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Shipping pets by air: What, me worry?
By Gina Spadafori
April 27, 2008
You know you’ve had a lot of animals on the go over the years when the cargo desk guy at your local airport greets you by your first name.
“Hi Gina! Back so soon?”
“Hi, Fred! ‘Fraid so. Alaska 2527 in yet?”
To be sure, it was an unusual week, with the puppy I’d raised for my friend Mary (hey, Otter, miss ya, girl!) going back to Texas on a Continental red-eye direct on Tuesday night, and Ilario the Siberian kitten coming from Portland a couple days later. At the Sacramento airport, all cargo is handled from the same desk, regardless of the airline. Which means if you’re moving an animal, you’re going to talk to Fred.
Before that, I last talked to Fred when I flew with Woody to Texas back in the fall, on that same red-eye Continental flight I used for Otter last week. I hate red-eye flights (I never can sleep on them), I but I chose it specifically because it’s the best flight for a pet — short, direct, cool and during the off-peak travel hours.
By the way, Woody (pictured), is one well-traveled young dog. He was born in Sweden, and came home with Mary to Texas as an eight-week-old pup after she put in a couple of years and several Swedish trips researching Scandinavian Flat-Coated Retrievers for their field ability and conformation, with an eye to adding Swedish lines to her own. He traveled across the Swedish countryside in cars and on trains and then flew from Stockholm to Chicago to Houston. A few months later, he flew from Houston to Sacramento to join my family (although Mary and I both own him), then back to Texas with me for a few months of advanced training, then to Portland (via Denver) and finally back to Sacramento by car earlier this month.
The last trip a couple weeks ago was the most nerve-wracking, starting with a comment by a United Airlines staffer in Austin along the lines of, “Great! Now I gotta get someone up here to deal with a damn dog!” That’s Just the kind of thing you want to hear when you’re putting a member of your family into someone else’s hands. (And a family member who can’t complain, at that!)
Anyway, with all due respect to my pal Fred, the nice guy at the Sacramento airport desk, I’m finding that the movement of pets by air is getting a little too rough on my worry-nerves.
The airlines are in a state of near-meltdown, and they don’t even treat people with much respect or compassion. I know the chances of something happening to my pet in an airline’s hands is very, very low — only one animal injury and no deaths were reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation in February. And I can attest that the airline staffers I’ve talked to while moving my pets by air over the years have been very, very nice — that recent United guy notwithstanding.
I’m a perfect pet shipper. I never ship any animal who isn’t in perfect health. I always make sure the crate is in perfect condition (if not brand new), and I check and tighten every bolt, three times at least. I prefer bolt-on water and food dishes over the kind that snap-on kind that come with the crate — they’re more expensive, but less likely to get knocked off the door. I write my name, the pet’s name, some sappy statement (“Hi, I’m a kid’s best friend!”) and a slew of phone numbers on the crate with a permanent marker.
I pray. And I call, and I call, and I call to check on my pet while the airline has him. I’m a nice pest, a polite pest, but I’m a pest nonetheless.
I have never had a problem worse than a pet relieving himself in a crate, and even that has happened just a couple of times. But I’m increasingly wary of putting a family member who cannot speak for himself into the gaping maw of an air-travel system that’s showing severe signs of strain, to put it mildly.
Carry on a pet into the passenger compartment with me? I’d still do that, with a cat or a small dog. But I’m just not sure I can any long stand all the worrying I go through when it comes to one of my pets who won’t fit under an airline seat.
How about you? Have you ever shipped a pet by air? Would you do so now? Have you changed … as in did you used to but won’t any more? Or would you do so now only in the most urgent of circumstances? Dish.
***
Completely aside: An air crash more than two decades ago made me decide I wanted to use airline shipping crates … in my car! I was on the night copy desk in the newsroom of the Sacramento Bee when Morgan Ong (then a Bee photo editor, now our Pet Connection Director of Photography and still, then and always my good friend) brought over a picture off the wire-service machine.
