ANIMAL HEALTH/SAFETY
There are several organizations that publish guidelines, protocols, and rules for transporting animals. For domestic pets and wildlife, we adhere to the most current recommendations from the organizations listed below.
US Dept. of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
The American Veterinary Medical Association
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement
Animal Rescue Professionals Association
Each state also has their own set of rules and guidelines, and care is taken before traveling into each state that those requirements are also met or exceeded. ALL passengers travel on approved Health Certificates.
To improve air quality in the van, it is equipped with a portable HEPA filter, and, weather permitting, windows are cracked at regular intervals throughout the journey to help circulate the van's interior air (in addition to not using the "recirculate" feature on the built-in HVAC system). Since road noises are loud and can be scary, the passengers tolerance and stress levels dictate how often windows are opened. We also place hard plastic barriers between crates, that still allow for air circulation, in order to reduce the potential spread of any latent/undetected airborne or contact-borne illnesses.
Finally, we acknowledge transport can be a very stressful event, and do whatever possible to reduce our passengers' stress levels during their time "on board" with us. Pieces of cardboard or opaque bedsheets are added between crates of unfamiliar animals to reduce the stressors of passengers seeing or interacting with animals they don't know. Species-appropriate calming pheromone sprays are spritzed onto bedding as needed, and toys are provided. Medications to reduce stress are only administered with the approval of the sending rescue and under the direction of their veterinarian, and only to those specific animals that require it.
CLEANLINESS
The cargo area of the van is lined with a heavy plastic tarp that is non-permeable to liquids and can be sterilized. After every transport, this tarp is removed and cleaned with soap and water, then a cleaner that has both anti-viral and anti-fungal properties and a bleach solution. The entire van interior is vacuumed and hard surfaces cleaned with those two cleaning solutions. If needed, soft interior surfaces are shampooed.
Each individual crate or carrier is scrubbed inside and out with dish soap and water, rinsed, then allowed to dry. Once dry, each carrier or crate is sprayed all over with a hydrogen peroxide based cleanser that is the veterinary industry standard for disinfecting and sanitizing hard surfaces. This is allowed to air dry in the sun.
HUMAN HEALTH/SAFETY
In addition to obeying all traffic and safety laws, we use the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Hours-of-Service Regulations to inform how long any one driver is at the wheel within a 24-hour period. This helps to ensure drivers are well-rested and alert while transporting this precious cargo! The Commercial Motor Vehicle driving tips to combat driver fatigue are also put in practice. We consider this to be the most important safety precaution and take driver fatigue very seriously.
Read more about this often-overlooked impairment to driving at the sites below.
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