food, motel, personal care. Then not get paid to do it. Because they do "rescues on the weekend, and they don't understand why its SO EXPENSIVE to move a pet.
Well, lets start with the insurance, all 4 policies we have to carry. Then there is the license we have to maintain, vehicles that have to be serviced every two weeks. Driving, 3000 miles a week puts a real strain on the vehicles. So at the minimum, its an oil change and some of these vehicles a simple oil change is over $100. That doesn't speak to replacing larger, more expensive parts. Think of it this way, if you walk out to your car and it doesn't start or you drop a transmission, the mechanic hands you a bill for $1500-$3000. Where does that money come from. Because of the miles traveled in a week the odds of us having an major component break is a lot greater.  Don't forget, vehicles don't run forever. At some point these vehicles have to be replaced. Everyone wants their pet traveling in a beautiful vehicle, starting price for one of those beautiful vehicles is $20,000. That is a stripped out version. Some of these custom vehicles run in upward of $80,000. Sorry, they still can only travel the same amount of miles as any other vehicle.
That just covers some of the business end expenses, doesn't cover the office expenses. Nor does it begin to cover wages. Lets face it if we're driving 12 hours a day, for 14 days, when do we have time to do another job to cover our home expenses. We don't live in our vehicles during our down time.
We all have families, and lives outside of transporting pets. Don't get me wrong, we love what we do, We've made a conscious decision to make the sacrifices we do. This is an attempt to explain, why the quote you get is so expensive or why we cannot do free rescues all the time.
We have made an effort to work withe very situation what is presented to us. So we set a structure for Rescues vs, Adoptions.
A true rescue is a pet coming directly off the street or out of a no kill shelter. Because the chance of disease and/or injury, we have to go into these with no other pets on the vehicle. The vehicle must then be sent directly home for cleaning and sterilizing. We try to do a few of these a year, but we cannot help everyone that ask.
Adoption is a new pet parent, adopting the pet from a shelter or foster home, going to a forever home. Asking a driver to transport the pet for free or next to nothing is asking that driver to give up their paycheck that puts on the table, pay their rent, etc.

We try to do what we can throughout the year. But we cannot help everyone or we would have to stop transporting. Just don't have that money tree in the back yard. Its this a rant, possibility, but we want you to understand that the perception of transporting pets is a whole lot different then the reality.

URGENT!!!! This is a must read!! Puppy or adopt a pet SCAM ALERT!!!!!!

The advent of the internet has given many small businesses the ability to provide services and products to clients we never dreamed we would be able to reach. As a small company we provide a service throughout the continental USA. 15 years ago I never dreamed this would be possible.

Over the last 9 years Jill and myself have worked long hours, sacrificed a lot, and prayed, alot. We wanted to provide an honest, timely, top notch pet transport service. We knew from the moment we started this type of business it would be like no other. People look at their pets the same as their children. Providing a pet transport business would require a high level of TRUST. 

Trust is what we've worked so very hard to provide. TRUST is not just a word, but an action. Trust is not a given but rather needs to be www.preciouspetstransport.comearned. So it burns us to the core when we find dishonest, lazy, well there are not enough words available to describe those that steal content from our website to post a fake website. Set out to do no more that steal money from hard working people.

I hope you are reading this BEFORE you have given money to someone claiming that we are picking up a puppy or an adoptive pet from an airport and bringing it to you. A few things to know about 

Precious Pets Transport Service. 

1. We use only one email address for those wishing to get a quote. 

2. We deal directly with the client buying or adopting a pet. We do NOT deal with third party services. 

3. We have contracts that must be signed by the client that is buying or adopting a pet. NO contract, NO service. 

4. IF you have not gotten a written quote from us FIRST you are NOT dealing with PPTS. 

5. AND THIS IS THE BIG ONE; IF you are asked to make a payment through MONEYGRAM or 

   WESTERN UNION. YOU ARE NOT DEALING WITH PRECIOUS PETS TRANSPORT SERVICE.

6. Payments made to PPTS are are ALL traceable. We have NOTHING to hide. 

7. If there is any doubt pickup the phone before you give any money and call us at 888-240-7225 or email us at 

    customerservice@preciouspetstransport.com . 

