This article was originally published on PR Cision Newswire.
Data shows more than half of professional truck drivers who take their pets on the road (66%) say it’s for companionship
BOISE, Idaho, June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — In honor of National Take Your Pet to Work Week, Truckstop.com surveyed customers (professional truck drivers) about their pets and found that taking their pet on the road was a key benefit of their profession. Customers shared personal stories about how they found their pet companion and the unbreakable bonds they’ve formed.
In a survey conducted earlier this year*, Truckstop.com found that more than two-thirds (67%) of US professional truck drivers were feeling the pressure to work longer hours and 55% worried about where the trucking industry was headed in the near future, when discussing their concerns associated with the driver shortage.
According to a more recent survey conducted by Truckstop.com**, professional truck drivers travel with their pets on the road more often than not (56%), with 66% of those respondents saying it’s for companionship and 19% for emotional support.
Truckstop.com customers Mary and Johnny Gaskins’ Yellow Labrador, Oscar, was rescued from the trash outside of a breakfast restaurant in Vanceboro, North Carolina when he was only six-weeks old.
“It was love at first sight, and I couldn’t believe someone could do such a thing to an innocent puppy,” said Mary Gaskins. “We take him everywhere – he has improved our way of life. When you’re on the road, it’s stressful and you’re sitting for hours on end. Oscar forces me to get out of the truck while at rest stops and walk and helps ease the stress brought on by what can be a very stressful job. We may have saved him, but it turns out he saved us.”
Customer Kristy Kramer is a freight broker based in Warren, Michigan and her miniature Golden Doodle, Baylee Jean, not only sits quietly with her in her home office during work hours, but is a therapy dog in training.
“Baylee Jean has given my son and I a new life,” said Kristy Kramer. “My son has epilepsy and ADHD – Baylee can sense when he needs comfort and will lay on top of him to create the feeling of a weighted blanket. I was inspired to get her certified as a therapy dog because of her natural instincts to comfort and after seeing how dogs can brighten the day of those in recovery facilities.”
Additional survey findings show that most professional truck drivers who travel with their pet would reconsider their profession if they could not take their pet with them on the road (54%). Truck drivers who bring their pet on the road for emotional support are most likely to reconsider their profession if they couldn’t travel with their pets (64%).
Following two years of industry instability and now facing unprecedented fuel costs, these pet passengers make a world of difference. Luckily, for many carriers, National Take Your Pet to Work Week is a treat they get to benefit from regularly.
To see more customer stories and photos, please visit our Facebook page, https://facebook.com/truckstopdotcom. For more information about how Truckstop.com is empowering the freight community, visit https://truckstop.com.
About Truckstop.com
Truckstop.com is a trusted partner for carriers, brokers, and shippers – empowering the freight community through a platform of innovative solutions for the entire freight lifecycle to increase efficiency, automate processes, and accelerate growth. As one of the industry’s largest neutral freight marketplaces, Truckstop.com provides the customer service as well as scale of quality loads and trucks to give customers of all sizes, whether on the road or in the office, the transparency and freedom to build lasting relationships and grow their businesses. To learn how Truckstop.com is helping move the freight community forward, visit https://truckstop.com.
Methodology
*Survey carried out, on behalf of Truckstop.com, by Censuswide. 504 U.S. truck drivers (aged 21+) that are carriers (an individual or company that does shipping and handling of cargo loads) surveyed between 02.24.2022 – 02.28.2022. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society, which is based on the ESOMAR principles.
**Survey carried out by Truckstop.com. 694 U.S. truck drivers and individuals at companies that ship and handle cargo loads surveyed between 06.15.2022 – 06.17.2022.
Media Contact:
Nicole Worley
Truckstop.com
[email protected]
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