[Serj22]

I have a dilemma and I am hoping someone on here would know the solution. My dad has a Black lab/Shepphard named Goofie, and my dad is moving onto a boat. The dog is currently in Benicia, California. I am in Bremerton, Washington, about 1,000 miles North. My dad is moving onto a boat, and can't take the dog with him, he doesn't want to give him to the pound or anything, and I offered to take him.

My Fiance'e is flying down to visit her mother on Monday, and will return the following weekend. She is flying A.Airlines, and they have a check in system that allows a dog on in the checked baggage system, but it can not weigh over 100 lbs, plus the crate he is in. So one idea was to fly him up here on her return flight. The problem is, the container can not be collapsable and that is a problem since she will not have access to a truck while she's there, and you'd definitly need one to transport the crate and dog. If it's not collapsible I'm fearing there will be no way to transport a 50lb (or so) dog-fitting crate to the plane itself. The other issue is that if the ground temperature is below 45 degrees, they will not fly the dog. It is about that temperature here in WA right now, so I worry that they will not let him fly. It is $150 plus reservation to put him on the plane, plus the price of whatever the crate/cage/kennel will cost, which I'm assuming will also be around $100 or so if it's non-collapsible.

My question, is: is there some other way of getting him here? I do not have the ability or time off work to drive down and get him, and my fiance'e can not drive back either. Is there a less-headache way of getting him here? Or even better yet, some kind of "dog mailing service" not necessarily to treat him like mail, that would be terrible, but you get the idea.

 

[Kigotai]

THere is adog airline. Can't remember the name. Or you might check with some lab rescues maybe they will hae someone coming our way that could drive him either to you or to the airport if you make a donation? Just thoughts.

 

[bloateus]

U.S. postal service ships live animals all the time, crates of chicken, bees, etc. you may want to check with them

 

[bh045ct]

Can you find people to do partial transport and coordinate with friends, e members, etc to final destination. We have done this on the east coast with dogs that Benny has found homes for. Just need to coordinate each leg.

 

[Serj22]

We don't have many friends on the way in between, and no one is willing to have him in their car, because he drools a lot and they're worried he's going to drool all over their car, which is understandable, but difficult. I had no idea you could mail a live animal, and with the care they take with my packages, I'm not sure it would be responsible to leave a dog in their care. I'm hoping someone has tried some company that will ship the dog, I see a lot of different companies online, but how am I to know they are not going to ship the dog to some other country into dog slavery or something?:|

 

[boley]

You can fly a dog via airlines. I don't have a link handy but it is possible. Personally I did not know this was even an option until a few years ago when I started looking at a fairly uncommon breed (Tollers) and learned that some breeders would fly dogs in some circumstances (in the end, I did not actually have to do this).

Honestly, the best option is generally a 1 way flight to the dogs location followed by a 1 way car rental. 1,000 miles is a long way but not too much to handle for a weekend jaunt. Heck, I once did 1k miles in a day (21 hours actually).

 

[ElementaryEd]

Wish I was closer. Sounds like an awesome road trip! Seems like there should be a way to get an E member relay going???? How cool would that be:grin:

 

[desinia]

U.S. postal service ships live animals all the time, crates of chicken, bees, etc. you may want to check with them

Nope. The USPS doesn't ship dogs. As far as I know, the only live animals allowed are birds and they need special packaging. Insects need packaging that won't let the things get loose.

On the other hand, you CAN ship empty crates so that they'll be there, ready when you arrive. Sometimes it's easier to just buy one where the dog is though.

 

[bloateus]

https://www.aacargo.com/shipping/animals.jhtml

http://www.wemovepets.com/

http://www.thepetbus.com/

http://www.flypets.com/

http://www.happytailstravel.com/

 

[Serj22]

Woah, some of those prices are pretty steep. It looks like American Airlines is going to let him on as a checked pet. If anthing, they won't let him fly, and then I'll have to figure out another method of getting him here. If they do let him fly, I guess the price is not so bad at $150. My dad is handling buying a crate for him, and he's taking him to get all his shots and make sure he's good to go. Hopefully on Sunday, I'll be able to say that I picked up My Fiance'e and Goofy from the airport.

 

[barkdogs]

$150 is actually pretty reasonable and is the most efficient, least stressful route. If you drove, it'd be 1,000 miles at $3.00/ gallon. If the flight doesn't work, post again and we'll try to get a transport going.

