Travel With or Board?

October 14, 2006 2:53 PM

Business trip to York UK from US East Coast. Anyone ever take their dog? I always roll with my pooch on business trips, but mine's 90 lbs and this is a - what? - 7 hour flight.

It's 1-2 weeks, so it may be an incredibly stupid idea if there are quarantines and so forth. And I've only queried the US State Dept website (useless) on travelling with pets. So do I board her here or get a crate and pay the fare? The practical side of me says 'board', but what say you?

posted by nj_subgenius to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (10 answers total)

Best answer: Yes, there are quarantines. They're not cheap, they take forever, and your dog would have to spend a significant time in the United Kingdom (quarantine is usually 6 months). I think the flight itself would be the least of your hassles. Board or family, I'm afraid.

(It's possible to transport pets without quarantine within the EU, however, much like you can within the US.)
posted by wackybrit at 3:01 PM on October 14, 2006

Response by poster: Yeahhh...got it. Thanks ;-)
posted by nj_subgenius at 3:06 PM on October 14, 2006

You can get a pet passport and circumvent the quatantine process, but the passport takes some doing. You should see if your vet is equipped to handle it.
posted by jaysus chris at 3:06 PM on October 14, 2006

skip the idea of seven hour flights alltogether. they will sedate fido, the baggage compartment is sometimes inadequately heated, ventilated and pressurized and he will be completely dehydrated on top. it's an ordeal for any pet.

one hour should be the max you would ever make a pet go through if you love it.
posted by krautland at 3:12 PM on October 14, 2006

From the WP link: "Animals should not be sedated for air travel, since altitude can affect medications. Most airlines will not accept tranquilised animals nowadays. Instead, they are kept in a dark, heated, pressurised hold, which encourages them to sleep for the duration of travel."
posted by jaysus chris at 3:17 PM on October 14, 2006

just so we are clear.

your beloved pet will go into something like this.

for seven hours.
posted by krautland at 3:19 PM on October 14, 2006

Response by poster: OK, I'm sold.
Family or a kennel/dog spa.
Thanks all.
posted by nj_subgenius at 3:37 PM on October 14, 2006

your beloved pet will go into something like this.

Just so we are clear, cargo holds are really not that small on trans-atlantic flights. (That photo is of a smaller regional jet.) The problem is not the size of the cargo hold, it's the size of the crate they're in — if they could run around freely they would probably love it.
posted by smackfu at 4:09 PM on October 14, 2006

Response by poster: The dog has to stay in a (roomy) crate at the hotels I stay at, heretofore on the eastern seaboard, and has been OK with that. When travelling I drive, dog hair flying around the car, etc. Think I will have as much separation anxiety as the dog does, but if anyone knows a good place for pooches in the DC area for boarding, please let me know.
More thanks for kennels with webcams to view pets. Sheeh, it must sound pathetic, but it's a long story.
posted by nj_subgenius at 4:25 PM on October 14, 2006

nj ... I know it's tough but really, don't make your dog fly in a cargo hold, even a 747 cargo hold, for seven hours. he'd actually have a decent chance of flying with a corpse.

(this is anecdotal: I shot an eos airlines 757 at jfk about six month ago when they loaded four coffins into a BA 747 ready to leave at the gate next to us. we watched on the tarmac for a while and chatted with the handlers who told us they do that more than once per week.)
posted by krautland at 1:35 PM on October 15, 2006