Getting a Great Dane to St. John

It won't be a problem if you arrange for a private taxi. One you've made your plans I'll be happy to pass on to you the name of a local driver I know who'll be more than happy to arrange the transportation for you. PM me when you're ready.

You shouldn't have any problem on the ferry but check with the operators (their numbers are listed on the ferry schedule which you'll find linked on the Travel forum here). They may require he be crated or just be muzzled.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I'll give you a PM once I make my plane reservations and have an official arrival date and time (probably in a month or so once I get all the lose ends wrapped up). I called the ferry, and they do require him to be in a crate. Unfortunately, he won't fit in a crate (I wasn't even going to bring one with me because it is extremely heavy), so if you have any suggestions of companies that I could call to do a private water taxi/charter over to St. John I'd really appreciate it as well 🙂

Best,
Mikaela

There are only two water taxi operations here that I know of - Dohm's (340-775-6501) and Dolphin (774-2628). It'll be an expensive trip for the big boy but I'm sure he's worth it!

If you rent a car and take the barge over, that might be less expensive than private taxi and boat. You'll have to see what the temperature is in October as airlines may not fly dogs in cargo if temps on tarmac too high. Will they fly a Great Dane? They also have size and weight restrictions.

There's a post on this forum for sharing a private charter to fly pets in.
Here's the link.

https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,265117

Mikaela, I just sent you a PM on here. Please check it when you have time.

Getting him to STJ wont be a problem... Finding a rental that will take a Dane... I assume you already have a rental lined up then? I would advise having something very solid set up, it can take a very long time to find a place that would take a large dog.

I rented my rental house to a couple with 2 Great Danes.
I did request from the couple that their vet provide a statement that the dogs were not aggressive and had no bite history. They were wonderful dogs. Huge!
The home has a fenced yard so it worked quite well for them and for me.

Renting an apartment may be a bit more difficult, however

They had to fly dogs in on private transport from Miami.
They drove the dogs to Miami from Chicago.

Good luck.

Thank you so much! I have a roommate situation set up, and she has assured me that his size won't be a problem, but he may have to meet the landlord to make sure he is friendly. He has taken a Canine Good Citizen course, and has a certificate from that. I also have a friend on island that owns a home, so I have a plan B in case something happens with the apartment.

Thank you so much for the info! Great Danes are actually really great apartment dogs- as adults they are super lazy and just basically lay around all day! I have a canine good citizen course completion certificate for him, and I can definitely get a letter from his vet that he is not aggressive with no bite history too. As a landlord, is there anything else that you would recommend that I do to make sure that my future landlord is comfortable with allowing him? The place I will be renting definitely allows dogs, and my future roommate has assured me that his size won't be a problem, as long as he is friendly!

Have your vet provide a statement that dog is non aggressive and has no bite history.

Have your vet provide a statement that dog is non aggressive and has no bite history.

She said dat. " ... and I can definitely get a letter from his vet that he is not aggressive with no bite history too."

Good luck with your big pup, OP! I have a good friend on STT who has one and she's an absolute love (actually both the pooch and the owner are)!

How did you get your Great Dane to STT? We’re retiring there this fall & have a 114# male GD. How does your GD like the VI? 

Old Post is from 2016

Much has changed on pet transport

Actually, much remains the same except dogs are no longer allowed to travel in cargo on passenger flights since March 22 2020 due to Covid. 

Private transport or contact American Airlines Cargo.

Someone on forum uses private transport to get their dogs back and forth to STX. Maybe they'll chime in.

Good luck

we used petcargo.com as they use amerijet to and from miami and you can also have them arrange to your desired location.  The nice thing is that they will keep your pet at their home if your pet is flying different days and update you with pics.  They were a great couple and highly recommend them. 

@alana33  AA Cargo told me yesterday that on the STT to MIA route, series 400 kennel is the largest they accept but not sure if it will be the same from MIA to STT

Amerijet accepts series 700 as that is what i'm using for my girl.

@browny .

Good luck to you and your pup.

Please let us know how everything goes.

@alana33 will do

my update:

my girl travelled by Amerijet. since i did the entire process myself and was there at the warehouse, i saw things that are distasteful to me...am sure the below are not specific to Amerijet but expected better when they claim animal transportation is one of their bread/butter business...

the crate is placed on a pallet, which is lifted by a forlift anytime they are needed to be moved, which scares the crap out of the kids. the crate is not strapped to the pallet so if they move due to fright, potential to fall.

there is no quiet room where they are placed...they are in the warehouse with the forklift going back and forth the entire night so no peace for them to relax and sleep and have to endure constant loud noise

they are not last on and first off as they claim....i  met a rescuer in NJ who told me whatever comes first.

i was told they will be given water, however, the bottle attached was never used....my girl was not given and the rescuer said they are not given...i suppose this could be OK in my case as it was an overnight and flight was 6am, though I was told 5am...but past daily schedules show flight departing at 6 am or close to.

Basically, I would never put any of my kids thru this again. Lack of respect for animal life is pervasive in the human race

@browny 

This is exactly why we try to arrange a group to share the cost of a charter. More expensive sure, but your dog or cat is sitting right next to you, no crates. We fly to St Croix in the fall and return in the spring. I hope people understand that there are other options out there to transport your pet safely. Anyone can reach out with a DM and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about using a charter flight to transport your pets. Sorry for your experience browny but glad it all worked out for you in the end.