WorldPetTravel.com

Angela,

THANK YOU!!!!! You are truly amazing!

Thank you to Andrea (and Merlin) for looking after Tangle, and all the work you have done to make this a reality.

I am currently running around with errands, but will try to reach you tomorrow.

Should I fail at reaching you… we wish you all the best for 2012!

Once more… thank you is not enough.

Cheers,

Kathy Chelew

No matter how prepared I felt, I was still nervous when flying with my black Labrador, Tasha, to Colorado. Is it too cold? Will she be thrown about? Does she have to go to the bathroom?

Flying with your dog can be stressful. Here are six checklist items to keep the stress level down so both you and your dog can be happy travelers.

1. Bring a Kennel
First and foremost, buy an airline-approved crate and be sure that your dog thinks of this crate as his den. You may need to spend time getting your dog comfortable with being in his crate for long periods of time. There will also be a lot of loud noises on the plane and strange people walking around in the cargo-loading area. To prepare him for your trip, place your dog in the kennel and try carrying him in it by taking a drive to a park or busy location. This way, your dog can get used to loud noises and a busy environment while being handled inside his crate.

2. Outfit the Crate
There are certain items that you will want to place on the outside and inside of the crate to prepare it for travel:

• On the outside of the crate, attach a few bright orange stickers that read “LIVE ANIMAL.” Most airlines will do this as protocol, but it doesn’t hurt to have them on the crate before you arrive at the airport.
• Include a typed one-page profile of your dog that includes your contact information, including your cell phone number.
• Make sure water and food dishes are attached to the inside of the crate.
• Tape a small bag of food and a leash to the top of the crate.

3. Flight Time
To avoid plane changes or delays, check the length of the flight and try to book a direct flight when possible. It is important to match the length of the flight with your dog’s temperament and what you know he can handle. Whether your dog is being shipped as cargo or is riding in the cabin will help determine his experience during the flight.

4. Health Clearance
Before taking off, get a clean-bill-of-health certificate from your veterinarian. Your dog cannot fly without veterinarian records stating he is in good health. Most airlines require veterinarian health certificate records no more than 30 days out, while some require a certificate that is dated no more than 10 days before your departure date.

5. Exercise a Go-go
Every dog has a different energy level. A young Labrador runs on high octane and will need to expend this energy before being cooped up in his kennel for a long flight. An airport with an onsite dog area is a perfect place to play with your dog before placing him in his crate. This will also give him a good chance to relieve himself before the flight. But stay away from sedatives. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Independent Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA) say that sedation could lead to injury if your dog’s crate moves during the flight and your dog is not able to brace itself. The increased altitude may further cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems for sedated animals.

6. Nervous Nelly
You have decided to make the flight with your dog, but sometimes no matter how safe something seems, you may feel nervous sending your dog down into the belly of the plane. Even though you know the probability of nothing happening to him is in your favor, the separation and inability to see what his environment is like can be unnerving. Here are a few ways for both of you to keep your cool:

• Give plenty of reassuring hugs and kisses to your dog. When you’re calm and confident, your pet will follow your lead and realize there is nothing to worry about. If you’re emotional about the separation and the trip, your pet may pick up on it and become concerned about the adventure.
• Keep the mood light with a little preflight play to relieve any tension.
• If your dog is in cargo, ask the flight attendant to confirm that your dog is loaded and secure once you’re on board. They may be able to give your dog a little extra water in his dish before take-off.

I can’t imagine going anywhere without Tasha if I can help it. She adds so much to my adventures that I feel like something is missing if she’s not by my side. In Colorado, half the fun was seeing her play in the snow and bounce everywhere with excitement as if to say, “What’s next?! What’s next?!”

Taking the extra time to become mentally and practically prepared for a trip involving extra logistics will make all the difference to you and your dog.

Justine the yorkie just finished her long journey from Moscow to Oklahoma City to meet up with mom, Elisa.  Dad had to stay behind but will be following shortly to make this family complete.

Justine stayed with us for 4 nights in New York before she caught her flight to Oklahoma City. She was a delight to have in our care for the short time that we had her.

Tico and Fiji left San Diego last Thursday headed to Los Angeles for the night.  Took their health certificates to the USDA to be endorsed before being checked into KLM for their flight to Amsterdam.  All went well at check in.  We had the import permit and all of the required documents as usual so all went smoothly at check in.

