Pet Airways

[kia027]

This month, Pet Airways, the nation's first pet-only airline, will begin flying in five major cities, including New York and Los Angeles, California. It's an alternative to shipping larger pets in the cargo area of a plane, where there have been pet injuries and even deaths. Chart: Compare some of the common airline fees

"The owners can check a bag with them," explained Alyse Tognotti, a spokeswoman for Pet Airways. "Or if they have a special blanket or toy, basically anything that will take stress out of traveling."

On each Pet Airways flight, services include potty breaks and experienced animal handlers checking up on the animals every 15 minutes. Nervous parents can track their pets online.

read the rest here

[kia027]

Re: Pet Airways

what I am not in favour of is the policy of allowing pets in cabins with people. There are people who have allergies and I think unless something is done soon, someone could die due to an allergic reaction and the airlines will have a helluva a lot to deal with.

[CeaBee]

Re: Pet Airways

Yes I agree with you. If it's not a special charter or airline such as "Pet airways", where passengers are clearly aware that pets will be in the cabin, many problems could arise because of allergic reactions.

[CeaBee]

Re: Pet Airways

oh...me just realize seh pet airways is for pets only..

[kia027]

Re: Pet Airways

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ceabee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">oh...me just realize seh pet airways is for pets only.. </div></div>

yes it is two things mi a discuss..

help announce the launch of Pet Airways

and discuss airlines whe allow dose who love fi travel wid fifi and fido eena de cabin

[CeaBee]

Re: Pet Airways

u confusing man

so why fido and fluffy need them own airline? ...

but me coulda use them service and send mad puss to tanya

[diabolical_Tanya]

Re: Pet Airways

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ceabee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">u confusing man

so why fido and fluffy need them own airline? ...

but me coulda use them service and send mad puss to tanya

</div></div>

yes MP

[Nanook]

Re: Pet Airways

I LOVE that this new way to transport pets has started. One thing I was always adamantly against was shipping any of my dogs/puppies in cargo hold. I refused. This would have solved that problem! I bought my AKC Champion Miniature Pinscher from a breeder in Tuscon and drove all the way to California to get him because his breeders wouldn't ship either. The cost of my nice vacation was many times the cost of shipping my Peanut to me. Oh well, I had fun anyway, but...

I can understand the angst over smallish pets being allowed to fly commercial airlines in the cabin. I have had one of my puppies transported in this manner and it was a way I felt safe because none of my babies will ever ride cargo.

I think the allergy possibility is fairly safe since the circumstances, although it is in enclosed quarters..more often than not the carriers are the purse looking screened in ones where no dander or hair really escapes and we are talking some small critters here, ones that fit under the seat.. If the hard plastic crate is allowed with the larger holes I'm not sure cause I had the purse kind used. Either way it is neither here nor there though...

I would expect to see more dogs in the cabin of airplanes in coming years and I am not talking small ones that ride in any container.

There is no size or weight restriction on SERVICE DOGS. I happen to own one. If I decided to travel anywhere, even in some places outside the US...the airline is obliged to provide a space for Rosebud, my Dobergirl, at no extra charge to me and the seating must be large enough to accommodate her. Now, Rosebud sheds very little and I bathe her weekly or bi-weekly so she is clean. However, ANY service dog is allowed and some may be extremely shedding and dander producing dogs such as labs, Shepard's, or when it comes down to it...ANY dog that is certified as a service dog.

One can only hope then, that the person who has the service dog for whatever reason, be it seizures, physical, or any number of ailments...that the dog is kept clean and the person who travels with it has the wherewithal to make sure that proper grooming has taken place before the traveling!

yep, it gets complicated doesn't it.

I imagine if someone were so deadly allergic they would end up having to pay medical transport and not even fly commercial to ensure that needed conditions were met.

Interesting discussion here though, as I had never really thought about anyone possibly being opposed to the airlines allowing transporting of small animals.