WE cannot stop scammers, as soon as we figure out one way to stop them they come up with a new way to scam. CHECK OUT the situation BEFORE you give money. 

Precious Pets Transport Service wishes to provide a safe, and reliable service to all those wishing to entrust their beloved pets to our care. But please make sure you are dealing with us. There is plenty of information about us on the web. Our email address ends @preciouspetstransport.com . If there is any other ending question it. If in doubt call us 888-240-7225. 

https://www.preciouspetstransport.com

New Family Members!!

That magical time of year is quickly approaching. Winter wonderland, Christmas lights, family and that one present that makes children squeal, a puppy.
Many people are in search of the "Perfect Puppy". That is awesome for the people that take the time to do the research for the puppy that best fits the family.
Don't get me wrong there are times when a pet adopts the family. I have two of them sitting here. Not sure we actually ever went "shopping" for a pet.
If your perusing the web for a new pet keep a few things in mind while looking.
1. Keep in mind your not just looking for the perfect pet for the family. The family needs to be perfect for the pet. What does that mean? Looking at a puppy that is cute and adorable one can lose track that in 6 month its going to look and act a whole lot different. Some puppies work great in an apt but once they start that growth spurt that cute puppy many not fit so well in that same apt.
I have a boxer/pit mix. OMG! is she a handful. I adopted her over a year ago when the family that got her as a puppy realized she was a full grown,and an uncontrollable bull in a china shop. As a puppy she would have been gorgeous. Puppies do GROW UP. Kiki is the type of dog that requires major attention. Without it she is destructive. She is also the type of dog that most people look at and shy away from.. This family realizing she was out of control decided to get rid of her.
I realized she was still young enough to train and decided to take on the challenge. Slap me now. LOL!! Its been almost a year, we are finally getting to the point where we don't have to stand over her behavior. But that has taken time, lots of time.

What you need to look at is the type of breed your looking at.
1/ Adult size vs your living location. Do you have to walk your dog. I have a 2 acre yard for my dog to run and poop. I don't need to scoop the poop. Remember walking a toy dog is a whole lot less time than walking a jumbo dog, poops a lot less to. So if you have to scoop the poop where you live and you don't like to pooper scoop, getting a great dane is probably no a good choice.
2. Do you have a busy schedule: Again another big choice, there are high maintenance breeds  that require attention from you. Some cases a lot of attention. Its like having a kid in the house. Feeding, walking and taking them to the vet is just not enough. They needs exercised, trained, and played with.
I had to take Kiki's play time and combine it with her training. She was SOOO out of control when we first brought her home. I wanted to pull my hair out. She is a breed of dog that has to be played with, trained and supervised. She has play time where we train and throw the ball or Frisbee. She also has free expression playtime, (supervised). She has as much as three hours a day of one on one time. Helping to get and keep her balanced.
3. Money: Pets are expensive. Shots, food and the basic care. Jumbo breed dogs eat a lot. If funds are tight but you want a cuddly companion, go for a toy dog, small breed dog, or a cat. You will want to research the breed you are choosing. Some breeds have inherited illnesses and physical conditions. Examples are large breed dogs can have hip issues, bulldogs have breathing problems. Be sure your pocketbook can handle the vet bills. Nothing more heartbreaking than getting a dog and realizing you can't give it the proper care.
4. Children, if you have children in your family be sure to get a pet that is suitable for children.

Just a few things to think about if your planning to get a cute cuddly present.

https://www.preciouspetstransport.com

When its time to say "Goodbye"

 Its taken me a week to get to this point where I can sit down, write this and not break into tears. Its been a week since I had to say "goodbye" to my cat Tiggy. I returned from a trip on Monday, I notice then tiggy was a bit slower, looked at me with a strange look, and just didn't quite seem herself.
Wednesday night I spent a great deal of the night sitting quietly with tiggy.  Both knowing the end was fast approaching. She was in a great deal of pain. I needed to make the ultimate decision. By Thursday morning it was clear the time had come. I gathered Tiggy up and we made the trip to the vet. When the vet asked me why we were there, it was clear without me saying a word.

