Carey Gatzert: Retired Air Traffic Controller, Road Tripper and Reluctant Dog Whisperer

For 37 years, Carey Gatzert spent his workdays guiding aircraft through airspace with precision and calm. Retirement was supposed to mean a slower pace. Instead, he and his wife loaded up their 2020 Dodge Durango, signed onto CitizenShipper, and started crisscrossing the country with dogs in the back seat. “These pets are literally the perfect travel companions,” he said. He wasn’t wrong.

Today we learn more about Carey’s journey in this pet transporter interview. Click here to learn more about using CitizenShipper to find pet transportation opportunities like Carey!

From Air Traffic Control to Cross-Country Pet Transport

Carey retired from the federal government after a long career as an air traffic controller. Thirty-seven years is a long time to spend monitoring skies, and when it was finally over, he was ready for something different. A friend pointed him toward CitizenShipper, and he looked into it mostly because he and his wife already wanted to travel. Getting paid to see parts of the country they’d never visited seemed like a natural fit.

He still remembers his first transport. “At first I was a little nervous, not really knowing what to expect. Turns out, the pup knew exactly what he was doing and made it easy.” That combination of Carey’s calm demeanor and a dog who apparently had no interest in making anyone’s life difficult set the tone for what followed.

Now the two of them treat CitizenShipper like a travel engine. Carey picks routes based on where he hasn’t been yet, especially if mountains are involved. The dogs ride along, and somewhere in between a pickup in one state and a delivery in another, he and his wife get to explore a corner of America they’d never seen before.

The Rescue Dog Who Found a New Life in Colorado

Ask Carey for a memorable story and he doesn’t have to think long. A client reached out needing a dog transported from San Antonio, Texas, to Boise, Idaho. The dog was a rescue, and the client had organized the whole trip specifically to save his life.

On the second day of the journey, Carey and his wife stopped overnight at their daughter’s place. A close friend of their daughter happened to have a dog of similar size and age. The two dogs were introduced and, as Carey tells it, they acted like they’d known each other their whole lives. No posturing, no wariness. Just two dogs immediately at ease.

Carey’s daughter’s friend asked whether there was any way he could take in the rescue. Carey connected him with the client. Six weeks later, that dog was settled into a new life in Colorado.

“We had a client that was just trying to save a dog’s life,” Carey said. That dog got saved twice over, really. The transport made it possible, the overnight stop made it happen, and a stranger’s willingness to open his home made it permanent. It’s the kind of thing that’s hard to plan and impossible to forget.

Want your pet in the hands of someone who genuinely cares what happens to them? Get quotes from background-checked drivers like Carey on CitizenShipper, and choose the person you trust most.

How Carey Keeps Pet Owners in the Loop

One thing Carey takes seriously is communication. By his own count, he checks in with clients 8 to 12 times per transport, at minimum. He starts a couple of days before pickup to confirm details and put the owner at ease. He sends updates throughout the drive. In the final two hours before delivery, he reaches out again so nobody’s left wondering when their pet will arrive.

He uses phone, text, and the CitizenShipper app depending on what the client prefers. “Communicate often,” is how he sums up his philosophy. He’s asked whether that level of contact actually makes a difference to customer satisfaction. “Absolutely,” he said.

Carey also uses GPS tracking during every transport, and he thinks it matters beyond just navigation. “I believe it helps the client become more comfortable with the transporter, knowing they get to watch their pets during the journey.” For a pet owner sitting at home wondering where their dog is, that kind of real-time visibility isn’t a small thing.

He keeps pets in kennels during transport for safety, carries extra water and food, and has a tire inflater and repair plugs on hand for roadside situations. He even keeps a physical atlas in the car as a backup. “Reroute through navigation. Roadside assistance,” is how he describes his contingency plan. Simple, practical, and the kind of preparation that comes from someone who spent decades thinking about what happens when things don’t go as planned.

His reviews reflect all of this. Zero negative reviews so far, and he checks his profile metrics weekly to stay on top of how he’s doing. The feedback that’s meant the most to him? The way he words things. Tone matters when someone is trusting you with their pet.

A Word About Mountain Roads at Night

Carey hasn’t had any serious mechanical problems on the road, and his record with customers is clean. But he does have one story that stuck with him in a different way. “Going downhill in the mountains at night in icy conditions should be left to the pros,” he said, with the kind of candor that suggests he learned that lesson firsthand rather than from a brochure.

It’s the sort of moment that reminds you this job involves real driving in real weather conditions, across real terrain. Carey loves the mountains and actively seeks out routes that take him through them. He just knows now to respect what mountain roads can hand you after dark in winter. That kind of honest self-assessment is what safe transport actually looks like in practice.

Advice for Anyone Thinking About Getting into Pet Transportation

Carey’s advice for new drivers is straightforward: “Pick a destination you want to go to, then start bidding.” The logic is hard to argue with. If you’re going to spend hours on the road, you might as well be heading somewhere you actually want to see.

He does both stacked shipments and VIP one-on-one transports depending on the job. His pricing approach reflects that distinction. When it’s VIP, the pet gets his full attention and a solo ride. When he stacks, he plans accordingly. Either way, the communication standard doesn’t change.

For pet owners who are on the fence about whether to use a transport service, his suggestion is simple: ask questions, watch how the driver communicates before you even book, and pay attention to how they respond. The conversation before the trip tells you a lot about what the trip itself will look like. If you want to understand how the whole process works, CitizenShipper’s platform is built around giving owners the ability to compare drivers, read reviews, and make that call with real information.

Thinking about becoming a driver yourself? See how drivers like Carey get started and whether the lifestyle fits what you’re looking for.

What Comes Next for Carey and His Wife

Carey is currently running all his transports out of a 2020 Dodge Durango. Within the next two months, he’s planning to add a Ford Transit van to the operation. Then maybe two. A larger vehicle opens up more types of shipments and more capacity, which is exactly the direction he wants to grow.

For now, though, the part of the job he comes back to most is simpler than any of that. “When these little guys decide to put their trust in you, you can see it in their eyes,” he said. After 37 years of a career built around precision and control, there’s something in that moment, a dog settling in and deciding you’re okay, that clearly means something to him. You can’t manufacture that kind of reward. You either earn it or you don’t.

If you’re looking for a driver with that track record, or just curious what pet transport might cost for your situation, CitizenShipper makes it easy to get real quotes from drivers like Carey without any commitment upfront.