The picture was of a half-grown black Labrador who’d been pulled from the wreckage of an airline crash. The puppy lived, protected no doubt by a large degree of pure dumb luck but also by a shattered shipping crate. Geez, did that picture make an impression on me.
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You have more guts than me, Gina. I prefer to stay home rather than ship my pets in someone else’s “care”. Have never shipped nor ever wanted to ship any of my pets.
Comment by VJ — April 27, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
Nope, won’t do it. The whole idea is just too, too uncomfortable for me. If I *had* to fly a pet, I’d rent a little plane with a pilot and we’d go together…
Comment by mikken — April 27, 2008 @ 2:02 pm
Last July we officially adopted Keagan, our Old English Sheepdog (and something else) from 2,000 miles away, but it took until October to get him to us. (Gina wrote: http://www.petconnection.com/b.....omes-home/)
In an attempt to get Keagan from Tulsa, OK to Crescent City, CA (edge of the world), I looked into shipping by air. At that time there was a heat wave in Tulsa that went on for weeks, no, months - a continual 115 degrees - with a total moratorium on shipping live animals that went on well into September. I began reading about shipping live animals, especially where Keagan was going to have to go: into the freight compartment where XXXL size crates could be accommodated. I read horror story after horror story of dogs going deaf from noise, pain from compartment pressure and changes in altitude, lack of water, overheating, freezing, losing pets - some never even found - dead pets - ad infinitum (stats on-line).
Delta, with Tulsa direct service to SFO, had no direct flights that contained freight - apparently the airbuses used contain no freight. The ONLY way to ship with Delta would have been from Tulsa to Atlanta (go figure) to San Francisco and picked up at the freight terminal a mile away - tack on another 2 hours. Keagan would have been unloaded and sent with freight in a baggage cart sitting out on the hot tarmac in sun and heat, then eventually to the freight terminal, which was the only place we would be allowed to claim him, and not less than 2 hours following the flight arrival time! Then - the poor dog - if still breathing - would have to drive back to our home, in the car another 7 hours. Obviously, this was not a transportation option!
There had to be an answer to our dilemma. With my husband’s new job, not nearly enough vacation time had been accumulated to consider driving that distance. I began to carefully research pet transport companies, gleaning information and references from as many people as I could, as I was considerably leery of this method at first, hearing more horror stories of people taking your money and never showing up with your animal. My fears were allayed when I began to talk to breeders and show people who regularly shipped dogs using land transport services. Two of the four most highly recommended companies could accommodate us on short notice. The one ultimately selected turned out to be a far, far better service than anticipated.
The company we used was wonderful, and the cost of the service was very competitive with the airlines. I had direct daily contact with the driver/caretaker for the entire trip. Keagan arrived happily and well-loved, (almost) door to door, in a new, perfectly outfitted, air conditioned van. More like a dog limo! He had spent his time with a loving, knowledgeable driver who had given each of the animals one-on-one attention. She gave Keagan individual walks, special play time with her, and a good number of stops and time out of the crate. She was awesome as she’d grown up in a family that bred, showed and adored their own dogs. Located on a beautiful Texas ranch, where Keagan fortunately spent a few days, this pet transport company is their family business, a safe method that they believe sorely fulfills a need for pet owners who prefer to not ship by air. They also do a lot of transporting for rescue groups. We were thrilled to have found them.
I would use this company again in a heartbeat, or for that matter, either of the other two recommended land transport companies I sourced. My preferred way to transport will always be by land - perhaps even if direct night or very early a.m. airline flights were available. The trip may take longer, but our dog was comfortable and well cared for and we had peace of mind.
Comment by Nadine L. — April 27, 2008 @ 3:54 pm
Nadine, which company was it? I have considered using them in the past but have been wary as I don’t know anyone who has.
Comment by JenniferJ — April 27, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
Well, about eight months ago I had a kitten shipped cross-country via Continental. I arrived at the baggage terminal (same terminal as the “people baggage” came in on in this case - the very rude and dismissive agent told me the luggage would be unloaded first and then the freight) and waited patiently as the crowd of people getting their luggage gradually dwindled down to nothing. I then - with some difficulty - got the agent’s attention who looked up from what she was doing and said ‘Is it here yet?”