There are very few things in this world that touches me to where I'm in complete tears.
Thirteen years ago an employee walked into my office, asked me to look at her car, something was wrong with it. As we approach, she walks over and pulls a box out. Inside are six furry kittens. "Pick one boss, you need something to care for." I reached in under all the kittens and picked the only one that was a tabby, the rest were calico's. She was the runt of the litter. Three weeks old and full of wonder. Took me two weeks to get her named. I called her "Angel", only to realize she was NO Angel. LOL!! She was a holy terror around my office. But everyone loved her, customers included.
Tiggy and I went everywhere together. In the morning she would get in the truck to head to the office and back home in the evening. She road to my parents in PA. When it was time to head home all I had to do was holler her name and she came running.
When my roommate in MD moved out we moved into the master bedroom. As you walked into the outer area there were full size mirrors. I howled with laughter as the first night tiggy spent the night beating the cat up in the mirror. I think it took her a week to be able to walk past the mirror and not smack the mirror.
One of tiggy's best friends in the office was a dog named "Winter". Everyday tiggy went to work with me and Winter came to work with her human. The two of them would romp and roll around the warehouse and back field. You could look out the back door to see Winter strolling through the field and the tip of a tail from "Tiggy as they explored their domain.

Tiggy gets a baby. Well not really, about a year later a friend of mine comes walking into my house and hands me this orange ball of fluff. Tiggy took it upon herself to drag poor Samson up and down the hallway, whether he wanted to go or not. Didn't take long till Samson was twice the size of her.
Since she couldn't drag Samson around anymore she took to dragging stuffed animals around. I was home one day sick. Tiggys didn't know I was home, I hear this singsong, I"m thinking what the hay is that. As I walk out of the bedroom there is Tiggy dragging this bear down the hallway singing to it. Well as soon as she spots me she drops it. For the next twelve years we would find this bear all over the house, on the steps, bed, in the kitchen. That is until she found her mouse. It was easier for her to carry and sing to at the same time. Always the same song. Often wondered what she was singing to her baby.

 Tiggy was a thinking cat. Always looking for something to get into. She loved to run around on the roof of the house we were renting. Bringing her friends home was her favorite. One day as she was heading into the house the a "friend" Jill meets her at the door, picks her and her friend up. Tiggy growling the whole time and puts them back outside, shuts the door. Its took Tiggy three seconds to realize there was another door open, it was off to the races to see who got to the other door first.
For thirteen years I would turn around and see her following me, whether I was in the yard working, or bouncing around the house. She was my 1.5 foot shadow.

 Its been tough this week look around expecting to see her. She was small but mighty. We all have pets, but every now and then one comes along that just steals your heart.


https://www.preciouspetstransport.com

When its time for your pets to travel!

I'm going to keep this blog short and sweet. It's moving day and the movers have arrived for your furniture. The first thing to do is secure your pets.

Before opening the doors to allow the movers load the furniture, you will want to secure all dogs and cats. Remember your pets have no idea what is happening. To them its mass confusion. Every year we get a call where a cat has escaped and the family is set to fly out the next day.

The best way to secure cats is to put a litter box in a bathroom that is OFF LIMITS to the movers. Put your cats in that bathroom. Moving companies will open the doors while moving boxes and funiture out. With all the noise and movement happening its common for a cat to get nervous and shoot out the door.
Most cats will edventually come "home", to where they were fed. But in the meantime its heartbreaking knowing your leaving and your cat is left behind to sort itself out. If you do lose a cat in the mix of your move, make your neighbors aware there is a cat out and about. Give a discription of size, color, and personality. This may help in the rescue of your cat.  Make the local rescues and humane society aware your cat is lost, again give a description so if one comes in they have a record of it. Keep calling to check in.
For dogs you will want to secure them either in an off limits room or in the back yard. While you may love your dog not all movers love pets. If your dog senses a mover is not a pet lover it may create a tense moment before your move gets underway. Out of courtsey for your dog and the movers secure your dog ahead of time.
Before the move begins secure a tag to your dog(s) collar, with name and phone number. Should your dog get nervous and bolt at any point throught the move it will give someone finding your dog the ability to contact you directly. If possible micro chip your dog.
We just got a call from someone whose dog was stolen years ago during their move. It was recently taken to a vet, they scanned the micro chip only to find the dog was stolen. Then owners were contacted and told their dog was found, years later. That will be a VERY HAPPY reunion.

