10-4 Magazine July 2024

68 10-4 Magazine / July 2024 Drivers need to really understand that regardless of that I want to listen to everything you say, and of course I want to stay by your side, I am a dog. I get tempted to go investigate things that you never see and never smell... but I do. So, when we get out of the truck, always keep a collar (or harness) and leash on me at all times! Even the best of us will vacate your surroundings to investigate a corn dog wrapper blowing in the wind a quarter of a mile away should we have no leash on. I know, I’ve done it. There are some people at truck stops that don’t appreciate my jumping up on them to say hello (although I feel it was a compliment that I left muddy pawprints on that lady’s dress the other day). I am telling you beyond argument, as a dog, though you might need that chain (slip) collar walking me, only use a flat leather or nylon buckle collar when inside the truck! Never under any circumstances leave a slip chain around my neck in your cab!! I am a dog, I get excited, and I can get a ring stuck on a chain collar, panic may ensue, then a disaster happens while you are driving – something I am not that thrilled thinking about. Chain collars are only for training me when I am young and silly, not to be used to hold my ID tags, and certainly not to be worn when my driver cannot see me. Of course, I must talk about leashes, much to my chagrin. Here again, please be aware we are dogs, and we don’t always want to listen to our drivers about where to go and when to go anywhere. If I had to choose it would be a leash that gives me a little area to have some fun. The flexi-leashes that wind back and forth were definitely invented by a canine. They are the best and allow me to relieve myself without having to stand by your legs. The 16-feet to 26-feet length also lets me bounce around and play a while whilst you walk around doing your post trip. Of course, a driver must be aware when I am doing my bouncing, as there are sometimes other drivers who don’t see me, so if you walk me around during a pre-trip or post, make sure you do my thinking for me, because I’m too busy having fun. Although the general concept of leashes is not one of my favorite subjects, one thing comes to mind. It is a fact that my driver does not actually like every other driver, shipper, receiver, or yard dog (regardless of the cool name) that he comes into contact with. I also do not like every poodle, pit bull or pug that I meet. A leash is a way that my driver can make sure that a discussion I am having with a bulldog doesn’t end up in a brawl. Truckers can have heated words, so can dogs. Keep us on a leash, but don’t tell my fellow canines I said that. As I sit here thinking about wanting to crunch kibble, I see yet another rest stop passes by us at 65 mph. I get to thinking about the lush grassy areas some have to run around in. If I could read, I would be appalled that the “pet area” signs located in such areas are not grassy and lush, but filled with ants and rocks. Just a dog’s thoughts, wondering why creators of these pet area zombie zones don’t consider that maybe I would like to relieve myself on grass and not gravel. However, given the choice, I would rather have a pet area than not, and I’m sure there is a good reason for them, though why, I know not. A dachshund told me once it was because some drivers don’t clean up after us, but that seems to me unthinkable. Every single pet store and grocery store, even truck stop, sells poop (I hate that word) bags, so drivers can throw away the load we dogs deliver. That is my driver’s job – that is how he gets exercise, bending over to make sure what I leave is not left behind. There’s no better way of putting it – that is the responsibility of the dog’s driver, and if they don’t, I’m sure that the “pet area zombie zone” will be moved 40 acres away where no man has gone before, so-to-speak. Don’t punish future trucking dogs by being a lazy driver and expecting others to retrieve my leftovers. Adding to that, there is the three in the morning discussion. We dogs do have to relieve ourselves, and not always when you drivers decide to relieve yourself. That’s fairly obvious by the fact that we always make sure to start whimpering just as you start your clock and begin merging on the freeway for another eleven-hour day. That is our job – to remind you of our needs and wants, we are dogs. There’s a lot more thoughts about being a truck driver’s dog that rattle around in my brain that would surely help my driver and others, but I think my driver just caught me looking for those beef rollers he didn’t finish last night. We dogs greatly appreciate those cheap trash cans that flip over on those sharp switchback turns, especially if the lid never stays attached. I’ve become fairly good at getting into it myself without the turn, but it sort of gives me permission to grab the contents if voluntarily dumped on the floor. Maybe it was the sound of empty energy drinks rolling across the floor that made him turn and look... I think he’s planning on pulling over to that truck stop coming up and feeding me. Either that, or I’m chewing up that new My Pillow he just bought. n