Personally, I'd rather Fedex my child (or my husband) before I'd Fedex my dog. Have you considered putting the dog into kennels until your boyfriend is ready to relocate?

There is a somewhat easy solution.... have your partner take the dog to the airport in LA and make sure the dog gets on the plane... then you pick up the dog on this end.... the dog could care less if you are in the cabin or not and having it escorted to point A and then met at point B is a common remedy for moving a loving pet.......Have you ever met this dog before and it would it feel comfortable with you?

You have plenty of options here. How as a dog owner can your partner in good faith ship his dog as if he were a carton of books? The warnings which GatorGal listed are just the tip of the iceberg of why his dog must not be treated like parcel. Why give him the enormous stress and suffering? If you don't have the time to drive the dog as BoSoxFan45 mentioned, here is a review of what your fellow FTers have suggested

1. boilermaker: "Why don't you fly down, pick up the dog, and fly back? AS has some cheap fares, and even if the dog flies in the hold, you will be there checking it in and picking it up. Much less stressful than flying alone."

2. Boraxo: "How about finding a friend to fly up with the dog on a cheap weekend RT? This may be cheaper than cargo, which usually runs in excess of $150 RT plus vet health certificates (required by all airlines prior to transport)."

3. jenniferpa: "Personally, I'd rather Fedex my child (or my husband) before I'd Fedex my dog. Have you considered putting the dog into kennels until your boyfriend is ready to relocate?"


I'm not sure if david4455's idea is permissable on planes but if it is, you have yet a 4th option. You just cannot ship this dog. Please don't.

If RT flying is cheaper than cargo, but your time is tight, I'm sure you could find a SEA or LA based FT'er who would be happy to do a free mileage run to escort your dog. You buy the ticket, they fly with the dog, everyone wins.

Hey, that's another great idea! In addition to all the tips summarized by Analise, how about getting the FT community to help? As Boraxo said: "How about finding a friend to fly up with the dog on a cheap weekend RT?" And as the above poster said, maybe that "friend" could be a fellow FT person!

I agree that maybe an FTer looking to do a mileage run might be willing to do it! From what I've read on this board, I'm sure that there are some people who would probably do it if it fits into their plans. Perhaps there's someone already looking at doing an MR to where you are (or close enough that you could drive to where they're going)? If there's a pet lover planning to do an MR and you can coordinate your schedules -- and of course, you're willing to pay the dog expenses (and maybe take the FTer to a lunch or get them a little thank-you gift) -- this may be a fun way to do it.

Cool... it could be similar to that serial MasterCard commercial about everyone pitching in to bring a lost dog home. I could just see it now...

Plane ticket for dog: $75
Thank-you gift for FTer on dog-run MR: $40
Having yet another great story to share with the wonderful FlyerTalk community: Priceless



Seriously, it may be worth posting a question in the Mileage Run forum and asking if anyone is planning on going that route anytime soon. Again, good luck to you, the boyfriend, the pooch, and anyone who helps!

Getting an FT'er to do it would be great, but the problem is that the dog is too big to go under a seat. If she flies, she will have to be in the cargo hold regardless of if she's being escorted.

As far as the Fedex question goes, I recall that Willie the orca from "Free Willie" was shipped from Mexico City to Oregon by either Fedex or UPS (I forget which). Sure, that's a special situation on a specially fitted plane, but I figured if they can Fedex/UPS a whale, maybe handling a dog would be an option.

Turns out, they don't fedex dogs, but you can fedex zoo animals. She sort of looks like a monkey, but I don't think they would believe me.

Alaska will do it for about $134 - My preference is to kennel her until we do our final drive up together over Tgiving. Waiting on Rocketboy to make some decisions....

I'll chime in and say that I think this could be the best idea...if the kennel is a good one. We have a Doggie Dude Ranch here where the dogs get lots of attention and playtime. With that kind of kennel, the dog may come back to you a bit more spoiled than when you left it!

Congrats and best wishes on the big move!

I'm an animal lover, but this stuck me as funny... It's not okay to ship a dog but it is okay for the boyfriend to sleep in his car in LA?

our dog flew with us, checked as baggage, when we brought him from KY (breeder drop off) to our home.
Despite checking him as luggage, Delta wound up shipping him and treating him as cargo. He didn't come out at baggage claim as promised, he was sent to a cargo terminal miles away (which no one told us until two hour later, after we had filed a lost luggage complaint and frantically called every delta hotline we could), and the cargo guys slung him around like he was a box full of books --in front of our eyes, no less. Pup was very traumatized and got sick multiple times (including once right after the cargo guy slung his carrier down toards us like a sack of rice).

I'd think twice about shipping the dog, unless he can go as hand baggage on the plane with you.

I have a relative in a similar situation investigating how to get a puppy cross country. Considering cargo via airlines, pet shipping services, etc. If they were to consider a 'mileage run' scenario, how long would you estimate you need to allow at the airport that you arrive at, pick up the puppy, and check back in for your flight? Generally, it's not a busy airport, but I have no experience in flying with pets. Thanks

Sorry to hear of your bad experience with Delta, wannabe. When we relocated to CA, my wife flew on ATA with Cleve in the hold in a large dog crate. ATA appeared to treat him well, with one of the baggage handlers escorting the crate through the oversize baggage doors. Cleve was tired and thirsty and ready for the car trip home.

My hairstylist just related this story:

Approx. one month ago she was exiting SFO when she saw a woman cradling her dog, crying, etc. Apparently the dog was nearly dead after a short trip in steerage. My stylist said, "Honey you need to get that dog to a vet IMMEDIATELY. I would take a taxi if you have to but do it RIGHT NOW! Fortunately the story has a happy ending as the vet was apparently able to save the dog. But as I indicated above, there are horror stories like this every week.