Cross Country PET Transport?

iLander · May 31, 2011

My neighbors are heading back up north, but they are getting too old to drive, and their Golden retriever is too big to fit under an airline seat. They are going to put him in the cargo hold, but that worries me. I like the dog (a little more than I like the neighbors, actually

) and I was wondering if any one had any ideas on how to get him up north without putting him in the hold. Worse yet, he's an old dog, with heart issues, and he can't be sedated.

Is it true there's no temperature control in the hold? What about air and pressurization?

I've seen transport/trucking companies for pets on the web, has anybody tried one?

There's a huge business opportunity if someone could organize this type of service company. . .

Any ideas?

LAJennifer · May 31, 2011

I just moved cross country (from California to Illinois) with 3 cats. I wanted all 3 of them on the same plane as I was, so one of them had to go in cargo. We flew American Airlines and the cargo hold is the same temperature and pressurization as the cabin. I had no issues and my cat was fine. I would do it again if I had to, but not if I had to change planes or there was extreme weather (too hot or too cold).

If I were moving a dog, I would look into Pet Airways. It is an airline strictly for flying pets. The planes are turbo props, so they have to make frequent stops, but the pets are checked on every 15 minutes. I didn't use Pet Airways to transport my cat, because it would take almost 24 hours to transport from LA to Chicago and my cat can't be handled by strangers. I believe they feed and walk the dogs during their scheduled stops.

Hope that helps.