Whether your moving with your pets or your hiring a "Professional" to transport your pets follow these tips and this may help keep your little love ones safe.


www.preciouspetstransportservices.com

Summer is coming, Moving gets busy!!

Summer is rushing into view. After years of working in the moving industry we have learned to take the "down" time to upgrade and prepare for busy times. We're working hard to upgrade communication systems, vehicles, equipment and quality people to help us handle the summer rush.

As a Professional Pet Relocation Service we want to help you understand what you need to know to make an informed decision when its time to move your pets. In the grand scheme of things ground pet relocation services are a relatively new industry. Because it is such a new industry there are very few regulations on the books to regulate companies. So you as the client need to do your homework and ask questions. If you've not done this before what questions you need to ask.

Lets get started, the government organization that regulates this industry is the USDA. There are specific guidelines that are in print that every transporter is to adhere to. Every professional company gets a USDA number. If you contact the USDA they will be able to tell you if the company is licensed, this can be checked online. If you write to the USDA they will give you the company track record, but this takes time, so get started early if you want more information about the company.
The next things to look at is their insurance. Many companies will say they are "Insured". Yep, their vehicles are. That does nothing for your pets. There are specific insurances you will need to see if they have, one of course is vehicle, two business liability and three, a care and custody policy. If you doubt or question whether they really do have the proper insurance, ask for a certificate of insurance. Any professional company will have no problem providing one.
If a transporter does not have a care and custody policy chances are your pet is not covered. Cargo polices do not cover pets.
Next, what type of crates are used. Plastic crates are used on airlines because they are secure and don't collapse. These should be used. Wire crates run the risk of collapsing in the event of an accident. The other issue with wire crates is if a pet get sick, (delly belly), all needs to stay confined to that one crate. Cleaning the plastic crates is much easier. What is used to clean the crates and when are they cleaned.
Crates should be cleaned after EACH and EVERY PET.
Do pets have access to water 24/7. Are they fed? I almost fell out one day when a client asked if we fed the pets while we moved them. I thought she was joking, She informed me there were companies that did not feed the pets. I was just horrified hearing this.
Are the pets walked, how many times a day. Pets given a schedule will settle into the ride knowing their basic needs will be met. Food, water, potty, and comfort.
A professional company will also plan for the worse. What happens in the event of a breakdown, weather, or emergency.  Is the vehicle equipped with climate control in the event of an engine failure. Do the people in charge know what steps to take in the event of an emergency. Traveling 3000 miles a week, at some point things happen. This country has very hostile conditions, in very remote regions, with little to no services. This job can be fun until one has to deal with an emergency and is not prepared properly.
One other major question, what happens at night. Some companies drive 24/7. That constant rumble of the engine can be a bit daunting after awhile. We've learned that stopping at night gives the pets a chance to totally relax. They don't mind the ride especially when they know it will stop at some point.
When the ride does stop for the day, what are the sleeping arrangements? Most drivers have a bunk built into their vehicle. If you don't see a bunk, bedding or pillow of some type chances are they are going into a motel and leaving the pets in the vehicle alone.
Private rides are different, most of the time all go into the motel. Shared rides however usually have anywhere from five to at least a dozen pets, there is no way a transporter is going to unload that many pets into a motel every night.

To summarize, your looking for:
1. Proper insurance
2. A physical address for the company your planning to use. NOT a PO Box.
3. Climate controlled vehicle.
4. Sleeping arrangements.
5. Basic needs for the pet. How will they be met?
6. Emergency Procedures.
7. Can you find adequate information about the company. Referrals, references, social networks. The web has a vast supply of information on any company that has been in business for any length of time.

Hope this helps.
https://www.preciouspetstransport.com