Moving On Up?

The Independent Pet and Animal Transportation Association International, (IPATA) is a trade association that offers a variety of services to individuals who are moving and require assistance in making travel arrangements. Their site offers lots of helpful information and referrals at www.ipata.com

Tips!

1. You’ll find most of this advice on the various airline web sites, however we’d be remiss if we didn’t take this opportunity to touch on some of the top tips.

2. Some breeds, such as Pekinese have difficulty travelling due to breathing issues. Special rules may apply to this and other breeds.

3. Avoid Cargo if you can.

4. Read and understand each airline’s liability policy. If something should happen to your pet, you may be entitled to minimal compensation (often equal to the amount you receive if the airline loses your bag). You may wish to purchase additional liability coverage and/or have pet insurance.

5. Ask your veterinarian for suggestions, including whether a form of pert tranquilizer might be a good idea.

6. Different rules may apply to service animals.

7. Make sure that your dog is tagged with proper contact information. You should have a cell phone or the number of where you’re going to be and/or backup telephone numbers listed, just in case.

8. You may need a more current rabies certificate for the airline than either state or local law requires.

In general, you don’t want your dog to eat or drink for 3 – 6 hours before the flight, however you want to make sure that you have food and water attached to the carrier or kennel, or if travelling with you, in your carry on or on your person.

There’s a Place on the Web

PetFlight.com has a page that lists all of the major airline carrier’s websites featuring their individual policies for traveling with pets.  You’ll also find an interesting blog along with lots of helpful tips and suggestions. Remember, nothing in life is certain. Not for us or for our pets. But with a little planning, we can take the steps to insure that our experiences will be as pleasant as possible.  Oh and while you’re at it, don’t forget to leave the nail clippers and pocketknives at home and make sure that all of your shampoos and lotions are in clear bottles…

Don't forget the necessities, the Petmate Airline Travel Kit has what you need to fly with Fido.

J.S. Gilbert is proud to be contributing to DINKlife. He and his wife and dog Fresca prefer to travel by car, although Fresca is hoping a trip to Italy may be in the works someday soon. Besides writing, J.S. makes commercials and sometimes gets paid to make funny voices. You can write him at jsgilbert@pacbell.net, if you have any suggestions or ideas for something you’d like to read about.