Trucker Gives ‘Dead’ Cat New Lease on Life (2 Times)

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truck driver catA 3-year-old cat named BB-8 has 45-year-old truck driver Dennis McDonald to thank for his life today.

Zainab Akande of The Dodo, a website dedicated to the love of animals, tells the story. A road in hurricane-like conditions is not the friendliest place to bring your truck to a stop, but McDonald found himself doing that one morning. After his passenger pointed out a “dead” cat by the side of the road,

 

“McDonald’s intuition and sheer empathy for an animal — one he wasn’t even certain was alive — were what led to the 3-year-old cat’s chance at survival… McDonald saw that the cat was in rough shape, possibly with a broken neck or back — but regardless, he was still alive. (Another) motorist offered McDonald a box to transport him.”

And that’s just the beginning of the story. BB-8 required extensive surgery that was donated. His owner was found but couldn’t take the cat back and he was lost by his newly adopted family. Then BB-8 came back to his truck driver hero for a forever home on the road.

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10 Helpful Hints to Beat Hunger and Summer Heat On the Road

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truck driver heat exhaustionSummer means everything from beautiful drives to unbearable heat exhaustion for truck drivers. To usher in the new season, we’ve gathered a little information on healthy eating and exercise tips for the summer.

Taking care of yourself in the heat is not just a matter of health, but a matter of safety. Consider these tips from The Healthy Trucker:

Exercise in the morning or evenings if possible, avoid the hottest part of the day.

  1. Get acclimated. If you are used to exercising indoors or in cooler weather take it easy at first, give your body time to adapt to the weather change.
  2. Know your fitness level. If you are just beginning a workout regime you may have a lower tolerance to the heat.
  3. Drink plenty of fluids! Dehydration is a key factor in heat related illnesses. Keeping well hydrated helps your body sweat & cool down.
  4. Dress appropriately. Wear light weight, light colored clothing.
  5. If possible, always consider moving your workout indoors to avoid the heat, especially in extreme temperatures.

Keep an eye out this summer for problems like heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

  • Heat cramps are painful muscle contractions.
  • Heat exhaustion occurs when your body temperature rises above 104 degrees F. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, headache and cold, clammy skin.
  • Heatstroke can be life threatening. Symptoms include confusion, irregular heart rhythm, dizziness, nausea, visual problems and fatigue.

When you’re done exercising or when you’re on the road, here are a few snacks that can keep your energy up even under the summer sun as Trucker News shared:

  1. Pumpkin seeds
    Lightly roast them before a trip and keep them stored in a plastic storage bag or other container, and you’ll have a high protein snack at hand for your trip.
  2. Roasted chickpeas
    Chickpeas are a great source for protein, with just one cup of chickpeas offering 39 grams of protein, according to the USDA.
  3. Greek yogurt and granola
    Add granola to Greek yogurt, which has about 10 grams of protein for every 100 grams, and you’ve got a delicious high protein snack.
  4. Hummus dippers in a jar
    In a Mason jar or similar container, add hummus to the bottom and then add cut-up carrot sticks and celery sticks. Put the lid on and store it inside your cooler or your truck’s refrigerator. Depending on the amount of space in your cooler, you could make a few of these up before a trip to have on hand.
  5. Mixed nuts
    Toss some of your favorite types of nuts in a plastic food storage bag and you’ve got your own personalized trail mix for the road.

How to Protect Yourself from the Sun Over the Road as a Truck Driver 

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Furry Friend Helps One Driver Hear on the Road

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Truck driver Pete Kleckner and Snickers are practically inseparable both on and off the road. Source: Overdrive Online

Pete Kleckner and his dog Snickers have a relationship that is extra special, even for pet owners. The truck driver depends on Snickers for more than just cuddles. The highly trained service dog is his ears on and off the road.

According to a feature in Overdrive Online,

“The independent contractor from Crookston, Minn., never leaves home without his good buddy. The dog has been trained to respond to five sounds: an alarm clock, intruders, fire alarms (and strobes) door knocks, door bells and back in the day, a landline phone. When they arrive at the truck stop and she hears anything outside she doesn’t like, she will bark or put a paw on him. If someone is outside the truck trying to talk to him, Snickers will alert him.”

