I will definitly ask them to put ours as close as possible to eachother. They will probably just sleep after they get settled a bit. About these food and water things, how does that work?? I looked at Petco the other day and didn't see any that had a food or water dish with them. Nor did I see one that would stand up to a long distance haul like this.
For water, I bought bottles that resemble the ones used in hamster cages, only for small dogs instead (I think it was a half-litre bottle) - you know, the ones with metal spouts that only drip if the animal licks or sucks at it? They clamp on to the outside of the door and the spout sticks through the door into the crate, so there's access. We didn't fill ours up until we checked them in at BA World Cargo in Atlanta, because ours did leak a bit.
Food-wise, they're not actually allowed food during the trip - it's not good for them - so what they really want is one of those molded plastic bowls that clips on to the wire mesh door, for when they land in the UK and can be fed.
IATA is what you want to look for because it is the group that approves international airline crates for pets. The ones Meg posted are IATA approved.
Yep - strangely enough, I never once found an actual "IATA approved" label on any of the carriers I looked at, but Petmate was recommended to me by the airline, so that's what I went for.
