At Pet Airways we constantly hear stories from the people we meet telling us about how terrible it was to put their dog in the dark, loud and hot cargo compartment; about the stories dogs that chewed through their pet carriers and even got loose on the tarmac, or that another piece of luggage hit the pet carrier and broke it causing injury to a pet. It is these stories that we hate to hear but it is also these stories that have pushed us to make a difference in the way your dog or cat travels.
The reality of pet travel with passenger airlines is not comforting to pet owners. The Wall Street Journal actually published a story earlier this month discussing some of the horror stories of not only short nosed dogs dying, but one of a cat owner whose cats got lost and injured while flying from Seattle to Chicago
“Passenger checked four cats in four kennels. On arrival one kennel was empty. Cat was found later same day at SEA airport and returned to owner next day 07Aug2008. Owner reported Katya had cut lip, chipped tooth and grease on back.” Along with this cat horror story the WSJ talks about a couple’s bulldogs and terrier bulldogs who died while flying. (you can read more in the WSJ.
We have talked with families who have had dogs carried out to them in the arms of airline workers because their pet carrier broke due to luggage falling on them during flight. Another story which we came across was a story of a dog getting loose on the runway and getting hit by a car. The bottom line is that commercial airlines are not safe for your pet. Despite what they say, your pet has low priority, just one step above your golf clubs.
Pet Airways approaches pet travel from the opposite direction. Our goal is to keep your pet safe at all times. We have Pet Attendants on all of our flights because it allows us to monitor all of the pets traveling and to make sure everything is OK all the time, while they fly in the main cabin of our specially outfitted aircraft.
If you have a story about traveling with your pet, please share it with us at our Facebook Fan Page.
The Pet Airways Team
wecare@petairways.com
www.petairways.com
