Alison Seever: 16 Years of Animal Care & One Unforgettable Cat from Iraq

There’s a cat in upstate New York who made it home from Iraq, and it’s because of Alison Seever. A soldier found the cat while deployed, spent months navigating the paperwork to get her out of the country, and flew her into JFK. What happened after that landing was Alison’s job. She drove the cat the rest of the way, bridging that final stretch between an international airport and a husband waiting at home. A few weeks later, the soldier came home. The cat was already there.

“It’s something I still think about often,” Alison said. “It really reminded me how meaningful this work can be.”

That kind of moment doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the product of 16 years spent learning animal behavior, earning the trust of nervous pets, and building the patience to do this work the right way. Alison didn’t stumble into pet transportation. She grew into it, slowly and deliberately, from the ground up.

Sixteen Years Before the First Transport

Alison walked into her first dog daycare and boarding facility 16 years ago thinking it was just a job. It turned into something much more. She learned how to read animals, how to calm a dog that was terrified of strangers, and how to earn the kind of trust that doesn’t come quickly. Over time, she moved into management, which meant training staff, maintaining safety standards, and carrying responsibility for every animal under her care at once.

That background shapes everything about how she operates today. Most people who get into pet transportation do so with a love of animals and good intentions. Alison brought something else along too: a working knowledge of animal behavior, stress signals and what genuine care actually looks like in practice.

She’s still working in boarding and daycare operations today, alongside running her transport business. Nine animals of her own at home. She’s not someone who just likes pets in theory.

How K9 Kargo Started and Why CitizenShipper Fits

In 2021, Alison started offering local transport to her existing daycare clients. Short trips, familiar animals and manageable distances. Then a client asked if she could go further. That question changed her trajectory.

“I realized there was a much bigger need for pet transportation,” she said. She founded K9 Kargo Animal Transportation and Pet Care Services in 2022 and discovered CitizenShipper around the same time. The platform gave her a way to reach families beyond her local network without abandoning the personal, hands-on approach she’d built.

Her first CitizenShipper transport was a short run with an adult dog, nothing complicated. She wanted to understand the process before scaling up. “I ended up loving every minute of it,” she said. “That experience really solidified that pet transport was the right path for me.”

What she values most about the platform is the directness of it. She can communicate with pet owners from the start, choose routes that work with her schedule and build a reputation through the review system. “It allows me to choose jobs that fit my schedule and routes, and I like that I can communicate directly with pet owners from the start,” she said. “The review system is also really helpful for building trust and growing my business.”

Looking for a driver with real animal care experience behind every transport? Get free quotes from verified drivers like Alison on CitizenShipper, and pick someone whose background actually matches your pet’s needs.

What Safety Looks Like on Every Run

Alison drives a 2024 Nissan Rogue, which she keeps climate-controlled throughout every transport. Pets travel in secure crates and are monitored via in-vehicle camera and stops every few hours for water, bathroom breaks and whatever reassurance each animal needs in the moment.

Her emergency kit covers more ground than most drivers think to bring. Extra leashes and collars, food and water, cleaning supplies, waste bags and first aid supplies. She also keeps a jump box in the vehicle, which pulls double duty as a backup power source and emergency support if the vehicle has trouble. “Being prepared allows me to handle unexpected situations while keeping pets safe and comfortable,” she said.

GPS tracking is part of her standard setup, and she’s clear about why. “It gives pet owners real-time visibility into where their pet is, which provides a huge sense of reassurance during transport,” she said. “It also reduces uncertainty and the need for constant check-ins, while still complementing my regular updates.” The tracking doesn’t replace communication. It supports it.

She leans toward VIP transports over stacked runs when the choice is available. One pet that gets her full attention, allowing her to take the most direct route possible. “I like being able to give each pet more one-on-one attention and keep the trip as stress-free as possible,” she said.

CitizenShipper’s Trust and Safety standards require drivers to pass background checks before bidding on shipments. Alison’s practices go well beyond the baseline.

