Operation Roger... Truckers Pet Transport

Preston's Award I am in the process of starting up a pet blog and just wanted to let you know I picked your organization as Preston's pick of the week to feature on his blog, his face book account, as well as his dogster account.  Here is the link to his article ... Preston's Pick of the week 6-27-10 Rachel P
                

5 Year Anniversary - September 16, 2010

We are needing sponsors, Corporate or Individual, who can help Operation Roger get to the Mid-America Truck Show (MATS) in Louisville, KY, in March 2011. At this truck show we reconnect with current and former drivers as well as reach out to drivers who have never heard about truckers who volunteer to transport needy pets across the country.

Our goal is to get known to more drivers so we can in turn help rescue groups and individuals who spend so much of their time and energy in saving pets from being put to sleep because of over crowding, or rescuing them from bad situations, and then finding homes for them.

We need sponsors for our one hotel room at an extended stay for one week, the rental of a van to transport the items needed for our booth, gasoline, gifts for the winners at the annual pet games, starter kits for the drivers who adopt a pet at the annual pet adoption, and other items. We also need donated items for the driver's auction which can range from pet items, bedding, tools, tires, tool boxes, oil, additives, to more.  You donate it, we'll auction it.

This truck show is our one major trip of the year. Your donations are tax deductible. You can donate by going to the PayPal button in the upper left-hand corner (put MATS in the reason. You may designate which of the above you wish your donation to be applied.), by check to P.O.Box 522, Joshua, TX 76058, or by calling 682-622-1172 with your credit card.

Thank you on behalf of all pets needing transport ... Roger 

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Hi, I'm Roger, a Toy Manchester Terrier.  Thanks for coming to this wonderful website - at least from my point of view. Yep, that's me above.

Did you know it is a sad fact each year, millions of us healthy, adoptable pets are admitted to animal shelters or are taken in by animal rescue groups across the United States.  Many of us, like me, are adopted into new homes, but too many others are not so fortunate.

It is also a fact there are thousands of homes who would adopt many of us, but how do you get a dog in Alabama to a new home in New Hampshire? How do you transport a cat in California to it's forever home in Florida?

Many of you would dread a 500 mile or more drive, but for wonderful volunteer truck drivers, it's another day at the office - 

They are Operation Roger... Truckers Pet Transport.  But now for just Who They Are...

Operation Roger is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization comprised of regional and long-haul truckers who volunteer their time to transport needy pets as they do their regular jobs of delivering freight across the country.  They take each pet in the cab of their trucks and give us all the TLC which so many of us need desperately.  Because we get all the individual love and care we need, these truckers only take one or two of us at a time.  We get to lay our chins on their lap as they drive and get talked to and petted.  We even get to sit in the passenger seat and watch the scenery.  We protect the truck when the trucker is out of it.  Often, we even get to sleep with them.

We've been abused and abandoned, lost, or left behind when our humans had to move and couldn't take us with them, or any of other reasons for us to find ourselves in need of human help. Then rescuers come to the shelters, bail us out, and find us new homes. Sometimes we are adopted to loving homes in a state far away from where we are.   Sometimes it is a rescue who has room for us.  Often our humans, who had to leave us behind when they moved and left us in good hands with someone they knew, are now able to care for us in their new place.  Oh, how we long for that reunion.

What they do not transport are animals used in the show circuit or from/to for-profit breeders unless they have been retired and are altered.  There are many, many pets in kill shelters now who are pure bred.  I was myself.

It is also a fact every day and night, tractor/trailers are rolling up and down the nations highways, heading to far away places hauling the food, clothing, dog food, etc. you all depend on.  Operation Roger serves us pets as the trucks serve the economy while helping everyone interested in helping us pets save valuable resources at the same time.  It is a win-win situation. 

I was a rescue from a shelter after having lost my way.  My human took me on one of those trucks for two years.  I loved every minute of it and couldn't wait to get back on the road when we did go home for a few days.  I loved barking at the cows in the fields.  My human would roll down the window and that was my cue to wake up and act like a big bad motor scooter.  Afterwards, I would grin and go back to sleep.  I made it my mission to protect my human as she worked around the truck and on our walks.  I would stay between her and anyone who came near us.  One day she was able to go see the Grand Canyon and had to put me in boarding.  I loved it.  I found a prairie dog hole and, true to my breeding, I was furiously digging when discovered by the man taking care of me.  His description reminded my human of a cartoon where my tail was like a helicopter blade.  Down below was Daddy Prairie Dog sitting in his easy chair reading a paper. Mama Prairie Dog came in wiping her paws on her apron and looking up at the dirt falling down on her clean floor.

