HELP, Moving to STX in October with my dogs and need help with the bulldog 🙂

We have friends with very large dogs and they brought them to STX by way of STT.
you may have an easier time finding flights that will take the dogs into STT (more airlines fly there) and then take the ferry from STT to STX.

I am interested to learn more about this as well. I have a boston terrier that I need to get from San Diego to STT. I looked into the private flights and they wanted like 16k or something. Who did you find for 2500? Heck id drive to Miami and just fly from Miami but its still over 5k for a chartered flight from Miami to STT.

What boats of Cunard allow pets? Id do that. Sounds like fun! he is only 35lbs but that is too big to take on a plane inside the cabin with me i think. Maybe somoene has taken a dog that size as a carry on?

The island does not need any more dogs. But...apparently you love your animals too much to leave them behind.

If you use the search function above you will find dozens of threads that explain in great detail how dogs were transported to the island.

Yes it will probably cost you 1000s of dollars and it will cause you great inconvenience...the things we do for love ...

The boat I found that would take pets in an on board kennel was the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship, the cost is still very high, and of course you make several stops on the way down. The only way it looks like I will be able to make the move with both dogs is to fly United direct to Dulles International and then direct to San Juan and take the Seaborne flight over on a saturday afternoon. United was the one company that would allow pets in the cargo hold up to 85 degrees, the rest either had snub nose breed restrictions or only allows flights where it never got hotter than 75 degrees at any point. The 2,200 was for a pet travel service only from Denver to STX.

The QE2 is not a regular visitor here.

Do you really want your dogs to be in a cargo hold with outside temps up to 85 or even 75 degrees?

Dogs travel as cargo with United but they are not placed in the cargo hold. They travel in a a separate climate controlled compartment. Time spent on the tarmac may be of greater concern especially in the Caribbean.

Right. So you say. I guess it's stories like this that bother me. It said the hold was to be kept between 50-70. There are issues then with the layovers and flight transfers, like you say. Couldn't get whole story in, it's from Baltimore Sun from August this year...(per webblog)

American said on its website it won't carry warm-blooded animals if the actual or forecast temperature is above 85 degrees. As the plane sat on the tarmac in Tulsa, it was already 86 degrees before 7 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Fagan said cargo holds carrying animals are routinely kept between 50 and 70 degrees.

Baggage handlers taking the puppies to a kennel area at O'Hare Airport grew concerned because they looked lethargic. Employees tried to cool down the dogs, and they were taken to a vet's office, but five died initially and two others died later, Fagan said.

Several of the puppies were headed to connecting flights. Fagan declined to identify the shipper or say whether American had taken animals from the same shipper before and, if so, whether there had been problems with any previous flights.

"We don't disclose information about our shippers any more than we disclose information about our passengers," she said.

In guidelines to customers, American says it reserves the right to refuse to ship aggressive animals or one that "does not appear fit to travel." It also says it won't take dogs or cats that have been sedated. It asks shippers about each animal's breed, size and age.

Fagan said dogs and cats must be at least eight weeks old. She said she didn't know the breed or breeds of the dead puppies.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Transportation said short-faced dogs such as pugs and bulldogs accounted for about half of the 122 dogs that died during U.S. flights in the last five years. Veterinarians say those dogs are more likely to have breathing problems.

The department said the deaths were an extremely small percentage of the total number of pets carried by airlines.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recommends that owners avoid shipping pets in the cargo hold.

"I always hated signing those papers to ship them" in the cargo hold, said Rocky McKelvey, regional medical director in Texas for VCA Animal Hospitals and a veterinarian since 1981. "I'd like to see them in the cabin."

Charter from SJU is a cheaper option

I tried for about 4 months to find a way to get my English Bulldog to STT, from NJ. The only way is a boat. Planes will more than likely stress the dog to death and no one wants that. Also no airline would budge on the 75 degree temp. I also had a English bulldog breeder send me photo's of a English bulldog that was shipped in air cargo and it was bad real bad. It killed my son and I to have to give the dog away but thats the choice we made. I have seen English bulldogs on stt and talked with the people and they said they had them shipped from England as puppies. Good luck

n a last ditch effort, you could get a physician to write a note saying that you need to dog on the plane with you for emotional support (i.e. get him classified as a service animal). I've known people to do this in order to get their dogs on the plane and out of cargo hold with them. Typically, the animal just sits on the seat next to the owner and doesn't have to be in a carrier. It sure beats having to give a precious family member away...

I understand the desire to bring a beloved pet to the islands, but the suggestion to LIE about the dog's status is disrespectful to all the others flying on the plane. Plus is allows others to question the actual service dogs who do need to fly with their owners.

Well, it is not the most ethical thing to do, but if it is between that and having to give your dog away, I would chose the former. Once you have an animal, you should make a commitment to care for it properly for the rest of its life, and not just give it up.
I've never flown with an animal this way, but have known others who have. As long as you have the right paperwork, no one is allowed to question the reason or legitimacy of service animals under the American with Disabilities Act. I heard a story about someone who brought a goose onto the plane with them because they needed it for emotional support. Still, I do agree, it is a shaky line to walk, but could be a last-ditch option.