My name is Barbara. I am a professional pet travel agent. Every day in my line of work is an adventure. This true story is about Roger, Sarah and Rocky. (Names changed to protect their privacy—but the photo here is the dog!)

Roger called me one morning very excited and anxious. He told me that he had heard about my pet travel agency from a friend and he needed my help. Roger and his girlfriend Sarah had fallen in love with a dog they found on the Internet. The dog, Rocky, was being held at a shelter outside of Atlanta; and if he was not rescued by 5PM, the shelter would have no choice but to put him down. Roger told me that he and Sarah called the shelter directly, and they were able to adopt Rocky just in the ‘nick of time’.

The challenge Roger posed to me [as a pet travel agent] is that he and Sarah lived in New Jersey, and they needed to get Rocky to his new home with them as soon as possible. The shelter would only hold the dog for a few days while arrangements to pick him up were made.

Roger had no idea how to get that accomplished. As Roger explained this to me, I went to the shelter’s page on the Internet, and I fell in love with Rocky too! I told Roger I would see what needed to be done to get Rocky home to New Jersey.

The challenge is that airlines were created for humans— not dogs. I knew they faced a mountain of airline paper work and details to rescue Rocky. Specifically we had to get Rocky released from the shelter; visit a vet for his proper health documents to travel and be fitted for a kennel that is comfortable for him to lie down, stand, and turn around in. The kennel also needed to be prepared for air travel with the required stickers; water & food containers; labels and absorbent material on the bottom of the kennel (just in case). Finally Rocky would need an airline reservation and ticket (for dogs) preferably on a “non-stop” flight. Pricing for all of this is always an airline issue. Since no one had actually seen Rocky, we were to “assume” that he weighed 60 pounds and would therefore need a #500 kennel to be comfortable.

I told Roger that I would call him back as soon as I knew more details. I began by calling the airline which had the best service to fly Rocky to his new parents in New Jersey. The airline provided me with the pricing (as close as they could estimate) and also advised me of their policies regarding “live animal transport”. Finally the airline said that they could confirm Rocky’s flight the next afternoon.

I quickly called my pet travel colleague who helps me with pet transports in and out of Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. He was great. He said he had no problem picking Rocky up at the shelter in the morning; getting a mobile vet to provide the required health documentations for Rocky; and to supply a kennel prepared for dog travel. He planned to take Rocky to the airport/cargo facility at least 2 hours before the flight and check Rocky in with the airline.

I called Roger back and provided him all the details, including pricing. He was thrilled. He and Sarah planned to be at the airport in New Jersey to pick Rocky up the following evening. He provided me with all the information the airline needed to release Rocky in New Jersey; including names, addresses and phone contacts. I quickly called the airline back and confirmed Rocky on the preferred flight. My handler in Atlanta was advised of all booking confirmations and details for departure from Atlanta scheduled for the following evening. A phone call was made to the shelter in Atlanta, advising them of Rocky’ s checkout time for the following morning.

My phone rang very early the next morning. The shelter could not release Rocky because they did not have a correct name. The problem was that Rocky was being held under Sarah’s name, not Rogers. We got that straightened out quickly. I called Roger in New Jersey and advised him of the status.

My assistant in Atlanta phoned me after he had taken care of the vet health check; placed Rocky in his new kennel; checked him in at the airport. I followed up with a call to advise Roger.

As departure time approached, I noted in my computer that the flight was delayed due to a mechanical problem with the aircraft. Oh boy! I advised Roger and began to check every 15 minutes, keeping all fingers and toes crossed. After an hour and a half, the flight lifted off the ground in Atlanta. I once again advised Roger. He thanked me and said he would let me know when Rocky arrived. I reminded him where he would need to go in Newark Airport to claim Rocky and that he would need to wait about 45 minutes for them to unload him and take him to the cargo facility. Roger promised to call me when Rocky arrived.

I heard nothing for the rest of the evening. I checked the flight information in the computer and the flight had arrived in New Jersey at 10:10PM. No calls! I had a fitful night sleeping; but I figured that “no news is good news”. The following morning I signed into my Email, and the first message I opened was a wonderful photo of Rocky, Roger & Sarah. The caption under the photo read, “Thanks for saving my life. We love you.’ I love them too.

The moral to this story is that it is possible to transport a pet quickly on an airline. But it requires coordination from many sources, and there are a lot of details.