Re: Flying dog
 

Just a minor point...but important...

the animal section of the hold is maintained at the same temperature, humidity, preessure and air circulation requirements as the main cabin...they won't fly the dog in the winter months due to the harsh temperature conditions on the ground not in the air...at 30,000ft, the dog would be dead in seconds if it was at ambient temperature (about -60)

Re: Flying dog
 

Your vet is insane for saying it costs $3500 to $5000 to import your dog into the US.

Your vet is also insane for saying that your dog cannot travel until 6 months after getting a rabies vaccination.

Others here have already said that, I know, but it is just SO dumb I had to also say it myself!

Back in 1997, I was moving back to DC after living in Chile for two years. During that time I acquired a dog, an 80lb Akita named Andie. At most it cost $300-$350 to bring her here.

Now, just a couple of things I always like to point out when responding to threads about travelling with dogs internationally:

Rule #1: If you have a connecting flight, make sure your dog is on the same flight that you're on. And also make sure your airline understands that's what you want!

When I arrived in Dallas after a 9-hour flight from Santiago, I immediately asked the airline (American) where my dog was. I had a 2-hr layover and was told I could be brought to Andie, take her out of her crate to relieve herself, etc. They kept looking, but said they were having trouble tracking her down. Needless to say, I was panicking!

Only when I was literally buckled into my seat for my flight to DC did a flight attendent tell me that Andie had been put on an earlier flight to Dulles. Their philosophy was that by putting the dog on an earlier flight, she'll get to DC sooner and thus be out of her crate sooner. Well, the problem with that was 1) Andie is MY dog, not theirs; 2) they neither asked my permission nor informed me of the change until it was too late; and 3) because I wasn't on the earlier flight also, there was no one there to get her out of her crate earlier, so she ended up sitting in her crate, ignored and without water (airport staff said they were "too afraid" to give her anything) for an additional 4 hours. :(

Rule #2: When travelling internationally, never, ever take dog treats with you on the plane!

This may sound silly, but this is exactly what I did, and it caused problems. I'd brought a sample-sized bag of dog treats to the Santiago airport to coax Andie into her crate before boarding her on the plane. Without thinking, I stuffed the opened bag of dog treats into my carry-on and forgot all about it.

When I was waiting for my baggage in Dallas (I had A LOT of extra baggage to claim!), the cute Beagle Patrol doggie came up to me and sat down. Then the Dept of Agriculture official with the beagle started interrogating me about bringing meat products into the country illegally. I suddenly remembered the dog treats, and with a laugh pulled them out of my bag and said something like, "No WONDER your beagle stopped -- he wants a treat!"

Well, guess what? I got more hassle over those 5-6 dog treats than anything else. I'm being totally serious -- I almost got fined! The only reason I didn't was because the treats were originally manufactured in the States and exported to Chile. So I was essentially "re-importing" the treats. Had they been made outside the US I would've had to pay a fine! Over dog treats!

(BTW, while I got grilled over the dog treats, Customs didn't even look at Andie's rabies certificate -- she was already on the other plane by then, probably! -- and my 5 boxes and 4 suitcases of STUFF was literally waved through. Of course, this was all pre-9/11.)

So, those are my two rules: Make sure you know what flight your dog is on, and make sure you leave the dog treats at home!

~ Jenney