Traveling With Your Most Precious Cargo

by Marjorie Dorfman | More from this Blogger

03 Jul 2006 08:13 AM

As far as airplane travel is concerned, many people have experienced problems with transporting their animals from one part of the world to the other. Barring quarantine laws and such, the animal is lucky to make it unscathed and unharmed and still able to bark or meow. There must be a millions success stories and I do want to be fair, but I have heard of two or three horror tales, and unfortunately they reign supreme in my mind, which I misplaced a while back.

One of the worst stories I heard is about a woman whose cat was dead when she arrived at her destination. She was flying cross-country although I do not recall her exact destination. Her plight was all over the local news as the woman hailed from my neck of the woods, near New Hope, PA. Anyway, the airline (I don't remember which one) apologized formally and gave her $1,500. This stuck with me and made me wonder how they arrive at a figure to compensate for the loss of a pet. How much is a pure bred worth? A domestic shorthair with no pedigree? Their owner with or without a passport?

Someone I know dealt with this situation in her own unique way. While moving to Los Angeles from New York, she devised a plan to transport her two female cats, India and Graphite. First she enlisted the aid of her vet who gave her some Phenobarbital with strict instructions as to its use for knocking out two animals of a certain weight for about 10 hours. The cats were small and she created a kind of tote bag to carry over her arm as one bag was allowed on board. She placed the bag by her feet next to her seat.

She checked on them often as they slept soundly concealed in the tote bag. When they awoke they were in a new home in sunny LA no less the worse for wear. She had a great idea until she considered transporting her children that way; then she got into trouble! (Only kidding!)

Have YOU ever discovered a way to transport your animals covertly across state and international lines? Please share.

Related Articles:

"The Cat Carrier: A Symbol of Trouble" http://pets.families.com/blog/the-cat-carrier-a-symbol-of-trouble

Learn more about Marjorie Dorfman

Marjorie Dorfman is a freelance writer and former teacher originally from Brooklyn, New York.

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