We care about your pets and how they are transported. Our Terms and Conditions (refer to PetCloud website www.petcloud.com ) describe our contract with you. This Animal Handling Transport Policy and Brachycephalic Breeds Policy describes the level of service we strive to give to your pet.
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers maintains the hygiene and safety of vehicles by:
Ensuring vehicles are roadworthy, have license plates.
Keeping your pet’s and the driver’s spaces clean and free from loose cargo or debris (such as excessive shedding, mud or sand)
Sanitising the vehicles if a previous pet released bodily excretions
Fumigating and sanitising of vehicles, as required to prevent infection or parasitic infestations
Vehicles are typical hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs and are not vans.
2. PREPARING & PRESENTING PETS READY FOR TRANSPORT
As per the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001, a person in charge of an animal owes a duty of care to it and must ensure any handling of the animal, including any confinement or transportation of the animal, by the person, or caused by the person, is appropriate.
It is the responsibility of Dog Owners & Clinic Staff to ensure dogs are presented for transport to the driver wearing a leash and suitable body harness with a metal loop that can be clipped to the vehicle’s seat belt adaptor. Slip leads are not an appropriate form of animal restraint inside a vehicle.
It is the responsibility of Cat Owners to provide a Cat Carrier that can be looped into a seatbelt. If Vet Hospitals or Clinics have no space for storage of Cat Carriers then a cardboard disposable flat pack cat carrier should be supplied.
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers greet the pet by name and observes their fitness for travel. For the safety and health of your pet and our PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers at pick-up, we review:
Your pet matches the details on your booking request form
Your pet displays safe behaviour interacting with our PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers staff (no dangerously aggressive behaviour)
Your pet does not have visible illness or communicable-parasites (such as ticks)
Your pet is hydrated and has emptied its bladder and bowels
Any pet carrier or transport enclosure you provide is the appropriate size for your pet
Your pet’s carrier or their body harness can be secured (your pet cannot escape during transport)
Your pet is in good health and fit for travel
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers minimises the stress to your pet during loading and unloading by maintaining:
A friendly tone of voice, using their name.
Non-threatening body gestures and no rough treatment
Low noise levels during the loading and securing of your pet’s enclosure, vehicle doors.
Prior to starting the journey, PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers check the harness or enclosure is secure and your pet cannot escape during travel.
Unloading of dogs is done using a leash attached to the dog’s body harness. Cat are carried in Cat Carriers supplied by the Owner or the Clinic. The leash must be provided by the Pet Owner or Clinic.
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers transport your pet in reasonable conditions and with care by:
Maintaining safe temperatures for your pet in the vehicle
Ensuring adequate ventilation for your pet during transport
Stopping for drinking water and toilet breaks, as required for long journeys
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers gives its primary attention to safe driving. When safe to do so, we monitor your pet by: Listening and looking at your pet
Using electronic audio or video monitoring, as appropriate for a space inside the vehicle
If your pet shows signs of distress, PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers will drive your pet to the nearest safe location. As much as the situation allows, PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers will choose a location that:
Separates your pet and our PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers staff from moving vehicles
Provides adequate shelter (shade or shelter from wind)
Allows for a toilet break whenever possible
Allows for any apparently needed movement or exercise
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers provide practical care to your distressed pet (however PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers do not provide veterinary care) by:
Comforting your pet as much as possible during the incident
Transporting your pet to the vet designated by the owner, if the travel time and distance is safe and reasonably feasible
Or, where your pet’s condition continues to deteriorate, transporting your pet (without further first aid) to the closest vet for emergency care
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers follows road regulations and maintains safe speed limits during emergency transport
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers contacts the owner, the consignee or consignor after your pet is in the care of a vet as per our PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers Terms and Conditions
If PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers observes a bodily excretion from your pet during transport (such as bowel movements or vomit) our PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers staff will tend to your pet by:
Driving to to the nearest appropriate location to park the vehicle and tend to your pet
Removing your pet from the carrier (using the harness, collar,or head collar as required)
Offering comfort, water or a toilet break, if required
Clearing as much of the bodily excretion from your pet and the carrier
Contacting the most appropriate person or people to care for and clean your pet (may include owner, vet or groomer)
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers maintains the vehicle to a level of hygiene that ensures the comfort and safety of other pets and our PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers staff
For carpet and upholstery cleaning due to pet illness, PetCloud will bill the person responsible for the booking $100 for cleaning the vehicle.
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers do not stay with your pet beyond the scheduled delivery or pick-up time.
Our PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers staff ensure your pet’s safety during a delayed drop-off or pickup by:
Ensuring your pet is in the care of a responsible person (such as a vet, groomer or boarder) who will provide for your pet’s needs
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers notifies the owner or Clinic Team Member of the location of the pet per the PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers Terms and Conditions.
Delays at the clinic upon Pet Pickup will be charged after 5 mins at $1 per minute.
Short nosed (Brachycephalic) dogs and cats can be more prone to respiratory problems due to the physical structure of their head and neck.
To ensure that short-nosed breeds have a safe journey, PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers follows this Brachycephalic Breeds Policy in addition to our pet Handling Policy.
Our Terms and Conditions (refer to PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers website www.petcloud.com ) detail our contract with you when transporting your pet.
You ensure that PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers can safely transport your Brachycephalic cat or dog breed by:
Providing a harness that does not tug at the neck area
Removing the collar from your pet if he or she does not need to exit your pet carrier between destinations
PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers observes your pet for fitness for travel before loading your pet.
For Brachycephalic dogs and cats, our PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers staff may opt out of loading and transporting:
Obese pets during extreme weather (due to a lower threshold for temperatures that can lead to breathing problems)
pets with nasal congestion or loud breathing
pets showing high levels of stress
pets displaying unusually low levels of fitness, lethargy or inability to stand
If PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers observes a Brachycephalic dog or cat having a breathing emergency during transport, your pet will be taken to the closest vet. PetCloud Pet Taxi Drivers and the vet will contact you regarding your pet’s condition and location.
4. AIRLINE TRANSPORT
Both Virgin Australia and Qantas Airlines will no longer fly Brachycephalic breeds.