Pet Travel Q&amp - PawNation

By Kelly E. Carter Nov 2nd 2012

• Is there anything more heartbreaking than the sound of your pooch whimpering when you leave it behind? Or your kitty's sad yowls while you pack your suitcase for vacation? If only you could bring your pet with you everywhere you go. With a little bit of guidance, you'll be globe-trotting with your furry friend in no time. Find?out how.

• A friend of mine recently adopted a dog while she was on vacation in Italy. I've heard of people doing this before, all around the world, but I wonder how safe or wise it is. What's your opinion?

• Adopting a pet from another country is safe but totally unnecessary. Our shelters are bursting at the seams with dogs in need of good homes and, with so many dogs left to die on Dead Dog Beach,?Puerto Rico could use some love, too.

  But if you?re intent on bringing a four-legged friend back with you from another country, I suggest you choose a dog small enough to travel in the cabin with you and make sure you select an airline that allows dogs to travel in the cabin. Transporting pets as baggage is dangerous and I would think would be especially traumatic for a newly adopted dog.? Some U.S. carriers allow pets in the cabin on outbound transcontinental flights but not on the return. Delta no longer allows pets in the cabin the business class section of 767s for international flights. Each airline has its own rules and they can change at any time. Therefore, it is best to contact your preferred carrier.

  I travel to Italy frequently with my dog (we also lived there) and I prefer to take Swiss Air and change planes in Zurich or Air France and connect through Paris. As far as bringing a dog into the U.S. from another country, it is relatively easy as long as they are healthy and vaccinated against rabies. Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site for complete info.

• I'm traveling to Japan and Korea this winter. I've heard a lot about the cat and dog cafes in Asia and I'd love to visit one. How can I find out which ones are best and treat the animals well?

• In some cafes, customers can hang out with canines and felines as companions. Dog and cat cafes have been the rage in Japan for several years and are especially huge in Tokyo, named to The Jet Set Pets? Top 10 Pet-Friendly Destinations.?

  Neko means "cat" in Japanese and a neko map lists over 250 cat cafes through Japan and some in South Korea. Some of the cafes don?t mind if you cuddle but others have a 'look but don?t touch' policy. One of the better ones in Tokyo is Deco?s Dog Caf?, where dogs and their guardians can dine together and dog birthday parties are held. (But don?t worry if you don?t have a pooch with you.)

  Those are just a couple of suggestions, but I recommend asking locals for recommendations once you arrive. Safe travels!

• My girlfriends and I are all in our twenties and own small-ish dogs. We'd like to take a group trip together and bring our pups, only not to Vegas! Somewhere warm and/or tropical. Any suggestions?

• JosÃ?Â?Ã?© Luis Ruiz - Getty Images

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  Sounds like a fun trip! I think you and your girlfriends and your little posh pals will have a splendid time in Cabo San Lucas or Miami. Sure, Mexico has had more than its fair share of crime in recent years but many parts remain safe. Not only is Cabo one of those places, but it is also?one of The Jet Set Pets? Top 10 Pet-Friendly Destinations, thanks to its abundance of pet-friendly hotels and restaurants.

  Book rooms at the hip and sexy ME Cabo and have your pooches lounge on the dog cabana at Nikki Beach. My other fave pet-friendly Cabo hotels are Esperanza, where pooches enjoy complimentary in-room massages, and Las Ventanas, which has portable cabanas and room service menus for pets. Taking a dog to Mexico from the U.S. is fairly easy.

  But if you prefer to stay stateside, check out Miami Beach. The price of pet-friendly hotels runs the gamut. If you want to splurge, the W Hotel and the new SLS South Beach are two of my faves. South Beach doesn?t allow dogs on the beach but you can walk them on the boardwalk. If you plan on sharing rooms, make sure that the hotel allows more than one dog per room. Have fun!

• I just read the story about how model Maggie Rizer's dog died on United Airlines. I booked a flight with my dog months ago on United and now I'm terrified. Should I cancel, book a different flight on another carrier or get therapy dog papers and insist he sit with me?

• Sharon Montrose - Getty Images

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  Next: More Pet Travel Questions Answered!

  After hearing about the tragedy, I wrote a blog post, How to Avoid the Pain of Maggie Rizer, for my site, TheJetSetPets.com, that lists various options. If you have a legitimate reason for a therapy dog, then by all means, that is the best solution because your dog will usually be allowed to travel in-cabin with you on domestic flights.

  Despite United adopting Continental?s PetSafe program that emphasizes pet safety, the sad fact is animals are still transported in the belly of the plane, which is dangerous. Neither I nor the United States Humane Society recommends this unless absolutely necessary. Switching carriers won?t solve the problem either. The latest figures available show that of the 17 animals that died while being transported on U.S. airlines in 2012, four deaths occurred on United flights. In the Maggie Rizer aftermath, United has said that over a five-year period it transported more than 550,000 pets with less than .1% of those resulting in deaths. It is still a gamble. But no one ever hears about a dog dying while traveling in the cabin.

Source: http://www.pawnation.com/2012/11/02/pet-travel-qanda/

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