Cats arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday morning at the KLM pet hotel where they hung out for 24 hours.  Gives them time to rest and rehydrate before they get to the 2nd leg of their journey.  Both ate well during their stay in Amsterdam.

Sunday morning at 10:30 the flight took off for Abu Dhabi.  Fiji and Tico arrived in Abu Dhabi at 20:50.  After they cleared customs we delivered them to Page at her home in Abu Dhabi.  She was very excited to see them.  We hope to post her testimonial on the website soon along with a picture of the kids.

Tangle is a blessed kitty cat.  Her new family found her near Jaco which is a beach town on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.  She is only 5 months old and was most likely left behind by someone that couldn’t take her with them when they left because she was in no way feral, was litter trained and very loving.  The sad part was when they took her to have her spayed the vet found out that she was already pregnant with a litter of kittens.

Unfortunately after you put a cat under anesthesia the kittens die and there is nothing that can be done to reverse the process so Tangle lost this litter of kittens.  The veterinarian spayed Tangle and she was on the mend when she tried to take the stitches out herself causing an infection to set in.  So now she is on antibiotics.

Tangle will stay with World Pet Travel for a couple of weeks while she is on antibiotics then she will board a plane for Vancouver Canada when she will be reunited with her new owner, Kathy and begin her new life in Canada.  I wish that every animal that is left behind was as lucky as this little one.  Tangle definitely won the lottery!!

Angela and Wizard are home with Cindy for those following their journey.  The MAG released them on Monday and they traveled to Nosara on Tuesday night so they would be better acclimated to the climate of Guanacaste.  It is important to bring horses in during the cool of the night to give their bodies time to adjust to the heat of the Pacific Coast.

Cindy was very happy to receive her babies and promises to send pictures soon.

Andrea and Natacha with Angel Bass taking a quick break after her bath at La Carrana Quarantine facility in La Sabana, Costa Rica.

Angel and Wizard’s adventure began in San Diego, California in mid-November when they were transported down to Miami by trailer.  They had to do a brief quarantine in Miami as well as a series of blood  testing in order to be permitted to enter Costa Rica.

Once all of the test results were returned and the health certificate was completed to meet Costa Rica standards, the MAG issued an import permit and Angel and Wizard were permitted to enter the country.

After the flight arrived in San Jose the horses were transported to La Carrana in La Sabana by trailer to their private stalls where they are boarded until the MAG does a blood test (the same one that was done in the US) and the results come back negative (again).  This usually takes about 10-14 days then the  horses will be released to go to their new home in Guanacaste.  World Pet Travel transports the horses to Guanacaste once they have been released by the MAG and reunites them with their owner Cindy.  They will be together before Christmas

Maxi the puggle made the journey from Baltimore, Maryland to Skipton, England this week.  Following the Pets Scheme, gathering all of her documents for travel and getting Maxi ready to go for her flight on Thursday went smooth as silk.  She arrived at London Heathrow and cleared customs as scheduled on Friday.  Maxi will meet up with her mom, Monica on Saturday in Skipton.

Thanks God the girls arrived super good, we are so happy to have them back with us. I have no words to thank you all for helping us to make our family complete.

I ‘ll fly tomorrow to DC but as soon as i get a chance ill send you pics of their arrival in Pristina.

Hugs!!
Mayra

Mimi and Sasha have finally made it home to mom, Mayra after a very long journey from Cartago, Costa Rica to Pristina, Kosovo. They left on Wednesday from San Jose, Costa Rica after spending the night with Andrea so that she could get them and their kennels ready for the trip.  They then traveled to Houston where they had a short break before moving onto Frankfurt, Germany.  In Frankfurt they were able to get out of their kennels, they were looked over by a veterinarian to be sure that they were handling the trip okay and cleared customs for the European Union.  Mimi and Sasha spent the night in the Frankfurt pet hotel where they rested and relaxed, grabbed a snack and dehydrated which is very important on these long trips around the world.

On Friday morning, Mimi and Sasha hopped on another flight headed to Pristina, Kosova.  They had one stop and changed planes one last time before landing in Pristina at 3:00pm.  Mayra was there to pick them up and she was so happy to see them!!!!  She promises lots of pictures will follow as soon as she finishes with all the welcome hugs and kisses to her babies.