SHE’S asking ME?
No - no kitten in crate. She called whoever it is that unloads the planes, comes back and tells me the plane is EMPTY! And she then refuses to do anything about it, telling me I have to call the 800 number and pursue it on my own!
Fortunately it was the last stop for this plane, so for the ensuing 50 or so minutes it took me to wait on hold, finally get someone live, and convince them that no - the agent would NOT come over to the pay phone and talk to them - at least I knew the plane was still there. Which became especially important when the 800 number agent called the handling crew at the airport where there had been an (unavoidable) layover and talked to the actual guy who told her he’d loaded my kitten on this plane.
She then talked to baggage crew at the airport where I was (how ludicrous was that? I had to call an 800 number to get ahold of the people at my location) and they told her “Sorry! Plane’s empty!”
She called back the guy at the layover point who told her the cargo bay NUMBER where he’d loaded the kitten, and she then called back the luggage people at my airport with this information. They continued to tell her they’d checked the bay and it was empty.
All this while I’m standing on hold on a payphone in an airline terminal (one of the few times in my life when I wished I had a cell phone) and she’s checking in with me every now and then to let me know her progress - or lack thereof. The rest of the time - going on close to two hours by now - I’m standing there helplessly waiting. Why didn’t I insist the desk agent get her superior? Let’s just say I realized the next day how much I’d succumbed to panic because that question didn’t even occur to me until then.
At one point while I was on hold, across the lobby I see a guy come out from the back area carrying a crate and I hear a tiny little “meow” emanating from it! I holler “Is that my kitten?!” and set down the phone and race across the lobby to see that - of course - it was. He looked very sheepish and said something along the lines of “It was behind a post and I guess we didn’t see it . . . . . “
All I cared about at that point was getting her out of there and home. She seemed okay, and that’s all I could think about at that moment. Like a dummy, I didn’t get ID numbers or names or anything. The gal on the 800 number came back on and I told her I had my kitten and what had happened, and she said that she’d submit a report, and also gave me a number to call.
But I have to tell you - for all the promises Continental made, I never heard back from the supervisor I called the next day - never got a response to my emails or letters. Nada. They couldn’t care less.
So now I just take every opportunity I can to tell people MY experience when shipping an animal on Continental. Never again.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — April 27, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
Jennifer, the wonderful company is “We Move Pets.” Barb, the owner was so helpful and obliging, and wonderful Crissy, her beautiful daughter, is the driver who took wonderful care of Keagan. They are good, honest, knowledgeable and reliable business people who bent over backwards for us in quickly getting Keagan out of Tulsa. They move pets all over the country, from East to West, North to South.
I hope it’s okay to post their website:
http://www.wemovepets.com/petShipping.pets
Comment by Nadine L. — April 27, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
In the late 80’s/ early 90’s I worked for Continental Cargo for close to two years. let’s us just say that a company is only as good as it’s worst employees. It didn’t take breeders and frequent animal shippers too long to figure out they should ship their animals on my shift.
Gina was right on when she suggested getting to know the cargo staff. Frequent pet shippers would call in advance and get my schedule before booking.
Most of our pets changed planes in Newark..and we had people that we worked with that met our pet flights and I insisted on talking to them before, during, and after. In Boston we didn’t have a red eye, but a direct non stop red eye would be a great option when hot days are a possibility. It gets hot in the cargo hold when planes are delayed,, and as we all know, planes can sit for hours.
We always took our animals and loaded them last so they were the first off. Not everyone does this. We always met the planes and took the animals off the scary tarmac before the bag carts.. How many times have you looked out the airport window to see live animals sitting out there?
Most animals came to us in bound covered in vomit and poop. A guy I worked with took the pets out hosed out the crates and put them back in with a clean airline blanket. I used to freak out that he did this….
I saw guys take the dogs out, lock the door and let them run in the ware house. I freaked out at this to!