[SistahD]

Re: Pet airlines

Perhaps change the name of the thread - I was expecting breathing problems of animals

[ILP]

Re: Pet Airways

dem have a ting gainst big dogs why dem haffi pay more

now my Evander gwine have complex bout im size

[WitchyOoman]

Re: Pet Airways

[quote=Nanook]
There is no size or weight restriction on SERVICE DOGS. I happen to own one. If I decided to travel anywhere, even in some places outside the US...the airline is obliged to provide a space for Rosebud, my Dobergirl, at no extra charge to me and the seating must be large enough to accommodate her. Now, Rosebud sheds very little and I bathe her weekly or bi-weekly so she is clean. However, ANY service dog is allowed and some may be extremely shedding and dander producing dogs such as labs, Shepard's, or when it comes down to it...ANY dog that is certified as a service dog.

One can only hope then, that the person who has the service dog for whatever reason, be it seizures, physical, or any number of ailments...that the dog is kept clean and the person who travels with it has the wherewithal to make sure that proper grooming has taken place before the traveling!

yep, it gets complicated doesn't it.[quote]
What most folks don't know is that, these days, there are all kinds of service dogs - and they are <span style="text-decoration: underline">all</span> covered by federal law, and must be accomodated.

I am on lists for a balance dog. I'm walking again, with a quad cane most of the time, but I'm very shaky still. I no longer need my wheelchair or scooters, but I'm not fully able, mobility-wise, either. I can't bend down to pick up something I dropped. I can't always get up by myself. If someone brushes against me in public, I may fall over. I can't et up from the floor/droung by myself, after I've fallen down. A balance service dog would make me self-/dog-sufficient in these instances and more.

But a balance dog can be ANY properly trained dog to function in the capacity as a balance dog.
If it's big/strong enough to support my weight during the &quot;Brace&quot; command, and big/strong enough to properly obey the &quot;Buffer&quot; command in a pulic crowd - then it qualifies to be trained as a balance dog.
If it can learn all of the following commands, it can be a lawful balance service dog:
Brace.
Buffer.
Pick up --. (a dime or nickle or other small objects in it's mouth and 'hand'/give them back to me)
Bring --. (any item in it's mouth to my hand)
Turn on/off --. (a light switch, or any other kind of on/off switch)
Get help.
Pull --. (my wheelchair, for instance, or a shopping cart in the grocery store)

Midnight, had he been trained to perform these specialized tasks, would have been big and strong enough to be a balance dog.

Such dogs must be accomodated everywhere -- stores, restaurants, banks, all methods of public transportation (bus, taxi, airplane, etc), hotels/motels, etc.

And, most people don't realize this - but it's illegal to insist upon papers or card or credentials before accomodating a service dog. The law is quite clear - a service dog must be accomodated. Period. Regardless of where or who trained the dog... so long as it can perform the proper service(s) it is said to be able to perform, it is legally a service dog. There is nothing in federal law that requires a handicapped person to divulge any medical information about themself, nor to divulge anything about the dog other than (1) is it a service dog, and (2) what service/s does the dog perform.

The only two questions that anyone has the right to ask about a dog are:
Is that a service animal?
and
What service(s) does it perform for you?

So long as basic answers are given to those 2 questions (Yes. A list of services.) -- the dog or animal must be accomodated.

<span style="text-decoration: underline">Note</span>: It's also a federal crime, with very stiff penalties attached, to lie about this. It's one federal crime to &quot;impersonate a handicapped person&quot; and a second crime to &quot;fraudulently claim an animal as a service animal&quot;. If you lie, you may be found guilty and convicted of both, or either, of these federal felonies.

[WitchyOoman]

Re: Pet Airways

I should have said this --- <span style="font-weight: bold">if the disabled person says the dog is a service animal and states the animal's services that it performs, and if the animal does not present a danger to other people in the establishment</span>.

Any service animal that is or becomes out of the handler's control, it may then be removed from the premises.

Someone's allergy to dog hair, for example, is not considered a valid reason to bar a service dog, but if the dog jumps up on someone, that is a valid reason to bar the service dog in question... but they could no bar all service dogs after one misbehaves. They must go on a casse-by-case basis.

And, of course, since unno all know that I'm American - it's obvious that I'm talking about American law.

[Nanook]

Re: Pet Airways

Yes Witchy, seeit deh!

You can train your own dog too, should you feel you are up to it.

All of this makes little complaints about allergens coming from the tiny enclosed pet carriers that fit under the seat kind of a moot point doesn't it! Which is why I brought the subject of service dogs into the discussion.

I read the article posted and the comments that accompanied the article and got a chuckle out of it all.

