shipping dogs in the summer...

This is my experience.
I flew two large dogs to STX in August of 04 and multiple times to the states from the islands (rescuing dogs). To get to the islands in August we flew from Orlando to San Juan on ATA, and then took a cab to the seaplane. Everyone at the seaplane was great although it wasn’t a smooth trip. The extra large kennel didn’t fit through the cargo hold door so they took it apart and put it back together in the cargo area, which only fit one kennel. Although it was cramped we put them both in the one kennel. We were supposed to change planes in STT but the pilot realized the difficulty we had already had so he just continued on to STX for us! A very exhausting day but we all made it.

Wow, Lauren I bet you were exhausted after all that. Glad it worked out.

What about small dogs. My Maltese is 5 lb soaking wet and the size of a newborn. Can I carry her on in a doggy purse/carrier?

You should be able to - there are dimensions on the size of a carrier that will slide under the seat, but mostly I've seen women with little Yorkies or whatever in the purse things with mesh on the ends that could be stowed if needed. Check with the airline - be sure and tell them you have an in-cabin dog. Most of the airline sites will have their requirements listed.

I travel with my small dog (14 lbs) several times a year back and forth from the states to STX. You need to make a reservation with the airline when you are carrying a dog on board. There are only a certain number of pets allowed inside the cabin (for AA, I think it is 5 in the economy cabin and 1 in business). When you book the ticket, just tell the rep you will be bringing a dog on board and they will put a note in the reservation. At the airport on check-in (this is for American) they charge you $80 for the pet ticket. For any inter-state travel, including to the VI, they will ask for a health certificate from the vet. This is easy to get--tell the vet you are traveling and they should know what to do. Sometimes they do check health certificates, other times they don't. I'm sure the one time I travel without one, they will check it, so I always get one. At check-in, they once also weighed my dog + carrier to make sure the total weight was under 20 lbs. He slipped in at 19.6. Luckily I didn't have my dive weights in his carrier that time!! Shouldn't be a problem with a Maltese though 🙂

Also, make sure the bag will fit under the seat. I use a large "Sherpa" bag and he usually fits fine. From the states, I always try to fly on the big plane from MIA to STX so he can fit under the seat. On the small little ATR prop planes from San Juan, I can only fit him under the seat if I have two seats worth of under-seat space, if that makes any sense. On a crowded flight, that may be a problem. In this case, they don't put the dog in cargo or anything, but put them in the back of the plane somewhere. Not quite sure where, but I do know the flight attendants know how to handle such a situation.

If you buy your carrier from a major pet store like petco or petsmart they always have a selction of airline approved bags that will fit under the seat easily.

Our large cat and a Shih-tsu dog both fitted into airline approved carriers, so I would think that a maltese would be AOK>