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We give CitizenShipper Pet Shipping a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.
If you’ve ever had to move a long distance with your pets, you know what a headache (and, often, heartache) it can be. It becomes even more difficult if you’re unable to physically transport your pet yourself.
This is where CitizenShipper comes in.
CitizenShipper acts as a go-between to help connect you with reliable, licensed, and verified pet shipping companies and individuals, much like Angi or Thumbtack’s services for finding professionals for the home. Whether you need help transporting a cat across town or shipping your dog across the country, CitizenShipper can help.
They work with a long list of transporters so you can find the right fit for your pet. Best of all, you get to see the bids upfront and choose your shipper based on their rate, what they offer, and their customer reviews.
In the past eighteen months, I have moved between Hawaii and Colorado twice with two dogs and a cat. While I was fortunate enough to be able to bring all my pets on the plane with me, there were multiple points in the planning process when I was afraid that wouldn’t work out.
If I had known about Citizen Shipper at the time, it would have saved me a lot of gray hairs. Once I learned about them, I wanted to find out if this premier pet shipping company is as reliable and useful as they claim.
While I didn’t actually ship my pets through their services (we are taking a much-needed travel break), I did start the process to see how it worked. I also did a deep dive into their non-website reviews to find out if their drivers are as top-notch as advertised.
Keep reading to find out why CitizenShipper is a company worth using if you need to ship your furry friend and to see my full CitizenShipper Pet Shipping review.
What Is CitizenShipper?
There are a lot of pet shipping services out there. What most people don’t realize is that these “shippers” don’t actually own the transport vehicles or employ the drivers and pilots that move their clients’ pets around. Rather, they contract out various other companies to fulfill the job.
This is also how CitizenShipper operates but with one key difference. While other pet shipping services give you a single quote to transport your pet and then choose which company will do it, CitizenShipper allows you to choose the company based on the price and their track record.
This puts you in control of who transports your pet, how much it costs, and what kind of perks your pet receives along the way.
In addition to pets, CitizenShipper also ships furniture, vehicles, boats, and more.
Who Should Use CitizenShipper?
CitizenShipper’s pet shipping services are focused primarily on ground transportation. They have drivers who will drive short distances as well as those willing to drive across the country. This makes them a good match for pet owners with a variety of needs.
Whether you are a pet parent moving houses, a breeder placing puppies, or are involved in animal rescue, this service will work for you. They transport a variety of animals, including cats, dogs, horses, and smaller pets.
Overview
Here is an overview of CitizenShippers Pet Shipping service and what you need to know to get started.
How Does It Work?
Getting started with CitizenShipper is super easy. All you need to do is enter your pet’s information, pick-up location, drop-off location, and preferred pick-up date, and you’ll start getting quotes from certified shippers almost instantly.
These quotes appear on your dashboard and come along with personalized messages from the transport company or individual. You’ll also be able to see each company’s rating and past reviews. You can even chat with the companies to ask questions and get more information before choosing one.
Once you’ve found the perfect fit to transport your pet, you will book the trip through the dashboard. At this point, you can work out payment directly with the driver and complete the contract process.
Options
CitizenShipper has two options when it comes to seeking quotes for your pet’s transport. You can opt for VIP travel, which ensures your pet is the only pet being transported in the vehicle, or standard travel. In the case of standard, your pet will likely be transported along with multiple other animals.
From my experience, the shippers themselves offer their own individual perks. They’ll tell you how often they’ll let your pet out of the vehicle to stretch their legs, if they’ll be riding in a crate or in the cab, and if they offer additional services like stopping at dog parks or hiking trails.
Fees
CitizenShipper puts you in control of how much you’ll spend by allowing you to choose your driver based on the price they quote.
I got estimates for two trips for my Dalmatian mix, Ragz. For both trips, I received a number of quotes from different companies with quite a range between the high and low quote for each trip.
In addition to the agreed-upon transport fee, CitizenShipper adds an additional fee for brokering the deal. This fee can range from $30 to $260, depending on the number of miles the pet will travel.
The fee to CitizenShipper needs to be paid once the booking has been confirmed. The payment to the driver is more flexible, with many drivers accepting a half-now, half-at-drop-off agreement.
In Summary
Key Features
You Choose the Driver
Most shipping services choose the shipping company based on availability and if they can save the company money. CitizenShipper allows you to choose the shipper, putting control and savings in your hands.
