I finnaly got my dog buster to stx

Melody,
Kudos to you for putting so much energy and funds into reuniting with Buster. Although he cannot speak I am sure he appreciates it!
So many people abandon their pets when they relocate, I love hearing stories like yours!
BTW, my dogs have made friends with the frogs and lizards. Indeed, one of my dogs is constantly trying to rescue lizards from the cats!

hi Melody

That's such a happy ending to such a trying ordeal! I just wanted to give you a little info about frogs - I have heard that they can kill dogs! A lady who works with me lost a chihuahua after he ate a frog. It swelled up in the dog's throat and they were unable to dislodge it. I have also heard that some frogs have a toxin on their skin and that if your pet eats or bites the frog, the toxins can harm them (not sure exactly what happens). In this case you would have to rinse their mouth out completely. Lizards are harmless but keep an eye out for the frogs!

Great Melody - glad to hear you finally got it worked out and have buster home with you. 😀

--Islander

Hello Melody!
Glad you got the dog situation worked out, it was good to talk with you. How is the teaching job, thus far? Don't you love how the Commissioner of Ed. "changed her mind" about extending the day for 30 mins.? Thanks to teachers in STX, who stood up (and stepped out) for our rights! Can you imagine asking a McDonalds employee to work an extra 2 1/2 hours for free?
Suzanne
www.cahsvi.com

Congratulations, Melody - a good ending to what was obviously a very traumatic ordeal. Hope Buster is now smiling ear to ear!

Re Island Joan's comments about the frogs and the lizards, that little chihuahua obviously bit off more than it could chew. The only toxic "frogs" that I know of here in the islands (and they're not in my area of STT) are what are called locally the "Buffo" and they're very, very big toads and tend to keep themselves pretty much isolated from developed areas, preferring a dank and swampy environment. Their skin does contain a toxic ingredient which COULD be fatal if ingested in large quantities but most dogs back off after a first little taste.

Island cats quickly learn that lizards can also be toxic but only to the extent that if they munch on the heads of their victims, their eyes get temporarily messed up. I have a very well-fed, fat and sassy outside spayed female who keeps showing up with either one pupil or both widely dilated. Her mother and half-sister, equally well-fed, fat and sassy, are obviously smart enough that, if they choose to go after lizzies (and most of the time they're too darned lazy and too busy sleeping!) don't eat them. Ill-fed feral cats quickly learn that the bellies can be eaten but the heads are a no-no. Why Miss Allie continues on oblivious is beyond my comprehension. My lecturing her has had no effect thus far...

Hope this helps where VIFrogand LizzieEducation101 is concerned! Cheers.

Thanks guys Buster and I doing well, he has met a couple of friends. I think this weekend he'll have his first experience at the beach.

Melody,
Did you plan on traveling with your dog, or was he sent down after you were already there? The reason I'm asking is beacuse I plan on traveling to STT next saturday with my pet. Delta says that they are not as strict about the temperature rules if you are flying with the pet. I guess they realise that you can't just take your pet back home and wait til another day if you are flying out that day. Let me know, so I can be prepared either way. Thanks, Jennifer

Make sure Delta does not have any other restrictions such as having a health record dated 10 days or less. Ask them how they want the kennel labled and how you should package your pet's food and water. If you have to have your pet sedated, get a statement from the Vet. Nake sure you are at the airport in plenty of time. Get the person's name you spoke to. Get c copy of what they are telling you in writing. Good luck, I am sure everything will go well. I wish I had tried Delta

Well...along the doggy line...#5 and #6 arrive today and tomorrow on USAir...accompanied by relatives whose tickets I had to pay to get them here. My crew has cost...well, I won't even tell, but a LOT!

So glad Buster made it, Melody - jashenk, all airlines will require the health certificate dated within 10 days of travel. Where are you traveling from? I don't know what size dog this is, but different airports have restrictions on what size carrier they can fly out. It's a long and interesting journey! Melody gave you some very sound advice on getting names, employee numbers, etc. I've had some interesting close calls - without documentation, I'm not sure these dogs would be here.

Good luck to you - and write if you need any help! ssrr@runbox.com

I'm trying to get my black lab here to St. Croix from St. Louis. I've called American and they say that they don't bring live animals into St. Croix anymore. Is that the reason you had Buster shipped to Puerto Rico? I'm having a terrible time. Every time I call the airport, I get different answers. I will fly up and get him if I thought it would make any difference. My daughter is taking care of him, so I don't have to worry about getting him to the airport in St. Louis, but I'm wondering if I should just go and bring him back? I had made plans to have him go into St. Thomas, air cargo, on Delta, but I'm afraid of the temperature restrictions there. Looks like next Friday/Saturdays are the only days that are going to be 85 or less. Can I have your thoughts on what I should do as they relate to your experience?

IF you can get your dog to a place Cape Air flies out of, they are WONDERFUL...I don't know that they fly unaccompanied animals, though. Our last experience bringing #6 in was that the carrier would not fit in their plane...and by the way, we lost a giant carrier to USAir in Charlotte, they moved a 110 lbs. Rottweiler to the next smaller size and sent it instead, making the dog a LITTLE bit cramped...but when the passenger and dog arrived in STT, Cape Air took over. Even the smaller crate wouldn't fit in their hold in the tail, so passenger had to wait until one of the last flights going out...and had to hold the dog in his lap from STT to STX! It was only an 8-seater plane, so I'm sure the other passengers were amused (or dismayed)! I cannot say enough good things about their pilots. We flew #5 and #6 in back to back on separate days, and it was the Cape Air people that worked their behinds off to make sure everything went well.

