Yorkieabroad

Sorry, I know there have been a few threads on this, but this article grabbed my attention this morning. I've had baggage go missing more often than I care to remember, and I know how I felt when it happened. I can only imagine how I would feel if they lost my dog!

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/airline...9442.html?hp=1

Not meaning to scare anyone with this, but maybe forewarned is forearmed, although I'm not sure what you can do - muzzle them? That's going to up the stress level if they're not used to it. Metal cage? Don't even know if that's allowed. What else can you do?

dunroving

Some dogs can chew through almost anything (including walls and furniture), and do so on a daily basis. My guess is that this was unlikely the first time this dog chewed through something.

Not sure what the airline could have done under the circumstances.

Yorkieabroad

That's was my "forearmed/forewarned" comment really - if you know you've got a chewer, then take action to avoid this sort of thing. I don't know whether this was the dogs first time, but I suspect the stress of the travel may bring out hitherto unseen behaviour in any animal.

dunroving

The title of the article was interesting - "Airline Loses Passenger's Dog ..." I don't think the airline "lost" the dog - the dog escaped.

Glad to see that the focus was more on what the owner should/can do, including training and familiarising the dog with using the crate, and asking a professional about the temperament of their dog. As you said above, if you know you've got a chewer, think about what you can do to avoid this kind of situation.

sir_eccles

I think part of the thrust of the article was that the passenger was not impressed with the airline's attitude in response. Dogs are more than a suitcase, more like a part of the family. Would the airline act the same with regards to a lost child?

Uncle_Bob

I'm not sure of anyone that would compare a lost dog to a lost child. Or are you proposing an Amber alert for pets?

BubbleChog

If I had the option of putting the babychog in a crate as check in I might take it...

RICH

Why is the guy "stuck" in Tampa? If a family member was missing, I would be on the first plane back to help look for them. Not sitting around as if waiting for lost luggage to turn up.

Yorkieabroad

I agree that you can't equate a dog with a child, but nor should it be relegated to the status of a suitcase. Somewhere in between would seem appropriate. Presumably the crate was airline approved (airline provided?), and the dog was ostensibly in their care, so they must bear some responsibility. I must admit, I don't know how these things work - I assume there is someone other than just a baggage handler to take care of the animal transfer? I wonder what the liability is on the dogs ticket ? Very limited I suspect.

Yorkieabroad

KLM once tried to put us in 4 seats on 3 different rows....pregnant wife, 3yo, 1yo and me. I told the check in guy that I was quite happy to leave the 2 youngest together on one row, and would he please pass the diaper bag to whoever else was on that row. Wife was not amused, but the guy got the point and rearranged so at least 1 adult could sit with them. Guess who drew the short straw....

sir_eccles

Tempting isn't it. Last flight he was just under two so we decided we would keep him on our lap and save the cash, bad idea. This xmas he is getting his own seat for the first time. Only a 2hr flight to KC thankfully.

BubbleChog

Husbandchog has her on his lap for our flight to NYC at the end of the month, she's 20 months. I really don't think it's going to go as smoothly as our previous flights.

She's got her own seat for our trip back to the UK in Feb. I'm currently wondering if our enormous car seat will fit in the airline seat

Uncle_Bob

I was tempted to fly BA from PHX to LHR on lap to save cash, glad i didn't.

I thought i read somewhere that a child flying on lap counts as item of hand baggage

Yorkieabroad

As long as they fit in the overhead locker or under the seat in front of you...

Yorkieabroad

It should hav a sticker on it somewhere saying whether it is CAA or FAA approved...if it is, it should fit in the airline seat. If you need confirmation, call the airline and give them the make and model, and they will be able to tell you. We never had a problem with any of ours fitting in, although getting the lap belt fastened on one of them (a Britax Renaissance I think?) required acts of contortion worthy of a sideshow at the circus....