bringing dogs

Cam,

Do a search on this site about shipping dogs. There is lots of information. Not sure of how large your lab is, but there is a process to bring a dog over. Especially a large dog. Has anyone ever taken a full grown large breed dog over on Cape Air? When I tried to bring down my 95 pound ridgeback Cape Air was not an option. With large dogs they have to have special equipment to take them on and off the plane. Not every airport is equipped with the this.

Things to think about once you get the dog here are heartworms and ticks are a problem for many dogs. I have yet to find anything that will keep the ticks off my dog. The drops will kill them once they have attached to him, but that doesn't help protect him against tick fever.

Hi Campilates,

I don't know if you are the same person that Dan is trying to put in touch with me or not but this is how I shipped my dogs.

I have 3 large rotties, all well over 100lbs. The only airline I could find to accomadate them was Continental #800-575-3335. They were very helpful and informative. Continental flew them as far as San Juan then Mike Foster, Coastal Air picked them up for me and flew them to STX. He is wonderful. Helped walked the dogs and let them just roam around his aircraft out of their crates. Continental stopped in Houston were my dogs spent the night. They have a great facility and provided excellent care for my dogs. If you call continental they will tell you exactly what to do. My dogs had to fly in the 700 series crates because they were so large but they managed to put all 3 on the plane together. They will give you different options that best fit your situation. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions PM me.

Tammy

American gets funny if the weather is hot that much i know.good luck with your venture.

Put signs on the crate saying somethink like, "My name is John. I am very nice but very scared. I love biscuits" and attach some snacks with tape. At least that's what we did and our dog didn;t seem traumatized by the experience.

I don't think American "gets funny" when the weather is hot but airlines do want your pet to arrive alive and while planes frequently sit on the tarmac for one reason or another, the area where pets are held is not climate controlled.

Forgot to give Mike Fosters # 340-773-6862. Leave a message if he doesn't answer.

Hi, I shipped my 90 lb ridgeback to STT about a month ago. It was a terrible experience but our little buddy is here and OK. We drove to Fla to ship our van and dog. As it turns out there are no direct flights to STT on a plane large enough to handle a 100 lb plus dog and kennel combined that arrive before customs closes at 3 PM. Our little guy had to fly back to JFK, spend the night in cargo area and fly out the next morning (18 hours total). We think someone had him out to pee but he drank a large bottle of water in one sitting and was very happy to get out and pee at the airport. He made it but it was not a smooth trip. A lot of things were harder than we expected but you just have to expect problems and deal with them.

Campilates,
You've gotten a lot of advice on shipping and the only thing I'd add is :have a reservation for him and never get on a plane until the crew confirms your dog has been loaded too. I always ask and have them check and I never had a problem. He'll do fine. (I'd rather be stuck with my dog in MIA or SJU than here wondering where he is)

Once you are here though, be aware that a lot of Labs don't do extremely well in the Caribbean coat wise. Many of them are allergic to ground orchid and other common plants and you will see their nice shiny coats dull and they may develop itching and hot spots. My chocolate lab was with me for 8 years here (he died at age 14) and he loved the water, beaches, cold tile floors... but, he was never as gorgeous here as he was up there as I was always battling allergies that he never had stateside. A friend brought her daughter's lab here for a year and the difference in the skin condition and coat was significant after a year... six months back in CT and the dog was back to shiny and beautiful. Same Diet... just the heat and plants.

Also there are a few things to watch for here. Tick Fever - Its deadly and hard to detect., Toads and Frogs are often poisonous. Treat for Heartworm monthly.

Oh... and expect your dog to get calluses on his elbows from sleeping on tile and cement. :0
Dry coconuts make great "balls" for labs and they love to shred them which is good for teeth cleaning.! 🙂

Good luck and have fun with your dog here. He/She will love it!

i was unable to use cape air. It will be less trouble to stay with the same airline all the way, they will take care of your pet when changing planes.

my dog is 85 lbs and only fit in the extra large kennel, i had to change my schedule at the last minute from cape air in san juan to miami and take american all the way because of the size difference.

PLEASE CALL THE AIRLINE DIRECTLY...YOU DON'T WANT TO BE STRANDED IN SAN JUAN WITH YOUR DOG...

i also posted my flying with a pet experience under "best vets in stx".

i had a great experience with AA

goodluck!

This is a Salomonic solution that may or may not apply to you. I Charter a Cape Air plane from SJU-STT in there i brought allot of my personal things computers,electronics in some boxes and my Dogs. It was hefty it cost me $3500 dollars ONEWAY plus a surcharge of $ 580 dollars of fuel , my dog travel beside me First class all the way. I moved allot of my personal stuff like a mover i did some math i would have cost me $ 1,500 dollars by UPS or $1,750 dollars AA Cargo. I will look also at seaborn airlines the travel from San Juan waterfront to St thomas water front they also do charters and you could take allot of your personal stuff no Airports.