Shipping dogs via Delta - incident info

Just for those of you wanting to ship a pet - an unfortunate incident occurred last week, the news of which is making the rounds in the rescue world. A rescue pup was going to be flown from Ft. Meyers to Bloomington, IL with one change in Atlanta...the long and the short is that the pup was "lost" in Atlanta and it was 12 hours and a zillion phone calls later before the shipper was directed to the appropriate party...by then it was late night and Delta would not fly the dog out because he had been crated for 12 hours. Delta wanted to kennel him at a local facility but they really couldn't say where that would be. Interestingly enough, when you sign your paperwork it gives the airline jurisdiction over the animal...Anyway, they had to have a fax to kennel - also, there were no more flights that night to an alternate destination in an appropriate aircraft, and they couldn't let the receiver pick up the dog without a fax from the sender...it's now 11:30 at night and no one basically has a clue as to what is going on. Their excuse for "losing" the pup is that they track planes, but not dogs, and that the size of the plane was changed at the last minute on the initial leg and it would not accomodate a size 200 kennel.

The dog was eventually picked up by a code of ethics breeder at the Atlanta airport after the sender's daughter was able to get a fax out. The pup was soiled and dehydrated - this is a little guy who could easily die from dehydration.

My bottom line, (although many of you probably think I am over zealous, LOL!) is this - PLEASE arrange to fly with your pet. Bug the ever lovin' crap out of everyone you see at every layover...watch for the kennel to be loaded. If you don't see it, the stewardesses are very good about calling the luggage handlers and finding out if the kennel is on the plane...but don't leave without receiving verification, and get the person's name who verified it.

I am sure this was a snafu with Delta, but the stats on animals flown and "lost" are staggering, and sometimes they are lost permanently. Better to be safe than sorry...and only by accompanying your pet can you be halfway safe.

I'm off the soapbox now - this wasn't a blast at Delta, by the way - just reminding everyone to be careful when heading to paradise and have a Plan B if you are traveling with your pet.