Snickers accompanies Kleckner, who is deaf, almost everywhere he goes on his route. She joins him at rest stops and restaurants. One of the few exceptions? Shipping docks. As Kleckner says, those are “too cold.”

While not all human-animal trucking teams include a service animals like Snickers, Kleckner and his dog are part of a growing number of drivers who are bringing their furry friends on the road – a perk allowed by some trucking companies and appreciated by independent owner-operators.

Like their humans, pets can’t do a long drive without breaks to stretch their legs. Apex Capital Corp. notes that “most TA and Petro Shopping Centers offer dedicated areas for pets that need some exercise or a rest break … Waste bags and trash receptacles are also available for easy cleanup.”

What else do you need to know about pet friendly rest stops from Apex Capital Corp. before you hit the road? “Iowa 80 (Walcott, Iowa) does not currently allow pets inside the main buildings, however it does offer a Dogomat Pet Wash, which is self-served and open 24 hours.”

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How to Switch Sweat for Showers for Drivers on the Road

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showerbag-onegirltruckingYou’ve been on the road all day, finally pull into a much-needed rest stop where you plan to shower and clean up before dropping off a load. But the shower is broken or looks like might actually get you dirtier.

Maintaining good hygiene on the road can be difficult. That’s why Bethany from One Girl Trucking offers a few suggestions get rid of the grime. Step one is to be prepared.

“I keep a messenger bag as my go-to shower bag loaded up with all of my essentials in my truck at all times, so that I do not have to remember to throw a bag in the truck each week I go out or repack said bag because I will always forget something.”

As you know, not all rest stops are created equal. Petro and TA Truck Stops often receive high marks for shower quality. At these stops, drivers automatically receive two free towels and a bath mat. In her article, Bethany cautions against Love’s and Pilot/Flying J stations because they have significantly fewer showers available.

What can you do when no showers are available and you’re running short of time?

Bethany recommends:

“Keep facial wipes handy along with action wipes for quick, good smelling, adult-sized body wipes. Also, the best thing about these wipes are that they will not make you smell like a baby and they are perfect for a quick shower without having to use actual water.”

Have your own suggestions? Share them with us here, we’d love to hear from you!

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Duty vs. Daddy: One Trucker’s Story of Finding Work-Life Balance

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With long stretches on the road and only short, intense bursts of time at home, maintaining work-life balance comes as a challenge. Veteran trucker Trent McCain took the extra time to connect with his daughter in the cutest way possible.

Shaun Cronin of Irish Examiner tells the story of How McCain’s 9 year old daughter, Joselyn, struggled to find a babysitter for her doll, Abbie, so she called on “Grandpa Trent” for help.

McCain reported on Facebook that “he didn’t want his daughter thinking he’d neglected the doll all day.”

McCain certainly made sure we wouldn’t forget about him or Abbie. According to the Irish examiner, to assure Joselyn that Abbie was in good hands, he posted pictures of his trip throughout the day. Read more here.

McCain isn’t alone in his efforts to balance work and family time. Countless drivers invest in both their jobs and families. Roadmaster Trucking School offers a few fun ideas for CDL truckers working on building and maintaining strong family connections.

  1. Postcards and letters: Handwritten notes are rare. So, taking the time to write a short, meaningful note brighten your child’s day.
  2. Social Media: McCain used Facebook to share pictures and moments from his daily life, with family and friends. Social media is particularly useful if you’re crossing time zones because you don’t need to coordinate meeting times.
  3. Home Time: When you are at home, use the time to do something memorable. In addition, avoid missing important moments in your children’s lives. Helping yourself and your kids savor the moments together make the moments apart easier.

A work-life balance is an important part of being a CDL driver.  Let us help you find yours. Drive My Way lets you select lifestyle preferences to find the best jobs that fit your needs. Register here to get started!

What Lights This Trucker’s Fire? Barbecue, of Course

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You may have heard it said “Watch and learn.” For truck driver Craig Grubb, barbecue is an entirely different matter—one where watching and learning is serious business.

Grubb’s Rub

“I watch the Pitmasters shows on TV. That’s where I learned to blend my own spices,” says Grubb, who also scours recipes online routinely.

