Breefinns

A million thank-you's for your help! You're a star! And yes, I'll probably be bugging you again at some point haha. I already feel a bit more at ease getting some things accomplished today, with your help. THANK YOU!

Breefinns

Hi, nikaeDS —

Me again! We’ve made some progress so far, but still have a long way to go. The crate arrived over the weekend, and surprisingly, my dog has taken to it quite well! We haven’t installed the door or left him locked in yet, but that’ll be the next step. I also added his ISO microchip number to his AKC registration, so we now at least have a date recognition for that. And he just got his rabies vaccination yesterday, to follow suit. The rest of the “fun” will continue in April.

I have a few more questions for you though, and anyone else who can chime in:

1. Back to the water bowl. Does the nut attachment(s) need to be metal as well, or is plastic okay? I also wanted to verify that a funnel is not required for easy water replenishment? One airline that I spoke to (we haven’t actually booked with anyone yet), said they require both funnel and bowl, but no other airlines have specified anything more than just the bowl.
2. Speaking of airlines, I’m curious who you flew with? We’ve been looking to fly with Virgin, but their ticket prices for both humans and pets are astronomical! They’re quoting us at almost $2,000/person, and almost $3,000/pet. I knew the dog would be quite the expense, but wasn’t expecting $2,000 for me to fly from the east coast. (It’s more than I’ve ever even paid flying from the west coast!) I also spoke to Thomas Cooke, who uses AIA Pets as their shipping company. Our ticket quotes were so much cheaper, but I’m a bit wary about Thomas Cooke in general (they’re not even nice to their human passengers), and we’d have to wait until 4 weeks in advance to book. That’s kind of a hard thing to do for us! Sitting around and merely hoping that we’ll be flying out by a certain timeframe. And then AIA quoted us at only £666 for flying our dog, all fees included. I feel like there’s a catch on this! Any thoughts?
3. I’m also wondering what to expect, in general, upon arrival at the airport. Do the dog and crate go through the regular security routine with us, and then we take him to the cargo area? If so, what’s expected of the leash and collar going through the metal detector? Surely they don’t want them removed, in case of running off. Or do we take him through a separate cargo security and drop him off before going through ourselves? What was your airline protocol?
4. Lastly! Going back to the TOR application. We’re really not taking much, aside from our dog, one painting that was given to me, and whatever personal effects that will fit in 4 large suitcases (clothes, shoes, toiletries, cosmetics, etc). How detailed do they want each item? Can I generally categorize in one word “Clothing”? And is it really expected to place value on everything? I read somewhere that price value must be included on each item. Help! Haha.

Thanks, in advance, and I apologize for the long questions.

Sammy2018

verystormy

Breefinns

Thanks for your input, Sammy 2018 and verystormy – I appreciate your tips/info!