Airlines must soon report animal casualties...

Edited to add: BC died in BA's care. Recently.
Where did the flight originate, may I ask??

The U.K.  The dog died en route from HK (stopover) to Australia and this one actually made it into the UK press

My "pooch" is part border collie, so now I am even more concerned. I am doing the pet scheme but there will still be two months before her "six month waiting period" is over so I have do have her go in the cargo area. Now I am thinking to have her stay here in Washington until the weather cools down. But then I am back to square one regarding worrying about her and asking someone to be responsible for her.

When will the airlines start valuing pets?? I would pay for an extra seat if this were allowed!!!!

I don't think I would worry about the breed of the dog being similar or part (unless I was talking about a dog that could overheat and get into severe breathing difficulties very easily, like a bull dog/various other breeds with short muzzles for example)

If the airline deems it too hot, they will place an embargo on the flight and not allow your dog to travel, so given that, you should actually have a back up plan in place with family/friends ready for that possibility.  It's a very difficult call because only you know your dog that well and whether she/he will cope better with the 2 mths with people (familiarity can count for an awful lot with an older dog) rather than the 2 mth quarantine period in the U.K.

Quarantines have improved a lot over the last few years, but for me personally with any dog, I would prefer they complete their pet scheme with a trusted family member in a secure property than go through the trauma of the flight and then quarantine and then a new home- it's a lot to put any dog through, let alone an older one. Quarantine puts the dogs at further risk of unnecessary infection/disease.

The airlines will only start to value pets when they are their own! No-one will ever care for your animal the way you would and whilst I do not question the integrity of a lot of the animal handlers, they are still "cargo"and will never be considered as treasured members of the family.

I know this is not what you want to hear, but I think it's important for you to come at this from all angles and make the best decision for your dog.

Quarantines have improved a lot over the last few years, but for me personally with any dog, I would prefer they complete their pet scheme with a trusted family member in a secure property than go through the trauma of the flight and then quarantine and then a new home- it's a lot to put any dog through, let alone an older one. Quarantine puts the dogs at further risk of unnecessary infection/disease.

I'm definitely with you on the quarantine issue. The risks to a pet in quarantine are higher than on a flight.

Cheryl,of course you're going to worry -- pets are part of the family and it's natural. But try and trust that most of the time it's OK and there are tons of people on this site alone who have successfully brought pets over. I've never regretted bringing my cat with me and would do it again in a heartbeat if necessary.

When will the airlines start valuing pets??

Unfortunately, I think the airlines (the corporations) primarily value their bottom line & filling the pockets of their CEOs...not our pets, not ourselves, not even the airline employees.  I'm pretty cynical as the family member of an airline employee.

Which is why watchdog (watchcat?) groups are so important.

I really, really appreciate all your suggestions and insights. It doesn't solve my problem, but sure helps. I think I will try to find a trusted friend to care for her for the two months and then get her on the plane. I didn't really think much about her exposure to infection etc. in the kennel. I was just selfishly thinking that I could visit her once a week. What kind of experience have you all had completing the pet scheme process - especially those of you who had moved before coming to the UK? Easy? Difficult? Did anyone use an agency that specializes in this service?

Cheryl

Dont know if this will help anyone but as on my other thread, I will be sailing over on the QM2 and they are now approved for the passport scheme. Completely temp controlled inside kennels. Its a six day journey and I havent worked out just what visitation yet ( they have sent me a package but it hasnt arived yet.) I got the last two kennels on the Nov trip but there was some still available for September and then again on next years journeys. Looks really expensive on the website but the prices are based on double occupancy per cabin. We called and actually got a quad room. DH and I and two teenagers in one room ( but how much time will we actually spend in the room anyway?) and two dogs. 886 per person for us and 500. per dog. We dont have to buy airline crates now and since I was terrified for my overly nervous dog being subjected to loud noises and temps on the tarmac then being loaded into a cargo hold where I couldnt see him ,I was going insane to put it mildly. Now I still have to deal with the separation which will be hard, but I will be leading him into his kennel and I know he will be safe and able to eat and drink whenever he wants. And I can check on him. I hope this will help someone else who is going through the same fears as I was about my dogs flying.