In the Travel Section of today's New York Times, there's a fabulous article that discusses the "how to's" of flying with your pet, including preparation, prices, what can go wrong ("Incidents of animals being lost, injured or dying have recently risen"), and even separate pet airlines and pet "vacation" alternatives are thoroughly vetted.
Here's a quick summary of the article's tips:
1. Make sure you have the right carrier: the required dimensions vary by airline and size of plane-and some are determined by individual flight, so it's best to contact the reservation desk.
2. Book early: airlines limit the number of pets allowed in the cabin, for example.
3.Prepare your pet for travel: according to The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, who's now the pet travel expert for the Best Western hotel chain, you should "acclimate your pet to the carrier by placing it on the floor of the car so the pet can feel the vibration as it will on a plane, ...use lavender oil as an 'association scent' to help your pet relax on the plane...and take your dog for an extra-long walk or run to help drain his energy before the flight."
4. Check out "pet only flights" provided by Pet Airways, that currently serves nine destinations across the U.S.
5. Give your pet its own vacation: Remember those upscale pet "spas", conveniently located near airports, that we talked about in this post: boccibeefs.blogspot.com/2011/05/posh-pet-accommodations-for-travelers.html? Well, they're mentioned here as an alternative to taking your four-legged buddy with you.
Read and enjoy the full article here: travel.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/travel/what-to-know-when-traveling-with-your-pet-practical-traveler.html?hpw. Don't forget to "big-ify" the clever drawing that accompanies the article).
And speaking of flying...for the first time that Parental Unit can recall, there's a Robin's nest in our Crab Apple tree with four babies that are soon to take flight-without much preparation or even a ticket! But we're sure that along with plenty of worms, they've gotten excellent words of wisdom from their mom. When I saw Parental Unit's ample butt stuffed through the upstairs window, I couldn't imagine what she was doing-but here are the photos to prove her sanity.
Isn't the nest gorgeous? A work of art!
Here's a quick summary of the article's tips:
1. Make sure you have the right carrier: the required dimensions vary by airline and size of plane-and some are determined by individual flight, so it's best to contact the reservation desk.
2. Book early: airlines limit the number of pets allowed in the cabin, for example.
3.Prepare your pet for travel: according to The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, who's now the pet travel expert for the Best Western hotel chain, you should "acclimate your pet to the carrier by placing it on the floor of the car so the pet can feel the vibration as it will on a plane, ...use lavender oil as an 'association scent' to help your pet relax on the plane...and take your dog for an extra-long walk or run to help drain his energy before the flight."
4. Check out "pet only flights" provided by Pet Airways, that currently serves nine destinations across the U.S.
5. Give your pet its own vacation: Remember those upscale pet "spas", conveniently located near airports, that we talked about in this post: boccibeefs.blogspot.com/2011/05/posh-pet-accommodations-for-travelers.html? Well, they're mentioned here as an alternative to taking your four-legged buddy with you.
Read and enjoy the full article here: travel.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/travel/what-to-know-when-traveling-with-your-pet-practical-traveler.html?hpw. Don't forget to "big-ify" the clever drawing that accompanies the article).
And speaking of flying...for the first time that Parental Unit can recall, there's a Robin's nest in our Crab Apple tree with four babies that are soon to take flight-without much preparation or even a ticket! But we're sure that along with plenty of worms, they've gotten excellent words of wisdom from their mom. When I saw Parental Unit's ample butt stuffed through the upstairs window, I couldn't imagine what she was doing-but here are the photos to prove her sanity.
Isn't the nest gorgeous? A work of art!