 

[_jea_]

I flew my dog in from Italy 5 years ago. It was February and we were flying through Philly to Ohio. We paied 130$ which was not that bad. I was a bit stressed out during the 8 hours trans-ocean, he was with my luggage (at that time he was already 12 yo). He immediately forgot the "bad experience" after he was able to lay on the bed in our hotel room :grin:

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[hiker chick]

Dog show peops fly dogs a lot. Most I know haven't had a problem, but a couple have. One friend's pup was supposed to go from Seattle to LA but was misdirected to Atlanta. Arrived in LA a day later and none the worse for wear.

AA's price sounds terrific and a dog crate is a good thing to have.

Do some research on whether to have water available in the crate and whether a tranquilizer is a good idea. Your dad should also have that conversation with his vet.

For the past few years airlines have been required to report to the FAA any fatalities of pets during transport so hopefully that's encouraged them to be better at it.

How old is this pup?

Best wishes, by the way. Good of you to give your dad's pup a new home.

 

[Serj22]

Dog show peops fly dogs a lot. Most I know haven't had a problem, but a couple have. One friend's pup was supposed to go from Seattle to LA but was misdirected to Atlanta. Arrived in LA a day later and none the worse for wear.

AA's price sounds terrific and a dog crate is a good thing to have.

Do some research on whether to have water available in the crate and whether a tranquilizer is a good idea. Your dad should also have that conversation with his vet.

For the past few years airlines have been required to report to the FAA any fatalities of pets during transport so hopefully that's encouraged them to be better at it.

How old is this pup?

Best wishes, by the way. Good of you to give your dad's pup a new home.

Yeah, I didn't want him to go to the shelter or anything, because he's actually 4 years old. I'd rather have him than risk someone never adopting him because he's not quite a puppy any more. The AA requires his kennel to have water but you don't need to put food in, which I may not, because it's only going to be about a 2 hour flight. And they say you can't tranqualize him, because it messes up their balance and stuff and they're more likely to fall over or hurt themselves and such. That's going to be hard for them, because if he doesn't see anyone he's familiar with, he'll bark his head off, and he doesn't care for how long, he does not like to be left alone unless he's at home.

 

[barkdogs]

Only tranquilize if you expect the dog to be neurotic AND you have tried the medication on the dog before the flight - you don't want him to have a reaction in the crate all alone.

Also, attach zip ties to keep the crate door closed. Dogs have been known to get the doors open OR the crate handlers accidently push the ends of the door handle and it opens up (that's how the show dog got lost at JFK years ago). We always zip tie when we ship rescues. We just picked up a shipment of rescued goldens and labs from Taiwan and they all made it just fine.

Airlines have realized that pets are part of the family and they need to take good care. If a person is flying in the same plane, most airlines have a tag on the crate that, when the crate gets loaded on the plane, they bring it to you before you take off. That way, if you don't get the tag, you let them know not to take off yet.

 

[Kigotai]

Be careful with tranquilizing.Some airline iwll not et a drugged dog in their cargo holds.

 

[BOLL-X]

For water, you could fill a water bowl and freeze it, then put in the flying kennel..and it will defrost as the trip wears on.

I wish you the best of luck and hope all works out for the best.

 

[slimerdogs]

I know one gal that got a note fron her doctor to say she has seizures and needed the dog with her and that was with a Saint and it worked.:shock: Just make sure that its a FAA approved type of crate and they can only ship no bigger then a 500 series and ofcourse the weight limit that you said. I tried to find the photos of me hauling a couple of my beasties on the bird in the background of my avitar.

 

[Hondamade4dogs]

YES !! You have to put it in a crate

 

[Serj22]

I know one gal that got a note fron her doctor to say she has seizures and needed the dog with her and that was with a Saint and it worked.:shock: Just make sure that its a FAA approved type of crate and they can only ship no bigger then a 500 series and ofcourse the weight limit that you said. I tried to find the photos of me hauling a couple of my beasties on the bird in the background of my avitar.

I'm pretty sure a Saint B. is larger than this dog, he's about a little higher than your knee, so he should be able to fit. So far from what I've heard from my fiance'e she is going with my dad to the vet to get his shots on Saturday, and they have already purchased a crate for him, so, so far so good. Now I just wait and see if the ground temperature is higher than 40 degrees on Sunday in Sea-Tac. They won't fly him if the ground temp is under 40 degrees.