If the truth be told, Grubb, a company driver for Smith Transport out of Roaring Springs, Pa., is a talented pitmaster in his own right. He makes his own barbecue sauces, experiments with sauces he finds at mom-and-pop shops and even created his own secret dry rub blend. In fact, the recipe is so secret, he won’t share it with anyone.

Grubb loves hosting pig roasts for his friends in the summer.

Firing up the Barbie

Grubb does however confess he often coats his meats with yellow mustard before adding a layer of his dry rub to them. The vinegar base in the mustard helps tenderize the meat, explains Grubb, who knows a thing or two about barbecue.

And he should. After all, he’s barbecued for more than 20 years. An aficionado of smoking everything from pork ribs and brisket to game birds and pork shoulder, Grubb immerses himself in recipes and research and prides himself on his technique.

“Everyone barbecued when I grew up, so I started doing it myself,” recalls Grubb, a CDL driver for 30 years, born into the business.

“Barbecuing is a big hobby,” Grubb adds.

Grubb’s smoked pork shoulder

At the Grubb household, big hobbies call for big gatherings.

Whether it’s a full-on pig roast or not, Grubb fires up the smoker, invites friends and family over to share in the feast, and a party ensues. In addition, Grubb brings leftovers on the road with him.

Grubb shares advice about smoking meats, too. To keep your meats from drying out, continually fill up your water pan, he says. Always smoke your meats “low and slow” at about 220 degrees. Have patience. Also, perhaps most importantly, “have friends willingly try what you cook,” Grubb advises.

“Having friends makes up a big part of it,” he says. A sense of community comes together around barbecue.”

Smoked corned beef

Also, Grubb recalls fondly the time last year he smoked two pork shoulders and built a big bonfire for friends and family in attendance.

“If you come to one of my barbecues and you go away hungry, it’s your own fault,” he says.

With Memorial Day right around the corner, we want to know what type of cooking gets you fired up, drivers. Connect with us here and share your specialty with us for a chance to be featured on Drive My Way.

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Percy, the Trucker Cat: Lost and Found

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mprnews.orgWe saw this story on MPRnews.org and immediately thought it would resonate with our audience of CDL truck drivers. If you have a trucking job or a pet, you will love this story!

The story of Percy begins, as all great stories do, at a rest stop in Ohio.

Truck driver Paul Robertson and Percy had been constant companions in the truck’s cab for over a year. The two live in the truck, and have clocked thousands of miles together, after Robertson adopted Percy from a Twin Cities animal rescue. Percy settled right into the trucking life.

“He’s just great, he’s the calmest,” Robertson told MPR News host Tom Weber.

Robertson even built Percy a platform so he could ride shotgun and look out the window. The orange cat spent many an afternoon basking in the sun on the dashboard, and picking up an internet following. Robertson frequently shared photos of Percy’s life on the road on Facebook.

But when Robertson woke up the next morning at the Ohio truck stop, the passenger window was down and Percy was gone.

This had happened before — typically when there was a bird outside. Percy, through either sheer luck or impressive levels of cat ingenuity, would step on the controls and roll his own window down.

Panic set in.

“I don’t know if he’s been gone five minutes or an hour or three hours,” Robertson said. “I do the classic parent thing: I grab the food bag and I went around the truck. Shake, shake, shake. Calling: ‘Percy! Percy Percy!'”

No Percy. Not a meow. Not a peep.

Robertson scoured the rest stop, shaking the bushes and traipsing through scrub. The weather report compounded his fear: A storm was coming. Temperatures were dropping.

Devastated, Robertson went on Facebook. “This day can totally eat it,” he wrote. Percy was missing.

“Within minutes, I got texts from Sweden, from Portland, Ore.,” Robertson said. With his photography, he’d built a large community around the country and the world, specifically with roller derby players. He loves to photograph the sport.

Suddenly, people were offering to call all the nearby shelters on his behalf, and one person even showed up at the rest stop to help search for the cat.

After a fitful night of sleep in the truck, Robertson had to move on.

mprnews.orgPeople assured him they would keep looking. They would put out traps. Percy was chipped. He’d done everything he could.