I've heard a lot of good things about Delta, even though that is not who we used. A lot depends on how much your dog weighs INCLUDING the crate - if it is over 100 lbs., the dog has to go air cargo and it doesn't matter if you are on the plane or not...and there are a lot of rules about how many transfers a dog can make in one day, etc. if they are flying cargo. I found it helpful to call Consumer Affairs and talk with someone there...they don't want to give bad info since they are all about making the airline look good - the fact remains, you can get nailed at any point along the way no matter how many names and employee numbers you have, but one thing that helped us - I had a Consumer Affairs person fax me a letter stating the requirements for moving our dogs...so we had it on paper what a specific person had told us and could have produced it if we'd needed to. Not saying that would help, but it was some sort of safety net.

Good luck - it is a long and strange journey...

I brought my 2 dogs (65 lbs and 30 lbs) to STX this past May on US Air. I rented a car and drove 5 hours to an airport that had a direct flight to STX to make things easier on the dogs and myself. I talked to a number of different people at US Air regarding animal transport and the consensus (there was conflicting info) was that the temperature restrictions are based on the city of departure or a connecting city and not the final destination, since it is unlikely that the plane would be stuck on the runway for an extended period once it arrived here in the VIs. In addition, it is the decision of the staff at the check-in counter and they have quite a bit of leeway in deciding if the pet can fly or not. I also called the ticket counter at the Miami airport and talked to an agent there (when I thought that I might fly out of Miami) and was told that she did not recall ever not letting a pet fly out on a early to mid-morning flight to the VIs. As far as the Health Certificates, US Air has the 10 day requirement and during check-in asked me if I had them but did not look at them.

USAir has merged with another airline and no longer flies animals...or at least, that's what I was told, nothing after Sept. 30. They may have changed their minds yet again...

Mary Chatman,

I heard that American was going to stop transporting pets into STX. See if you can get your pet to Puerto Rico like I did. Or mayby you can try STT. Just make sure you get names of everyone you speak to. Cape was great when it came to getting my dog here. I had to change my reservation about 4 times in order to coordinate his flight with US Air. THe pilot was even better.

I believe I can get my dog to St. Thomas by Delta. He'll have to stay overnight in Atlanta, but they put you in touch with a kennel who will go and pick up your dog, take him to their kennel, keep him overnight, and then return him to the airport the next day to make his flight (additional charge of $100), but I'm really concerned about the temperature restrictions. I'm afraid he'll get stuck in Atlanta and not be able to fly the rest of the way in. Does anyone know if Delta is as strict on the 85 degrees if you are flying with your dog?

my dog and i are actually flying out on sunday. i'm driving to atlanta so he can get the direct flight. apparently theyre not super strict about the ruels from the numerous people at dleta i've talked to. usually the plane is landing form there about 4:30'ish and the weather then is ususally 84 or 85. call the night before your flight and ask if they've had anyproblem.s they've been really helpful to me. call directly to the atlanta desk though, it's easier then going throught the reservation number. hope this helps!

I think the best time to try to get your dog is to transport him on the earliest flight possible or the latest. I was going to have to use a Kennel Service through US Air when I considered taking a late flight. Just keep you eyes on the goal, that's geeting your pet here. It might be somewhat uncomfortable for you and your pet for a day.

delta was actually strict. they would not let me take the 12:30 atlanta flight with the dog because at 12:30 the temp in st. thomas was too high. the official wording is that they use the temperature of the destination/departure city at time of DEPARTURE. it doesn't matter if you arrive at 5:00 and it's 82 degrees, they won't let you go. i flew a 7 am flight from atl to san juan and took cape air, who was soooo good to the dog. didn't even make him stay in carrier, let him lay on the floor of the plane, and it only cost ten bucks extra. i suggest them highly. and they have no temp restrictions.

Thea--

How big of a dog did you take on the Cape Air flight?

Thanks!

That's the best route to go. If you can get your dog to Cape Air then will probably be smooth sailing from then on.

Ms. Bin, our rescued Rottie flew on Cape Air - and they were fabulous...she weighs about 120 lbs. and sort of rode in the transporter's lap and sort of on the floor...We brought two in on two separate dates and BOTH pilots and also the ground crew was so helpful - they made such an impression I wrote them both a glowing letter of praise to their home office! We could not have asked for a better transport, and I would highly recommend Cape Air!

Thanks for the great info. We will keep them in mind.

I'm afraid our Dobie might have to be sedated if she has to stay in the crate the entire trip. She's NOT the best traveler in the world--becomes this whining slobbery mess...it's so sad!! The German Shepherd and cattle dog mix should be fine.

Do you know, would they have to come in on different flights or might there be room for all three of them on one?

Unless they go cargo, I believe the rule is 1 dog per person - and then only if the plane is large enough to accomodate the crates. And by the way, most airlines will not accept a sedated dog - the sedation works strangely at a different air pressure and it has some seriously bad effects on dogs sometimes. There is a natural thing you can give them called Rescue Remedy, available at Petsmart...they aren't sedated, just calmed...it's an herbal drop of some sort....mine traveled in the car with it. Every airline has it's own rules - do a search on shipping pets, or a search on my name - I've tried to tell everyone the experiences we personally had, but my dogs came USAir, which is no longer shipping pets.

My dog Buster took a sedative right before he got on the plan. The Vet recommended it. Just in case I had any trouble from the airlines. I had a statement written by the vet to indicate why he might be a little sluggish. The sedative was not used to knock him out. It was to keep him calm. It worked for us. By the time he reached Puerto Rico after about 4.5 hours he was jumping all over the place just so glad to see me I guess. Or mayby he had a placebo.