Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/183648
feature Story fuel savings almost makes my monthly truck payment." Binz acquired his Kenworth T660 after driving a conventional model for several years. Immediately after he bought it, Binz said he noticed a big difference in how quiet, fuel-efficient and comfortable the T660 was compared to his previous truck. "With the comfort I get, it seems I am more relaxed and not as fatigued," he added. "It certainly makes me more willing to volunteer since I am not as tired at the end of my driving shift. I can enjoy walking the dogs and spending time with the pets I'm transporting making them more comfortable." Bear, a 4 1/2–year-old Pekinese, now lives in a new home with the Hines Family in North Pole, Alaska. He was delivered to the Hines Family by David Binz, a Kelso, Wash.-based owner-operator who drives for Alaska West Express in his blue Kenworth T660. fields in Alaska from manufacturers in the states. He hauls them in his aerodynamic Kenworth T660 to barges, which are loaded at the ports in Seattle and Tacoma. The barges then travel up to Alaska pulled by tug boats. Occasionally, he delivers loads directly to Alaska via the TransCanada and Alaska highways. Binz said his 2011 Kenworth T660, equipped with a 15-liter, 550-hp Cummins ISX15 engine, 18-speed transmission and 72inch AeroCab(R) sleeper, helps him and his wife, Patricia Hall, run a successful business called Hall-N-Binz Inc. And having a successful business makes it possible for him to spend the extra time needed to deliver pets across the United States and to Alaska, he added. "My Kenworth truck gets a little over 1 mpg better fuel economy than my previous truck," Binz said. "That's about a 14 to 16 percent improvement in fuel economy. I'm finding that when fuel gets to be about $4 a gallon, the Binz also volunteers to transport animals for Kindred Hearts Transport Connection, another pet rescue organization. Binz said he first learned about Kindred Hearts Transport Connection and Operation Roger during a search last year for a dog to adopt. Binz said his wife found a German wire hair pointer named Stanley in Florida from Florida Big Dog Rescue. Stanley was about to be put to sleep because the local shelter had too many dogs from the homes of older people who died or who could no longer care for them, Binz said. Meanwhile, there was a demand for those dogs in other places around the country like Colorado and Tennessee. That's when Binz decided to become a volunteer transporter for both pet rescue organizations. Since joining Operation Roger and Kindred Hearts Transport Connection as a volunteer in 2012, Binz has transported 12 dogs and two cats for Operation Roger and Kindred Hearts, accompanied by his 6 1/2-year-old brindlecolored Blue Healer mix dog, Izzy. Stanley usually stays at home with his wife while they're out on the road. What's on the horizon for Binz? More pet locations and possibly a new truck to haul them in. Binz said he plans to buy a new Ken- / Owner operator/ october 2013 / / 36 OO 1013 feature.indd 2 9/6/13 1:59 PM