“I just felt so low,” Robertson said of pulling out from the truck stop. He gets choked up even talking about. “I suddenly felt like I was abandoning my child. Man, that really sucked.”

He made his first delivery without Percy, at a factory. Then he made his second, to a mining plant in Indiana. He’d now driven 400 miles without his cat co-pilot.

In the mining plant yard, he went to get the paperwork for his next run.

“I’m feeling as low as a snail’s belly,” he said. “I grab the paper, I turned around, and I look. I think: Here’s a stray cat coming out from under my truck. … It doesn’t remotely register to me. I’m thinking my cat is 400 miles behind me, dying in the snow.”

Then he looked again.

“I suddenly recognize him. He just looks up at me with the big eyes, like: ‘Dad?'”

Robertson scooped him up.

“I took him into the truck and we cuddled and snuggled and he was rubbing his face on me,” Robertson said. “Oh my gosh, he stunk.”

Percy had hidden underneath the cab of Robertson’s truck for more than 400 miles, through the rain and the snow and two deliveries. He reeked of diesel ash. If cats really do have 9 lives, Robertson said, that surely shaved one off for Percy.

His best guess is that Percy found a space on top of the transmission, on the frame or by the fuel tanks.

“He found a spot, wedged himself in, and clearly wasn’t coming out for nothing,” Robertson said.

That night, just after midnight on February 26, he logged back onto Facebook.

“CALL OFF THE SEARCH!!! PERCY IS OKAY!!!” he wrote. He thanked everyone for their help, and signed off: “This little orange furry soul means the world to me. Thank you for caring about him too.”

Read the full original story here.

Do you have a great pet story of your own? Connect with us here and tell us about it for a chance to be featured on Drive My Way!

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Mom of 13 Enjoys On-the-Road Work

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Earlier this year, Debbie Tucker was a stay-at-home mom with 13 children. Today, she’s an on-the-road mom working with her husband, William, who has been a truck driver for 42 years.

The Lexington Herald-Leader recently shared Debbie’s story. As the article explains, the Georgetown, Ky., couple married in 1990, bringing together William’s seven children with Debbie’s five. They later adopted their 13th child, now 6-year old Ava.

In late February, Debbie tells the Herald-Leader she was inspired by all of her children to get back to work. “There are so many things we want for the kids, that we want for ourselves,” she says. They want to provide their children with enough money to pay for a wedding and land one day.

Two months into the job, Debbie says she was able to settle in easier than most. She and William share the same truck, working joint hauls. Combining trips allows the two to travel longer distances in less time, which increases their income.

Each partner drives 11 hours daily, while the other sleeps. For two hours a day, they have quality time to spend when neither is working. Although that might not appear be much, “two hours a day is more than we had,” Debbie tells the newspaper.

The lifestyle change is one that Debbie says she must become adjusted to. Being that the truck is both their workplace and home, a lack of personal space can be frustrating. Debbie mentions that her biggest transition has been learning patience while enjoying her time on the road.

Debbie explains that truck driving has become second nature: “I still cannot parallel park a car, but I can put a 53-foot trailer in a spot like God himself put it there.”

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Linked Through Their Profession, Truck Driving Brought Out the Love Between a Mother and Her Daughter

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Heather Hogeland never aspired to be a truck driver. She grew up the middle of three girls, the tomboy of the bunch.

“In the ‘60s and ‘70s, girls didn’t dream about driving a truck,” she says.But her father, Robert, had an owner operator trucking job, so Hogeland was destined for the same career all along. It was her father who taught her how to drive a truck—and he taught her well. In 1976 at the tender age of 19, Hogeland got a CDL trucking job.

In looking at Hogeland’s life, she followed in her father’s footsteps—and her mother followed in hers.“I was an inspiration to her, not the other way around. That’s kind of unique,” Hogeland says of her mother, Doreen, who took up truck driving in her 50s. “I couldn’t have done it without her, because she raised my son for me.”

Heather and Roger in 1983

Mom takes up truck driving

Hogeland and her husband, Roger, are retired team drivers who have been married for 33 years. In their heyday, they ran hard from south to north and everywhere in-between.

Doreen observed their lifestyle from afar and wanted in on it. “She saw Roger and me and thougt she wanted to do it too,” Hogeland says. “My dad was shocked. He wasn’t real happy with the plan.”

