Pup's first flight....from good...to...I'm so pissed off I could shoot someone! - Page 1

So the pup’s first flight goes off without a hitch. At the airport he is calm and composed. He goes into his crate with no problem. Sits quietly while I cable tie the door. There was a wee bit of whining and a couple of small barks as he lost sight of me when the airport guy took him away to load him on the plane… no big deal. He arrived at our destination 5 hours later without a hitch. He was still calm and sat quietly while I wheeled him out of the airport and cut off the cable ties to let him out. All and all, a great first flight experience with little to no stress for the pup.

On the return flight, everything goes smoothly once again as we’re leaving. He is calm at the airport as he is once again loaded, secured and wheeled away. And why shouldn’t he be, his first flight went fine.

Now here’s where I start to get really pissed off…..

When we land at our destination, I am sitting directly above the plane’s cargo doors. The freaked out barking caught my attention first. I knew it was the pup. I look down to see the baggage handlers teasing and barking at the dog through his cage before the crate is even offloaded. Those guys are frigging lucky I couldn’t break through the plane’s windows. They obviously didn’t hear me pounding on the plane’s window. If I could have gotten my hands on any one of them it would not have been a pretty sight.

I get off the plane and race to the special baggage section of the airport. The person who brought him in was not one of the men who unloaded the plane (their faces are seared in my brain). The pup is freaking out! He’s so freaked out, he’s barking non-stop and toppling the damn crate. For a 5 month old, he sure has some strength and it takes some force to hold the crate level. Fortunately, a nice bystander helps me keep the crate right-side-up while I phone my ride to tell him to screw security and make his way into the restricted baggage area with the knife he brought so I could cut the cable ties and get the dog out immediately.

We got the dog out of the airport and he did calm down. My friend stayed with him while I went back into the terminal to find out just who was responsible this offense. My letters of complaint start going out tomorrow! I have never been so livid in all my life.

Karen

What aiirline did you use?

Judy

Just be glad you ziptied the crate door shut.  In the future,  to get the zipties off all you have to do is clip your leash to the ziptie and give it a good pop with the leash, they snap right off.   Do mail letters of complaint.  I wish you could have grabbed the flight attendant so there would be an employee witness to back up what you write. 

We flew Westjet. Our flight was from Toronto to Vancouver and Return. The baggage handlers are not employed by the airport, but contracted by individual airlines. At least that's how it works at Pearson International in Toronto.

Great tip for the future Sueincc (cutting the ties). In retrospect, I wish I had gotten a flight attendant to witness. Unfortunately, even if I thought about it at the time, the passengers were about to disembark and all standing in the aisle. I don't imagine a flight attendant could have worked his/her way down to my window.

I just hope this won't have a long-lasting, negative effect on the pup and air travel.

Karen

A digital camera would have taken a pic , if you had one handy, Enough to show what was going on.

A fingernail clipper will cut tie also. If they let you have one. What can you take on flights now . Have the loosend up the rules. I know no knife or scissors, but a nail clipper can hardly stab someone.

Yeah, I know you didn't have the luxury of 20/20 hindsite!  If I saw someone man-handle a pup of mine,  I think I would have come unglued.  You are to be comended for keeping your cool. 

Once I got off the plane & out to oversized baggage just in time to see my adult GSD in his crate on top of a luggage cart being taken out of the area by some woman and assisted by one of the porters.  I ran up & stopped them & the woman said "thought this was my dog - then dissapeared".  The airlines are supposed to check the baggage claim ticket, but in all the times I have flown with my dog as excess baggage they never do.  They do a better security job when dogs are flown air-cargo.  I know a very well known trainer with a few flying nightmares.  Once his dog ended up in an unused freight elevator, in a different terminal.  They were just lucky to have found him. 

ELS Marketing handles all the WestJet cargo including live animals.  If your dog and crate weigh more than 100 lbs, the dog has to fly cargo at an additional $250 minimum each way, more depending on distance/flight route, regardless if you are taking the same flight.  And this weight restriction, as I am led to believe, is because of the baggage handlers union.  The dog might not even be able to get onto the same flight.

Shipping dogs to shows and trials even with accompanying owner has become an absolute nightmare.

http://www.corelogistics.net/Default.aspx?PgTyp=page&pgID=15

GREAT!! Like im not already freaking out about flying next friday for the first time with ALL my dogs! Someone please give me a play by play of what i should do. Tell me everything you have done in the past to ensure your dogs are ok. I think im going to kill someone if something happens to my dogs!!!

Wanderer:  I fly with my dog 2 - 3 times a year, he goes excess baggage, the combined weight is over 100lbs, he goes on the same plane & the cost is $100. - $125.  each way, but this is in the USA.  When I have shipped dogs via air cargo I have used Delta and been very happy. (in USA and  from Europe).

Smartguy:  Are you flying in the USA?  Are your dogs flying as excess or air cargo? 

My friend and K9 trainer had 3 dogs flown in from another state for his K9 academy, (handlers where so excited).  This was a few years back and I don't remember off the top of my head the airline company but it was the same problem.  The baggage handlers were with a private company employed by the airline.  Luckily, my friend and another officer witnessed these idiots poking poles through the crates, shaking the crates and doing other terrible things to these 3 GSDs.  Not a whole lot was done with the baggage handlers or company since the dogs are considered PROPERTY and therefore only worth original cost and since the dogs were still able to work (a few weeks of rehabing emotionally but it didn't slow down their training too much), there was no reportable monetary loss to my trainer friend or the police agencies.  The cruelty was also only a minor law violation.

Yes AhSighEE it would have been wonderful to have a camera handy, the police officer was even not entirely believed since these "baggage handlers have been with the company for years without complaint" and "many dogs freak out during flights". You guys know the excuses that can come flying out of PR mouths..... 

Hope your pup is Ok London.