Pet Travel Blog

I feel as though I have written about this before, probably because I have! Once again in an attempt to sell magazines and newspapers travel writers LOVE to shock people about the incidents that can occur when pets travel on airlines. In a current issue of Conde’ Nast Traveler Magazine-February 2007, an article titled: “The Beasts in the Belly”; the byline of the article reads: Think coach class is a drag? Try the cargo hold. William J. McGee reports on what can go wrong when the airlines transport pets.
Come on! This just makes my stomach hurt! Why in the world doesn’t Mr. McGee write about what GOES RIGHT when the airlines transport pets? He would really have something to write about that the numbers can back up.
Here’s a few for starters for you Mr. McGee: {all are true stories by the way}

• Two very small dogs were unable to be loaded on a flight to Osaka with the final destination-Okinawa. The airline personally called the pet shipper to advise that the dogs were safe and sound with them and that they would personally call the customs and agriculture clearance station at the airport in Osaka to advise of the 1 day delay and request they expedite the connection to Okinawa so the dogs would not have to spend the weekend in their crates. Everything went great!
• An airline made an exception to the number of pets allowed on a domestic flight so the “pet family’ could depart and arrive together at the same time.
• The airline’s cargo agents offered to “pet sit” two cats for 45 minutes while the health certificates were rushed over to the USDA vet for proper endorsements.
• Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines ALWAYS zip-tie closed the doors on the crate to avoid any problems or escapes of pets while in their care.

The airlines all in all do a great job in moving pets around the country and around the world. If anyone is at fault-it’s the owners of the pets. If a pet ‘loses its teeth and nails when trying to chew and claw its way out of its kennel” how can you possibly fault the airline? If a pet ever escapes from its kennel/crate the more than likely reason is because the owner purchased a CHEAP crate with a feeble door.
I am really looking forward to the time I see an article titled:
YOUR PET IS IN GOOD HANDS WHEN TRAVELING THE FRIENDLY SKIES!

The New York Sun published today an article about the Westminster Dog Show currently running in Madison Square Garden. http://www.nysun.com/article/48474
Bradley Hope who wrote the article is ‘right on’ about the fact that none of us have forgotten about Vivi.  What happened and how can we prevent this from ever happening to our own beloved pets?  From a pet travel agent’s perspective I have thought long and hard about Vivi and my take on what happened.  I honestly think that someone with the staff at the airport must have opened that crate door to get a look at this darling animal.  The suggestions in the Sun article are great.  I would like to add a few more.
Use an IPATA members – International Pet and Animal Transportation Association- http://www.ipata.com-to ship your pets.  IPATA pet shippers know their business.  They check your pet in with the airline, present required documentation for TSA and know the airlines that are the best with pets.  They also know the agents and individuals that handle the pets at the airports.  They really know what they are doing.  Puppy Travel is a member of IPATA. http://www.puppytravel.com
-If you are traveling with your pet, make sure that you advise the flight attendants as soon as you board the aircraft that you are traveling with your pet.  Ask them to have the pilot call down and advise the ground crew that he needs a call when the pet has been boarded.  Do not sit down in your seat until you KNOW that your pet has been boarded.  Don’t buckle up…just wait.  I have never had a client have a problem with this specific request.  Remember that the pets are the “last on & first off’ the aircraft so more than likely you will not be alerted that you pet is on board until just before the passenger aircraft door is closed.  Be patient.  They will do it. 
-Never take your eyes off your pet until it has been accepted and is the responsibility of the airline.  If you need to get your vehicle out of the parking lot before you can put the pet and crate in your car, PAY someone to watch it for you-a neighbor, friend, cousin.  It is money well worth spending.
-TSA should inspect your pet while you are still there.  Don’t release your pet to the airline until all inspections have been completed. 
-Ship you pet as ‘manifested cargo’ instead of ‘checked luggage’.  The airline ticket counter agents work mostly with humans-not animals.  They will treat your pet the same as your golf clubs or skis.  If you ship them as ‘manifested cargo’ you know where they are all the time because you can track them on the internet.  Checked luggage is what it is….’checked’…they have no idea what happens to it once they place it on the conveyer belt.
 

Imagine your pet, injured, bleeding, with hypothermia, soaked in urine and vomit with missing teeth or swollen gums or even worse killed. This is a harsh reality of travel on airlines for many pet owners.

Many airlines simply accept any standard small animal carrier, regardless of faulty mechanics or even missing hardware that easily harms and kills countless animals each year.

A simple search on airline reports will bring a shocking reality to the surface as the horrid tales unfold of injured, missing or killed animals that occur while traveling.

I have focused my travel skills completely on pet travel for the last 4 years and can honestly say that I have NEVER experienced anything like what is described above. The airlines have done nothing but continuously improve all aspects of their live animal and pet programs in the last 4 years. Some of the major carriers in the United States ship in excess of 50,000 pets per year. The FAA now releases monthly the number of incidents reported by the airlines in regard to live animal transport. This information can be found at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/2006/December/0612atcr.pdf
This last week I was shipping 3 pets to Argentina. One of the dogs was very old and had a heart murmur. The vet signed the Health Certificate but strongly cautioned that the journey was going to be hard on the dog. I of course advised the client in Buenos Aires and she was worried but authorized me to go ahead and ship her dog. At the airport the entire staff could not have been more concerned and helpful with this dog. I called the care center for the airport in Houston where the dog was to lay over for a few hours and then travel onward, to check and see how she was doing. They made a special phone call to where she was, checked on her and called me back. The dog arrived in good shape and is now home with its owner in South America. That is one of many experiences I have had shipping pets and dealing with the airlines.
For me as a pet travel agent and pet shipper, the proof is in the planning when sending animals any distance on a commercial carrier. You must be sure that you prepare the pet, and crate correctly. All documentation and paperwork needs to be exact and completed. No cutting corners! Use a professional pet shipper-pet travel agent-and you and your pet will be glad you did!

P.S. Don’t cut corners on anything! Especially on the crates!