If your pet’s too big to fit beneath the seat and VIP travel isn’t an option, your only choice on domestic airlines is to fly your pet in cargo. That always involves risk, no matter how good the airline’s track record or what DOT numbers indicate. Still, veterinarian David Landers, DVM, owner of AirVets Pet Relocation and former director-at-large at the nonprofit International Pet and Animal Transportation Association, says that “shipping a pet [in cargo] is very safe when the proper precautions are taken.”
IN CARGO, WITH CARE?
Animal advocates such as Mary Beth Melchior, founder and CEO of Where Is Jack?, believe that pet relocation services may be giving pet owners a false sense of security. She launched her website in 2011 after her friend Karen Pascoe’s cat, Jack, was lost for 61 days inside JFK International Airport. Pascoe got a phone call from an American Airlines employee when Jack escaped his crate, which had fallen and opened on its way to boarding. They discovered Jack when he fell through the ceiling of the Customs and Border Protection office. He was malnourished, and had been wounded so badly that, despite treatment in a veterinary ICU, he had to be euthanized. Like Sinclair, Melchior now works to educate people about safe air travel for animals, and advocates for better policies at airports and legislation to protect traveling animals.
“I think airlines have enjoyed a lot of immunity from liability,” says Pierce, partly because of the contractual terms passengers are forced to accept when surrendering their cargo to an airline. Unless you declare a specific value for the cargo, major airlines may only give you $.50 per pound or $50, whichever’s greater, in exchange for its loss. That holds true whether the cargo is a suitcase or a live animal.
Josh Brown, co-owner of Far North Kennel with his wife, Theresa Sheldon, in Anchorage, Alaska, breeds German Shepherds, and has had dozens of positive experiences shipping and receiving dogs via Alaska Airlines and Delta. “If I thought that it put any undue risk on a dog’s life, I wouldn’t do it,” he says. He notes, though, that he only trusts those two airlines with his dogs’ safety. “It really matters which airline you choose when you’re shipping your pet.”
United, however, stands behind its PetSafe program: “It’s an esteemed position” to be a pet handler, says Hobart, United’s spokesperson. “The folks who are transporting animals have experience with general cargo and then we discuss where their interests are, and we may move them to pets; they take extra caution when working with them. We take them for walks and throw them a lot of love and care. It’s something we take very seriously because we understand how important those animals are to our customers. They’re often considered part of the family.”
The bottom line, according to both animal advocates and the airline industry: There are no guarantees when you ship an animal in cargo. You can—and should—take safety measures such as acclimating your pet to her crate in advance, making sure she’s healthy, and traveling when temperatures are moderate; but cargo should be your last resort, not your first. Even under the best of circumstances, cargo travel is quite stressful for animals, says Justine A. Lee, DVM, board-certified veterinary specialist and author of It’s a Dog’s Life…but It’s Your Carpet. “I don’t recommend flying with your pet unless you’re moving,” she says. “If you’re traveling for vacation, it’s safer to just get a pet sitter.”
