Transporting Your New Dog–Without You

You might be accustomed to traveling with your dog–but what if your dog is traveling without you? Did you fall in love with a shelter dog on your vacation? You might need to get your new dog home but not be able to travel with him. Today’s tip from guest writer June Hatsby takes a look at the different modes of transport, from airlines to truck drivers to transport chains.

Tips For Transporting Your Dog
by June Hatsby

We’ve become a vastly mobile society with access to others over virtually the entire globe. It’s given us the ability to reach across formidable distances to find exactly what we’re looking for, including our pets, whether we’re interested in a puppy from a breeder two continents away or rescuing a dog from a shelter two thousand miles from home.

Transport’s the trick. We can’t simply beam them home — not yet, anyway and you’d need a rock-solid sit/stay anyway.

If you’re getting a puppy or small dog and want to pick it up in person, most airlines will accept them in an appropriate carrier as “carry on” baggage so you can fly back with
your new dog.

The Safe Air Travel for Animals Act was signed into law in the U.S. in 2000. Before that, thousands of animals transported by air died as a result of their travels each year. Even now, shipping an animal by standard commercial airline can be an iffy business, particularly through climates with extreme temperatures since cargo holds are not climate controlled or pressurized to the extent of passenger compartments.

If you find you must ship your dog by air, be sure to do your homework. Make calls. Check with different airlines to see what their policies are. Go online and search for accounts of personal experiences with different airlines. Read all the information at the airlines’ websites. Most will post guidelines to help you safeguard your traveling pet, for example, book non-stop flights wherever possible, during the summer months, if you must fly your pet, book a night flight. There are things that are common sense but there are also points that most of us who don’t work in the air travel industry would never have taken into consideration.

In recent years, an alternative to traditional commercial airline transport has sprung up — air transport specifically for the safe shipping of animals, where your pet can travel comfortably, looked after by pet savvy staff in a secured, pressurized, climate controlled cabin. Prices advertised on websites are often remarkably reasonable, comparable to sale priced tickets on traditional airlines. Areas of service are still limited, but it is a feasible method to get your dog to a point much closer to his destination.

There are overland pet transporters as well, in varying levels of commercial volume. Once again, it’s imperative to do your homework before engaging a commercial overland transport for your dog.

Private drivers are also available for transports, and some of the independent drivers, particularly the ones who don’t use big tractor trailer rigs, work in pet transport along with their regular delivery jobs, usually moving only one or two dogs at a time in the cab along with them. I’ve personally dealt with one of these guys; his price was more than reasonable and he had a real love for dogs. He was a regular transporter for a rare breed breeder in the Rockies and she liked him well enough to give him one of her dogs. Find one like that and you can rest easy.

Truckers have organized transport chains as well, traditionally for rescues, but they’re a soft hearted bunch and can’t seem to turn down a pup in need of getting home. They’re well organized and also have layover homes where dogs can stay while waiting for the driver of the next leg to connect. Some charge a reasonable fee and some ask for a donation.

If you’re a member of an online community it’s also a possibility that you and your fellow members can organize transports. I’ve participated in those as well. It’s rewarding and you get to meet some of the people you’ve been friends with online — a great side benefit.

Rescue organizations sometimes have links or have their own established transport chains and will often fill in blank areas where you might not have anyone to cover.

The transport chains can be amazing. At the end of the trip you’ve got a dog, a little road weary, perhaps, but he’s gotten some irreplaceable socializing on the way, carrying the loving touches and fond wishes from everyone whose care he’s passed through on his way home. Not a bad way to travel.

About the Author: By June Hatsby, a writer for www.pet-super-store.com: a site where you can find the pet doors and dog stairs that you know you need in your life!

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