One time I had Rosebud at the mall with me and had forgotten her vest so of course I was immediately approached by security. They did let me stay though, as I did also have a cane and the security guy believed me. He just said to make sure next time I came I had a vest on her. This would stop any of the other mall patrons to go running and screaming in terror to the security when they saw a Doberman in the mall! I swear I was in the mall less than 5 minutes when the security came!

Rosebud has been just about everywhere with me except a plane, but that's only because I haven't flown. Jamaica is still off limits though, but most international flights are fine as long as all health requirements are in order.

Paris, my Standard Poodle, is in waiting to replace Rosebud when the sad day comes I can no longer take her. I haven't started to train her as yet because she is going to go hit the show circuit in a few months but when she comes back that is my plan for her!

PS...(((So great to see you round these parts Witchy!!!))). Give Midnight a big ole hug for me!

[WitchyOoman]

Re: Pet Airways

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Nanook</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Yes Witchy, seeit deh!

You can train your own dog too, should you feel you are up to it.

All of this makes little complaints about allergens coming from the tiny enclosed pet carriers that fit under the seat kind of a moot point doesn't it! Which is why I brought the subject of service dogs into the discussion.

I read the article posted and the comments that accompanied the article and got a chuckle out of it all.

One time I had Rosebud at the mall with me and had forgotten her vest so of course I was immediately approached by security. They did let me stay though, as I did also have a cane and the security guy believed me. He just said to make sure next time I came I had a vest on her. This would stop any of the other mall patrons to go running and screaming in terror to the security when they saw a Doberman in the mall! I swear I was in the mall less than 5 minutes when the security came!

Rosebud has been just about everywhere with me except a plane, but that's only because I haven't flown. Jamaica is still off limits though, but most international flights are fine as long as all health requirements are in order.

Paris, my Standard Poodle, is in waiting to replace Rosebud when the sad day comes I can no longer take her. I haven't started to train her as yet because she is going to go hit the show circuit in a few months but when she comes back that is my plan for her!

PS...(((So great to see you round these parts Witchy!!!))). Give Midnight a big ole hug for me! </div></div>
People who complain that they are allergic to dogs have no legal grounds to get a service dog removed. Disabled persons' basic human rights to self-sufficiency trump allergies, under law. Besides - anybody who is so severely allergic to dog hair as to threaten their life, is also likely to come into contact with dog hair on dog owners' clothing and run the alleged risk of allergic reaction regularly on daily basis. Federal law considers this.

A service dog need not wear a vest or cape, but it must have a harness appropriate to whatever service tasks it performs. A disabled person need not carry any kind of ID card for their service dog, either, as I said already... nor can they be questionede, beyond the 2 Qs (Is it a service dog? What services does it perform for the disabled person?).

Yes, one may train a dog themselves, if they feel competent to train the dog.

It does, however, help if the dog wears a vest or cape, and/or if you have an ID card.

Your local mall cannot bar your dog because he's not wearing a vest. That is against federal law, actually... and if either you o the mallcalls a police officer, the cop will tell them so, plainly. And if, after that, the mall still tries to bar your dog, your police will shut the entire mall down, if they must, if they cannot enforce compliance. It's been done in the U.S. before. There is legal precedent.

Smaddy not liking dogs or not beliving dogs to be 'clean enough', etc, cannot circumvent federal law. Smaddy with allergy problems will be told that federal law dictates the problem to be <span style="text-decoration: underline">theirs</span>, not the disabled person's.


Personally, if I ever get a balance dog, it would wear a vest or a cape with patches on both sides, and it would need to wear a balance/pulling combo harness..... but even if it has an ID card - I wouldn't show it. My reason for this is that showing such a card on demand simply makes it all the harder for another disabled person whose dog doesn't have a card. Federal law is plain and I would stand upon that.

The vest says &quot;Service Dog&quot;. The patches say &quot;I am working. Please do not pet [or feed, or touch] me.&quot; The balance/pulling harness is clearly recognizeable as service dog harness. There ought to be NO question anyhow... but I'd answer that (1) Yes, it's a service dog&quot;, and (2) &quot;S/He performs the following tasks for me: --- .&quot;

I don't know about the Caribbean or Africa -- but all over the UK and Europe, and much of Asia, and Australia/New Zealand - service dogs are welcome.