One day though, I crossed over the Rainbow Bridge and became the mascot for Operation Roger only three months later after Hurricane Katrina.  I may be gone, but the need to help other pets like me goes on, every day, every week, every month.

They need volunteer Truck Drivers to transport us.  They need Layover Homes and Shuttle Drivers to give us shelter in between drivers.  They occasionally receive requests to move donated pet food or other pet items from rescue to rescue.  For this they need drivers who perhaps can't transport us pets but would be able to get a few bags of food to a needy rescue.

They also need sponsors, corporate and individual, to defray their moderate expenses. To do this, on the Menu Bar go to Home and then Sponsorship Information in the drop down box.  Help them help us.  Volunteer your time and/or resources.  All we pets want is to be loved and a chance to love in return.  We depend upon you to provide for us and in return we will provide you with devotion...

... And This Is How I Felt The Day My Human Walked By ... Roger (2001-2005).

CONTINUE READING ON DOWN to learn more about this group .....

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How it Works

When Operation Roger... Truckers Pet Transport receives a request for a pet transport (we only transport dogs and cats and other small companion animals), we then make every reasonable attempt to match a pet needing a lift with a Trucker heading the same direction.  Due to the nature of our trucking commitments, we cannot give a specific time for your pet to be either picked up or delivered or even if we can get to it all.  But, we will try.

Remember, we are all volunteers.  We have no paid staff, so everything is done as soon as our personal/trucking lives permit.  While we will attempt to keep in contact with the applicant, you may not hear from us until a driver calls to inquire about your pet.

We are Truckers first and therefore the requirements of our job must come first so we cannot offer door-to-door pickup and delivery. Generally speaking, arrangements are made in advance with the driver to meet the person sending the pet (shipper) at a nearby truck-stop or travel plaza.  The pet's paperwork is checked, approved, and the pet is on their way.  At the destination, the person who is waiting for the pet (receiver) agrees to meet the driver (and his passenger) at a predetermined location where the pet is then handed off to the new owners so it can start its new life in a forever home.

There are times when a driver can pick up a pet but they aren't going to the destination area.  The driver may decide to keep the pet on board and try to work their way to the pet's new home, or we try to put together a "repower" with another driver.  This means the two drivers would have to meet somewhere and that is difficult to do at best.  Here is where the Layover Home could be a big help.  Essentially, a Layover Home is merely a temporary foster.  The pet's stay is anywhere from a few hours to perhaps a couple weeks.  If we could get more of these Layover Homes around the country, more pets might be helped.

A Shuttle Driver, usually someone who cannot be a Layover Home, is someone who can drive the pet from driver-to-driver, driver-to-forever home, home to driver, or any other combination. Are you an RVer? Perhaps as you travel across country, you would consider a furry companion.

Non-Pet Transport:  We also can sometimes help, on a limited basis, to get small amounts of pet food and pet related items from one location to another, usually a supplier to a rescue or from one rescue to another.  This totally depends upon the available space in a driver's truck cab.

What Does it Cost? 

An application/administrative non-refundable minimum donation of just $25.00 total is required to list a pet on our Pet Board effective July 22, 2008. This is expected when the application is made. It may take a minimum of 3-7 days for a volunteer to review, approve, and get the application entered on our Pet Board.  Then, it may take an equal time to get the information out to all of our Team Leaders and Team Members.  Thus, we are usually unable to handle "emergency" requests.

This donation helps Operation Roger ... Truckers Pet Transport meet our day-to-day operation expenses, and remember, we are 501(c)(3) so your donation is tax deductible.

With gasoline prices reaching higher almost daily, pet transport services costing hundreds of dollars, and airlines charging transportation fees that can break almost any budget, we think a minimum donation of $25.00 is the most reasonable deal you could find in exchange for a pet receiving the first class, "one on one" treatment it deserves.

REGISTER !!! On the Menu Bar go over to Register / Log In. Click on Registration Instructions and follow the steps. Also, the steps will guide you to finding the application you desire.

A temporary password will be sent to your e-mail. Copy and paste that temporary password into LOG IN.  Do Not change your temporary password just yet...do it later.