Communication That Actually Reduces Anxiety

Alison’s communication process is more structured than most pet owners expect. Before the trip, she contacts both the shipping and receiving parties to confirm all the details, then follows up again the day before. Once the pet is secured and moving, she sends an initial update to the receiving end. After that, check-ins go out every two to three hours for the duration of the drive, with photos when possible.

After delivery, she circles back to the shipping party to confirm safe arrival and thank them for the trust they placed in her. That last part matters to her. She knows what it feels like to hand a pet over to a stranger and hope for the best.

“Regular communication makes a big difference,” she said. “Pet owners want to know their animals are safe and doing well, and consistent updates really help ease that stress. I’ve found it leads to happier clients, better reviews, and a lot of repeat business.”

She prefers texting but adapts to whatever the owner is most comfortable with. The goal is that the owner never has to wonder what’s happening.

Staying Calm When Things Go Sideways

East Coast routes, one or two days at a time, once or twice a week. That’s Alison’s rhythm. Being based in western New York, she stays within that region so she can balance her transport work with her ongoing boarding and daycare responsibilities, and with nine animals waiting at home.

Within those routes, she’s run into severe weather, lost cell service in remote mountain areas, and navigated roads that GPS didn’t account for. Her approach is consistent: plan carefully, carry offline navigation, stay calm, keep moving safely and update the owner the moment service returns.

“Being prepared and adaptable has allowed me to handle these challenges successfully,” she said. That’s not the kind of thing you figure out on a smooth run. It takes the hard trips, the ones where something goes wrong, to develop that muscle.

Curious how pet transport pricing actually works? See real shipping costs and understand what goes into a fair quote from a driver like Alison, including distance, route, and the specific needs of your pet.

What She Tells New Drivers

Alison’s advice for anyone considering this work is blunt: learn animal behavior before you start, not after. She’s seen what happens when a driver can’t recognize a stressed dog or a pet in physical discomfort, and it’s a gap that good intentions don’t close.

“Being able to recognize stress signals, discomfort, or changes in condition is essential for keeping pets safe during transport,” she said. “Start with shorter trips to build confidence, invest in the proper equipment, and always plan ahead. Communication with clients is key, but your ability to read and respond to each animal’s needs is what will truly set you apart.”

She’s also honest that the job requires more flexibility than new drivers usually anticipate. No two transports are the same. Weather shifts, routes change and animals surprise you. The planning matters, but so does the willingness to throw the plan out and adapt. “Learning to stay adaptable while still keeping everything running smoothly has been a huge part of the job,” she said.

For those who want to understand the full scope of what professional animal transport work involves, the requirements, the preparation, and what it takes to do it well, it’s worth doing that research early.

Thinking about becoming a pet transporter? See how drivers like Alison get started on CitizenShipper and build a business around work that actually means something.

Why The Cat From Iraq Still Comes to Mind

Alison thinks about that JFK pickup more than almost anything else from her time on the road. A soldier who found a cat in a war zone, fought through months of international bureaucracy to bring her home, flew her thousands of miles, and then needed someone to drive her the last two hundred. That someone was Alison.

“Being trusted with that responsibility is incredibly meaningful,” she said of the transports she takes on more broadly. “Building relationships with both the animals and their owners makes the work truly fulfilling.”

She’s not looking to grow K9 Kargo into something sprawling. The personal scale is the point. Every transport gets her full attention, and she intends to keep it that way. If the business expands one day, it’ll only be in ways that protect that standard.

That’s the part you can’t fake after 16 years in animal care. You either believe that every pet in your vehicle deserves to be treated like your own, or you don’t. For Alison, it’s never been a question. You can see it in how she plans a route, how she sets up her check-in schedule, and how she still thinks about a cat from Iraq who made it home safe.

Pet owners ready to find a driver with that level of care can browse verified driver profiles on CitizenShipper and reach out directly before ever committing to a booking.