Horse Health
Flying with Your Pet
By
Mar 17, 2008, 14:12

With spring break and summer vacation just around the corner, many pet owners will be faced with the dilemma of what to do with their pet while they travel. Many may decide to travel with their animals, but before they begin their airborne journey, they should take some advice from Dr. Bonnie Beaver, a veterinarian at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.

If a pet owner decides to travel via airplane, the pet owner needs to make arrangements for the pet ahead of time. A couple of weeks before the travel date the pet owner should call the airline and make arrangements. According to Beaver, most airlines require that pet owners provide health certificates and proof of rabies vaccinations before the pet boards the aircraft.

Once all arrangements have been made, upon boarding the airplane there are two locations the pet can be stored; either in the cargo hold or underneath the pet owner’s seat on the plane. In both scenarios, the pet must be in a secure crate from which the pet cannot easily escape. If a pet owner would like the pet to fly in the cargo hold of the airplane, the owner needs to check with the airline to ensure pressurized cargo holds are available on the plane.

“I recommend having the pet accompany the owner in the cabin of the airplane,” states Beaver, “Unfortunately, there have been cases of dogs dying in the cargo holds of some airplanes.”

The other potential hazard that comes with placing the pet in the cargo hold is transfer flights. If the owner misses their connecting flight, the pet may not, leaving the pet stranded for many hours with no one taking care of it. For this reason, Beaver recommends, only flying with pets on direct flights.

“Pet owners need to note the temperature of their destination compared to their current temperature. It is not good to have pets in the cargo hold of a plane if a great temperature shift is expected, the temperature change can affect the animal in negative ways,” informs Beaver.

Pet owners need to also keep in mind the length of the flight; during the flight, the pet cannot be released to eliminate or eat. This can prove to be a problem on longer flights, thus pet owners should try to only fly with pets on shorter trips.

Beaver recommends exposing the pet to motion while in a crate before the actual flight, to ensure the pet does not get motion sickness on the plane. The best way to do this is to place the pet in the crate and drive it around in the car. This gives the pet the opportunity to experience motion while in a crate, without the accompanied stress that comes with airplane travel. If the pet does experience motion sickness, the pet owner should contact their veterinarian before giving the animal any kind of sedative.

“Pet owners should place identification tags on the pet with a cell phone number or a number for their destination, this will ensure if the pet is lost for some reason, it can be safely returned to the owner,” recommends Beaver.



Pet Talk is a service of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. Ideas for other topics may be sent to editor@cvm.tamu.edu.



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