If your family is anything like ours, our pets are not just animals
to us. They are family members, so you can imagine my sadness upon
reading about a beloved dog who recently died on a United Airlines
flight from New York City to San Francisco.
Four days before her flight, “she received a full examination and a
health certificate as is required by the Pet Safe program. This program
is United’s branded on-board pet safety program. In addition to Pet
Safe’s stringent requirements, the owners took every extra precaution
they could think of. Both the dogs’ kennels were labeled front to back
with emergency numbers, flight information and warnings. Their kennels
were purchased specifically for the measurements and design specified by
Pet Safe. They purchased special water bowls which they filled with
ice to ensure that the water wouldn’t spill and that it would last
longer. They drove the six hours to New York City from their house in
Northern New York State so the dogs wouldn’t have to make a connecting
flight.”
Despite all the owners did to ensure safe passage for their pets, the
beloved two year old Golden was dead when they arrived to pick her up. I
have attached the original blog post written by Bea’s owner and have
included several links that give suggestions on how to make air travel
safe. Many of the points are the same across the board.
If you plan on traveling with your pets by air, please read over the
following links so you are as informed as possible. I have also included
a quote from one of the comments made on the original blog post about
even more steps to take…steps he doesn’t feel he would have known about
were it not for his FAA connections. We should ALL have access to the
same important information.
In addition to what Bea’s owners did to ensure her safety, please
note the following: “Once you leave your pet in [the airline's] hands
please, please do not stop there. Once they start the boarding process
grab the head flight attendant, ask politely to speak with the captain
of the plane; if he is unavailable, be sure this information gets to him
and also back to you. Tell them you are flying with a pet in the cargo
area, have your paperwork ready to show them: ex: how long they can be
at a certain temp range. Request to be told when your dog has been
loaded and unloaded at your destination. Your pet is SUPPOSED to be the
last piece of cargo on and the first off. Relying on the ramp personnel
to inform the capt is the worst thing you can do.”
If it is at all possible, traveling by car is still the safest thing
for your pets. If you must fly to your destination, be sure to ask
around via social networks or rescue groups to try to find people
willing to work with you on transporting your pets. Many times these
groups are familiar with such a thing as that is often how animals are
transported from high kill shelters in the south to shelters in the
north. There are groups that will transport your pet the entire way for a
fee (usually a couple of hundred dollars from what I’ve seen) or people
who are willing to drive so far and then meet up with another driver
who will take over (like passing a baton).
Original blog post:
http://beamakesthree.com/2012/09/20/united-airlines-killed-our-golden-retriever-bea/
Safe Flying Suggestions:
http://dogtime.com/safe-flying-fido-friendly.html
http://www.dryfur.com/airline_checklist.htm
http://www.expats-moving-and-relocation-guide.com/pet-air-travel.html
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/08/31/tips-for-pet-safety-during-travel-and-flights.aspx
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