I have captured dogs that got loose in flight on the tarmac, and know of several pets that were never seen again, as well as short snouted dogs that died in flight…..and I even took a few home that missed their flights with the owners blessing of course.
would i ship a dog? Never. ever ever if I had any other choice. it is terrifying for them. if I absolutely had to, I would drug the dog to a near coma state and be sure I had met the person who I was trusting my dog to.
And now with airlines going under?…well there is always an uncertainty in the airline industry. Same old same old. Always a crap shoot!
Comment by nancy freedman-smith — April 27, 2008 @ 6:03 pm
Thanks! I’ll check it out.
Comment by JenniferJ — April 27, 2008 @ 8:09 pm
I used to fly my flat-coated retriever once or twice a year from North Carolina to the west coast, once in the summer and once over Christmas. I never had any problem whatsoever, always flying those red eyes. U.S. Airways back in those days was great with the dogs (they no longer fly them). This all ended in 2000 when the night before we were to fly out for Christmas, I called to check my reservation and my dog’s, and American informed me that they would not fly my dog. I have not flown a pet since (except when picking up a puppy who flew in the cabin with me). This was before 9/11, but the other flights I took that year for business told me that the airlines were starting to become unreliable. I now drive whenever possible, even when the dogs aren’t a consideration.
Comment by Debbie — April 27, 2008 @ 8:34 pm
When I was moving to Colorado, I had to take my two cats on the airline.
I first took them to the veterinarian to get hydrated. The veterinarian suggested I do so.
Then, after a long limo drive to the airport, we waited several hours for the plane to take off because there were three thunderstorms to get through (lightning strikes wouldn’t allow any movement of the planes).
My daughter came to help. She carried the cat through the screening gate (cat almost escaped from her very strong arms) for less screening damage.
She kept making sure the cats were not dehydrated. We did not always keep the cats under the seats. Nobody seemed to notice the cats—the stewards or stewardesses, the other passengers, or anybody milling around.
Of course, it took us 15 hours to get to the new house—even though it was a 3 and one half flight trip from Boston. We had almost a two hour driving trip from the airport.
The waiting at Logan Airport delayed the trip for several hours and threw a big wrench into our plans. If I had flown on a sunny day, maybe I would have had less trouble.
The cats were somewhat dehydrated by that time, and not in the best shape even with the our best efforts while on the plane. They recovered with love, water, and food.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — April 28, 2008 @ 5:25 am
It’s hard for me to believe that the airlines would treat pets better than they treat their human passengers, and the almost uniform experience of everyone I know (including myself) who has flown recently is DREADFUL service, cancellations etc. And who do you call if you have a problem? The off-shored, barely English speaking “agents”?
no way I would ever fly my pets.
It’s a darn shame the US trains don’t add kennel cars and start allowing pets.
Comment by EmilyS — April 28, 2008 @ 5:34 am
My air shipping experiences vary. I was on a plane where they had closed the door and I peered otu the window to see my pet carrier still on the tarmac. I had to tell the steward and there was much chatting on walky talkies, they had indeed forgotten to load it. A friend of mine had her small dog come tumbling down the automatic conveyer belt upon arrival. My own dog had his collar vanish in flight (and it wouldn’t have fitted out without opening the door fo the carrier).
How well airlines do depends a lot on how often they move pets and their staff turnover. For real fun, try flying with a pet rat. I only got anywhere with that when I declared him a dwarf naked-tailed Antartican cat. They had rules for cats and so we could go ahead from there…
Comment by emily — April 28, 2008 @ 6:47 am
After everyone else’s stories, Emily, I’m surprised you weren’t arrested for trying transport an endangered/invasive/exotic creature and that he/she wasn’t confiscated. Hope no one who sees your post decides to try to start breeding them for the Next Big Thing in pets. Sigh.
;-)
Comment by Susan Fox — April 28, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
I have only flown my 2 cats and 1 dog from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, where we now live. This was on Air New Zealand, using a transport company that comes highly recommended if you ask around. The quarantine kennel picked them up, and I was told only one cat had an accident in the crate (each had his own). Crates are locked shut during the 13 hour flight. No complaints from me with the airline or animal export company. I have heard, however, of high-drive Schutzhund dogs being teased and tormented on the tarmac while the owners freaked out on the plane, and they nearly got thrown off! I don’t remember the airline. While living in the US I chose not to enter any dog events requiring a flight, based on the problems I’d heard about w/ airlines.
Comment by Margaret — April 28, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
Adding to my flight woes:
Besides the lack of adequate normal air for my cats on the plane, they were confined to a little cage for those 15 hours and got NO excercise at all.
However, since it was 6 weeks before the infamous 9/ll date and I was flying out of Logan Airport—I guess I was glad we all survived—the four adults and the two felines.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — April 29, 2008 @ 5:13 am
A decade ago I was filming for a TV show. The woman entrepreneur subject for the program was a freight forwarder so we were on the runway just outside a luggage warehouse. It was summer, so hot, the tarmac was black and I had to wear a suit jacket. Thoughts of my discomfort ended when I noticed a large dog in imprisoned in a cage on one of the luggage trailers. He/she was in agony. I went into the warehouse -nobody around. No phones in the building. The Director was impatient with me we finished and left. I have thought about the dog so often. I worked for the airlines I would never entrust a pet to the mercy of what we called “ramp rats”.
I am sorry to stereotype a group but it only takes one to harm your pet. I saw too much.
Comment by Karen — April 29, 2008 @ 7:06 am
As a breeder I have had dogs shipped both to me and from me and I know it’s going to be responsible for most of my wrinkles and coming gray hair. This week I’ve got two leaving and one arriving, so I’ll be a triple nervous wreck. I live near a smaller airport and only two airlines carry pets, Delta (Skywest) and Alaska. Both of them thankfully have given me good service over the years. The Skywest folks have been very good about working with me on schedules and on customer calls. They have never lost a dog, and I’ve had a few arrive a bit shaken, but not more than I’d expect having gone through often their very first flight. The Alaska people has been very nice to deal with and they’ve gone above and beyond to help me arrange to have a dog returned to me. Even with that, I still know that I’m in for some serious worrying the day any of my dogs have to fly. I do the best I can to prep the dogs before hand. I make sure they are crate trained or at least accustomed to a crate, for the younger dogs, I make sure they have a safe crate to fly in, I make sure they got good soft absorbent bedding, that they’ve got ice frozen into their water dish if they need it, and food strapped to the top that they are used to eating, tags attached to the crates, collars securely fastened, phone numbers all over the crate, names on the crate. I do the best I can to cover all the bases I can think of the make their flight better.
The only airline I had trouble with was Northwest who first sent a puppy that was going to live in Vancouver, WA to Vancouver, BC and then because the puppy didn’t have an international health certificate I had to fight to get the puppy returned to the U.S. They also lied once about a plane coming in late and the puppy missing their connection, when by tracking online the plane had arrived 20 minutes due to favorable tailwinds. I’m sure that puppy was set aside until all the baggage was unloaded and then it was too late for the puppy to make the flight. Thankfully she was cared for and survived and met her new home the next day, but it still upset me.
So yes at this point I will continue to use airlines to ship pets, but I do know my cargo people and they do work very hard to get me the best flights. I can see int he future though that it may be a changing with all the airline troubles.
Comment by Alison B. — April 29, 2008 @ 9:02 am
More and more airlines are refusing to provide this service now. So you can be stuck between what is available and nothing at all in moving countries with a dog.
The international side is chaos. Everyone has a completely different story on the requirements and they keep changing both federally and at the state and port level.
Comment by emily — April 29, 2008 @ 10:57 am
All your comments are terrifying!
I am trying to find an international shipping company to bring my late sister’s “babies”, two 6 year-old dogs, to my home in the midwest. They are currently in a Paris suburb at my brother’s, he is unable to keep them and unwilling to bring them to me.
Currently nursing an old 16 year-old dog and two old kitties, I really cannot go get them either. Lisa
Comment by Lisa Carey — May 5, 2008 @ 7:36 pm