While this does mean it’s possible to choose a bad match for your pet and your needs, CitizenShipper takes steps to make this less likely. For one, you’re able to chat with your driver before booking them. You can also scroll through reviews from past customers and see a full history of how many pet transport jobs the person has performed.
You Work Out the Details
When working through a shipping broker, you often lose control of when and, sometimes, where your possessions will arrive. Not the case with CitizenShipper. Because you have a direct line of communication with the shipper, you can work out exactly when your pet will be picked up and get updates on when they’re going to arrive.
If they’re running late, you’ll be the first to know so you can plan accordingly. Not having a third party to communicate through really streamlines and simplifies the process.
Updates Along the Way
Most CitizenShipper Pet Shippers offer live updates during the trip. This includes photos, videos, and more sent straight to your phone. Many also have GPS tracking options so you can see where your pet is in real-time.
Because you have a direct line of communication with the driver, it’s easy to work out how often you want these kinds of updates.
Is CitizenShipper a Good Value?
One of the best things about CitizenShipper is that you get to choose your driver based on price. If you think the price is too much, you can find a better option. In my experience, there is a wide range of quotes, which makes it easier to find something that matches your budget.
Of course, as with so many other things, you will get what you pay for. While you likely want to avoid the highest quote, it’s also probably not a good idea to go with the lowest. But in the end, connecting with the driver and choosing the one that is going to offer the best care is what will determine if you’re satisfied with the service or not.
FAQ
What kind of pets does CitizenShipper ship?
CitizenShipper markets its services to dog, cat, and horse owners. But they also have an “other” pets tab. When you use this tab to get your quotes, you have the option to fill in the animals type in the form, which opens their services to pets of all kinds.
In the end, though, it will be up to the shippers themselves to decide if they are willing to move your ball python or chatty parrot.
Are the drivers vetted?
Yes, all transport companies and drivers that can bid on jobs on CitizenShipper have been vetted by the company. Every pet transport driver must be licensed, USDA registered, and background checked. Each driver must also carry pet insurance and will have access to 24/7 online vet services.
What if something goes wrong?
If you have any problems with your driver or pet transport, CitizenShipper is there for you. If you can’t contact your driver directly, you can reach out to CitizenShipper via email for support.
Our Experience With CitizenShipper Pet Shipping
My family’s multiple harrowing journeys across the Pacific this past year and a half have given me some real perspective on transporting pets. I was lucky enough to have both my dogs and my cat with me on the plane. But so many of the people I met in Hawaii were not that lucky.
Having a reliable option for pet transport is incredibly important for taking the stress out of moving or adding a new pet to the family.
I was curious about CitizenShipper because they, uniquely, put so much control over the transport process in the pet owner’s hands.
To test how useful and reliable this service really is, I created two transport requests through their website. Both were for my 30-pound Dalmatian mix, Ragz. The first was for a short-ish trip from Denver to Los Angeles. The second was for a cross-country trip from Los Angeles to New York City.
For the shorter trip, I began receiving quotes within seconds of submitting the details. Within 2 hours, I had 16 quotes from 16 different drivers. These ranged from transport companies with multiple vehicles to individuals, including one dog rescue using pet transport as an additional means of income for the rescue.
The quotes themselves ranged from $500 to $1,000.
For the longer trip, it took a few minutes to receive the first quote. But within two hours, I had 25 quotes. These ranged from $800 to $2700.
In both cases, I received multiple bids that didn’t include a dollar amount. In these cases, the drivers were interested in getting more information before offering up their price, which I don’t think is a bad thing.
So many of these drivers looked like great matches, and most had the reviews to prove it. But I wasn’t just going to take the website’s word for it. So I went on a deep dive on the internet to see more real-life reviews of CitizenShipper.
Overall, what I saw was very promising. One customer could not say enough about her driver who brought her Boston Terrier to multiple dog parks, the beach, and on a hike during their journey across the US. A less satisfied customer was miffed when his driver tried to get him to pay for a flat tire, but it all worked out in the end.
Most importantly, I didn’t see any horror stories about pets being neglected or lost.
Conclusion
In the end, I think the real genius behind CitizenShipper is that they put all the power in your hands. With this unique service, you have the ability to see dozens of quotes, talk to drivers directly, and read reviews to find the best match for you, your pet, and your situation.
And since all the drivers they partner with are vetted, licensed, and backed by CitizenShipper, you can feel confident in your choice. With free quotes that come in quickly and direct driver messaging prior to booking, transporting your furry family has never been easier or less stressful.
