On March 20, 2025, the engine I paid over $80,000 to rebuild blew apart on Highway 40 north of Hinton. Holes in both sides of the block. Less than a year after the rebuild.

That was the domino. Everything you're about to read started right there.

My name is Dave Hawke. I'm an owner-operator from Calgary, Alberta. For years I ran Bloodhound Trucking & Services Inc. — my Kenworth tractor, B-train log trailers, honest work. I wasn't getting rich. I was working.

When that engine died, my truck was down for weeks. No truck, no income. No income, no lease payments. Essex Lease Financial repossessed my truck and trailers. I haven't worked since.

I've filed a $350,000 civil claim against the repair shop in the Court of King's Bench of Alberta. I'm representing myself because I can't afford a lawyer. And here's the part that still makes me sick: earlier this year, people pretending to be lawyers scammed me out of $5,000. They promised a settlement, took everything I had, and disappeared. That's with the Calgary Police now — Occurrence CA 262355202.

Some people online have called me a scammer for asking for help. I get it — the internet is full of fakes. So here's my answer: I have the work orders. I have the invoices. I have the lab reports, the photographs, the court filing with the stamp on it, the police report. Everything I'm telling you is documented, and I'll show any of it to anyone who asks.

This is what it's cost me. On New Year's Eve, the stress threw my heart into atrial fibrillation and I ended up in emergency. I've had two breakdowns since then — the last one put me in the Peter Lougheed Centre just last month. My phone was cut off. My credit is destroyed. In April, I had to put down my bloodhound Charlie. He was two and a half years old.

I have a partner and her sons counting on me. I feel like I've let down everyone who ever believed in me.

But I'm still here, and I'm still fighting. I've written to every Member of Parliament and every MLA in this country looking for a path forward. I'm showing up to court alone. And I'm asking you — not for pity, but for a chance to get back to work.

Where your money goes:

Every dollar goes toward recovering my equipment, paying what I owe, and getting Bloodhound Trucking rolling again. That's it. Trucks, obligations, back to work. I can account for every cent.

If you can't donate, sharing this with someone who might be able to help means just as much. And if you want proof of anything I've said here — just ask. I have nothing to hide.

Thank you for reading this far. It means more than you know.

I also started a petition calling on the federal government to step in for owner-operator truckers before more of us go under. Please sign and share it too: