The trip started with nine cats in Vermont and a West Coast destination. Somewhere along the cross-country trip, Jon Brouillet’s vehicle broke down. Most drivers would call that a nightmare be he calls it just another day of problem solving and figuring things out.
“Patience,” he says, when asked how he handles the unexpected. He rented a U-Haul, transferred the cats, and kept moving. In this transporter interview, learn about Jon’s journey using CitizenShipper.
How COVID Sent Jon Down a Different Road
Jon found CitizenShipper the way many people find something they didn’t know they needed: looking for something else. It was during the pandemic, and like a lot of people, he was rethinking his work and how he spent his time.
His answer was more freedom. After searching online, he found CitizenShipper and signed up to join its marketplace.
His first transport went about as well as you could hope. “Perfect,” he says, with no elaboration. Sometimes the best indicator of whether someone is built for a job is what happens when things go right from day one. Jon took that first run, saw what the work actually involved, and kept bidding.
He transports mostly dogs, though the nine-cat Vermont-to-California run is proof that he’s not exactly rigid about it. His vehicle setup changes depending on the job. He uses what the transport calls for, which is either the mark of someone very adaptable or someone who has learned the hard way that no single vehicle works for everything. Probably both.
Use GPS to Share Location with Pet Owners
Jon uses GPS tracking on every run, and he’s deliberate about it. Knowing where he is, being able to share that with pet owners, keeping a record of the route.
He carries emergency supplies too. He didn’t spell out exactly what’s in his kit, but he was clear that it’s varied and substantial. Five years of transporting animals teaches you what you actually need versus what you thought you’d need when you started.
He stays in contact with pet owners throughout every transport, communicating as often as the situation calls for. His read on frequent communication is simple: yes, it leads to better reviews, but more practically, it means pet owners aren’t sitting at home imagining worst-case scenarios.
An update that says “on the road, doing great” costs a driver almost nothing. What it means to the person waiting at the other end is a lot more than that.
Want your pet in the hands of a driver who’s handled nine cats and a breakdown without missing a delivery? Get free quotes from experienced, background-checked drivers on CitizenShipper and choose the one you trust.
Jon’s Thoughts on Keeping Pets Safe and Comfortable
Jon’s approach to safety is pretty straightforward: crates. Proper containment is the baseline. It protects the animal in the event of a sudden stop, it keeps pets from becoming a hazard to the driver. Additionally, the crate gives anxious animals their own space during what can be a very confusing and stressful experience.
After every delivery, he asks clients politely to leave a review. Not with pressure, not with incentives. Just a straightforward ask. It’s a small habit that compounds over years into the kind of profile that makes future clients feel comfortable trusting him with their animals.
CitizenShipper’s Trust and Safety Hub outlines what the platform does to vet drivers. Jon’s track record is the kind of thing that record-keeping exists to capture.
What His Experience in the Business Has Taught Him
Jon’s advice to new drivers is specific and unambiguous: don’t bid low. It’s the most common mistake people make when they start, and it creates problems that are hard to fix once you’ve established a pricing floor that doesn’t actually cover your costs.</p>
“The cost of gas” is what he wishes someone had spelled
out for him before he started. Fuel is the variable that most new drivers underestimate, and it’s the one that quietly eats into margins on long routes.
The most meaningful piece of feedback he’s received from a client? “Plan, plan, plan.” Three words, repeated for emphasis. It’s the kind of advice that sounds simple until you’ve tried to improvise your way through a cross-country pet transport and realized that flexibility without preparation is just chaos with better PR.
Jon checks his profile and performance metrics constantly. He tracks how he’s doing, pays attention to what clients say, and stays engaged with the platform rather than treating it as a passive source of leads. That attention to his own performance is probably part of why he’s still going in year five when a lot of drivers don’t make it past year one.
Thinking about becoming a pet transporter? See how drivers like Jon get started on CitizenShipper. His biggest tip: know your gas costs before you set your first bid, and price accordingly.
What Keeps Him on the Road
Jon’s answer to “what’s the most rewarding part of the job” is just two words: the animals. No elaboration needed, really. After five years and thousands of miles, the thing that keeps pulling him back to the next transport is the cargo itself.
There’s something honest about that answer. It’s not the income, not the freedom, not the open road. Those things matter, and the flexibility that drew him in during COVID is still part of why the work fits his life. But when you ask what’s actually rewarding about it, he goes straight to the dogs, the cats, the animals that have no idea what a CitizenShipper bid even is, and are just trying to get somewhere safe.
He connects with other drivers in the CitizenShipper community, shares experiences, and stays engaged with the broader network. For anyone curious about what the CitizenShipper marketplace actually looks like from the driver’s side, that community aspect is part of the picture. It’s not just a job board. There are real people on the other end of those listings, drivers and pet owners both, and most of them are trying to do right by the animals in the middle.
Jon’s been doing that for five years. He’s not planning to stop.
If you’re a pet owner trying to find someone with real experience behind the wheel, browse verified dog transporters on CitizenShipper and read actual driver profiles before you commit to anyone. If you want to understand what the costs look like before you list your shipment, check shipping cost estimates to get a realistic sense of what to expect.
Onboarding and Retention Manager – I lead driver onboarding and success initiatives, ensuring new transporters are seamlessly integrated into the platform and equipped with high-performing profiles and effective customer communication strategies. I provide hands-on guidance to help them position themselves competitively and win more shipments.
Using analytics and performance data, I proactively identify inactive or underperforming transporters and develop targeted strategies to re-engage and support them. My focus is on driving long-term retention, growth, and measurable success across the business.
Content Writer at CitizenShipper. I’ve also been published on The Penny Hoarder, Mommy Poppins and mxdwn.
