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along for
the ride
Photos courtesy of Sarah Giles
Sarah Giles, an over-the-road truck driver with All Freight
Carriers, keeps four parakeets in the cab of her truck. The
birds have a custom cage and a play area filled with toys.
Giles has also traveled with chicks and ducklings so she
could provide the young birds with round-the-clock care
before delivering them to her ranch in Texas.
For the
birds
Feathery friends make
time on the road fly by
Drivers might not be surprised to see a
pair of dogs in a trucker’s cab, but there
is more than meets the eye in the cab of
Sarah Giles, an over-the-road truck driver
with All Freight Carriers. Nestled in the TV
niche of the sleeper is a custom cage filled
with four parakeets.
“They actually like the truck,” Giles said.
“They like the music. They like to travel, so
they sing most of the day.”
The birds, who are all three to four
months old, have ridden with Giles for
about two months. They are named Sam,
Dean, Castiel and Bobby after characters
on the TV show, “Supernatural,” and
Giles said their personalities match their
namesakes.
“Castiel is definitely my little angel.
BY Sarah DeClerk / contributing WRITER
He’s always the one that sings — always
singing, always very sweet, always very
lovable,” Giles said. “Bobby is definitely
my smartest, and always up to something,
and Sam and Dean are inseparable. Dean’s
definitely the sweetheart that’s always after
food, and Sam just kind of hangs out and
lays back.”
The birds have a fitting home in the 2019
T680 Kenworth. In addition to the custom
cage, their play area includes ladders, rings
and other toys. The parakeets’ wings are
clipped so they cannot fly around the cab,
and Giles has secured any items that could
shift and hurt the birds when the truck
moves.
To ensure their well-being, Giles provides
a heater, an air filter and an emergency kit
stocked with medical items such as bloodstopping
powder, anti-stress supplements,
antibiotics and vitamins.
Also traveling in Giles’ cab are two dogs.
Kermit, a 13-pound miniature Australian
Shepherd, has been on the road with her for
five years, and Grizzly, a Rottweiler/pit bull
mix of about 100 pounds, has been on the
truck for four years.
“They’re trained ranch dogs. They’re
used to dealing with small animals and
small birds, so they don’t bother them,” she
said. “The birds are not in any of the dogs’
space. The birds don’t take up any of the
dogs’ attention, so it all works.”
She added that she plans to keep the
parakeets with her for the long haul.
“They do have a nice big cage set up for
18 the trucker jobs magazine | DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 www.TheTruckerjobs.com