By the early 1990s, Doreen came into an inheritance. She used it to make a down payment on a brand new Volvo truck. And despite her husband’s protests, in 1992, Doreen earned her CDL permit and started driving. Leased through Countrywide, a reefer carrier out of southern California, and later to Southern Star Transport, Doreen and Robert began running team together up to Toronto, Ontario.

Doreen Drove With Her Furry Companion

Great memories

While Robert and Doreen rarely ran with their daughter and son-in-law, but it was a wild time when they ran together. Hogeland recalls the tales with a laugh.

“Mom and I were running down the road one night, Mom was following me and we were speeding,” Hogeland recalls. “People would say things over the radio and we would have fun. I’d say, ‘Watch your language, my momma is right behind me!’ And my dad would shout to my mom, ‘Do you know how fast you’re going?’ I love the funny memories.”

Hogeland also recalls that her mother’s sense of direction lacked. “My mom got lost going into Cleveland every time,” Hogeland says. “And she ran into Cleveland every week. My dad would drive with her and he never got any sleep because she got lost. Following directions wasn’t one of her priorities.”

Doreen passed away in 2005 at age 69.

Hogeland reminisces about her warmly even now, recalling her as a woman who never met a stranger. Who located stragglers at truck stops and invited them home for dinner. Who always put family first.

“I’m so grateful for those times that we had,” Hogeland says. “My mom taught us that humans aren’t perfect, but they are human. She was about as imperfect as they come, but she taught me how to forgive. And that’s one of the most important lessons you learn in this world.”

To celebrate Mother’s Day we want to know if your trucking job brought you closer to a parent, too? Connect with us here and share your story.

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The Unique Fabric of One Trucker’s Life

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Zoe Sutton and her dog

The spotted bags are sewn carefully over four hours and is one aspect of this trucker’s life. They’re made from cowhide that Zoe Marie Sutton buys on Etsy and EBay. Looking at them you would think they were manufactured at a high-end department store.

In fact, Sutton stitched them at home on the weekends. That’s because Sutton, a professional cattle hauler and regional driver for Butler Trucking, gets home time most every weekend.

Threading the Needle

When Sutton started sewing just one year ago, she found she had a natural gift for the pastime. Sutton has had a CDL trucking job since 1999. Given her familiarity with cattle, crafting items from cowhide seemed like a perfect fit for her.

One of Sutton’s most popular pouches

In the last year, Sutton has sewn aprons, potholders, pillowcases and dresses from all kinds of fabrics, but it’s her cowhide pouches that are most popular with her audience.

“I do a lot with fabric, but I really like cowhides,” Sutton says. “As someone who hauls cattle for a living, I enjoy all the different patterns they come in. I think they’re quite pretty. Plus, cowhides are very sturdy.”

Sutton contemplated what use she could have for pieces of cowhide she had purchased online.

She decided to make pouches from them. Her idea was a hit. Sutton sells her merchandise through her Facebook page. Her cowhide pouches run between $55 and $100, depending on their size. Sutton prices her goods based on comparative items she sees online.

She came to sewing quite arbitrarily, simply by deciding she needed a new hobby. “My cousin was sewing a lot and posting pictures on Facebook, so I thought it would be fun to do,” Sutton says. “I started piddling around.”

‘Creative Outlet’

“Piddling around” by now has flourished into a full-fledged talent for Sutton. What’s more, sewing allowed her to tap into her creative side, something she had not done in ages.

“I’ve always really enjoyed art and being creative,” says Sutton, whose mother also sewed. “As a kid I would draw and take pictures. And then, as I got older I lost some of my creativity. I enjoyed sewing to give me something to do besides work. It offered a creative outlet. Sewing filled that need.”

Sutton enjoys losing herself in the quiet that sewing provides.

She threads her needle, lets her thoughts wander and savors a respite from the daily grind.

“I love that I’m making something from nothing,” Sutton says. “When I sew, the item is always inside out. When it’s time for it to be done, you turn it right side out, and that’s fun. All of a sudden, you have this item you didn’t have before. It’s rewarding.”

Truck drivers are full of surprising talents. So, what’s yours?

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