Help with Travel?

[Deleted]

I KNOW, that's the pathetic part!

[lorelei0922]

Hi... i have shipped ferrets from the UK to the US and we have different rules... however i can shed a bit of light on United Petsafe program if you like.

None of the airlines are going to let you take him cabin side. Really we've looked and looked and its just not happening anymore, not for ferrets.

United has a separate program they use to facilitate pets. Domestically (within the US) you can book with them directly. You give the ferret an appropriate IATA approved carrier with food and a water bottle for the flight. Absorbent bedding ( not a hammock sorry ). The smaller the carrier is actually better ( less chance of turbulence tossing them about) Then you take the ferret to the airport with you... obviously make sure you're booked to the same flight!! you'll do that separately.

Now at the animal check in desk, or regular check in desk depending on airport and time of day etc... they fill in the forms and mark the carrier with stickers... live animals etc.. most will give you cable ties ( but bring your own in case! Now... cable tie that sucker SHUT.. no chance of the little one gettin out ever! Not only does this give THEM piece of mind.. it gives YOU piece of mind.. no one is going to open YOUR carrier!! ( unless its an emergency of course they will open and handle any problems ) You can also write in viscous big letters on one of the stickers.. THIS ANIMAL BITES!!!! hehe... regardless if he would or not.. it keeps curious handlers from poking fingers in ...

Now ... its the nervous time to leave your ferret.. yeah that sucks... but i can tell you what happens behind the scenes.

You have to drop them off well before the flight, before you can check in yourself really. But the handling team take them to the animal center and ferrets are placed in what they call "the quiet room" its for small animals who may get nervous. Its cool and dark and there wont be any barking dogs making them skitty... ( the dark helps calm them down too ... likely he'll be off to sleep by this time no worries.

When it comes time to board the plane.. make a fuss ... Tell them you have a ferret boarding this flight and want to be SURE its boarded. The captain is informed of all animals travelling with them and the stewards can tell you WHEN the animal is loaded. Depending on the loading procedure you may be able to watch as they load the crate... they ARE careful! But otherwise Insist that the stewards CHECK well before they start to taxi that the ferret is safely aboard.

United does a direct delivery system, they dont bring the pets out until the plane is ready to recieve them, meaning they wont end up sitting in the sun on the tarmac. ( you flying in the winter this wont be a problem.. but its nice to know.) Many of their larger hubs use AC'd Vans for this portion of the transport.

But you say.. YIKES what about riding in ( Cargo? ) Well animals with United fly in a special hold. They call this Hold 5. It is dark ( this helps keep all the animals quieter and calmer) But it is temperature and Pressure controlled just like the passenger cabin. Each crate is secured, they wont be tossed around at all.

Now you're thinking but i want them with ME!!! Animals that CAN travel in the cabin must remain in a carrier at all times. This carrier must be able to fit UNDER the seat... Dont know about you.. but my FEET barely fit UNDER those seats. Trust me they fly more comfortably in a proper carrier with lots of nice padding and food and water than under your feet with you. If you're nearby they will hear you.. and then want out ... and you cant let them.. and then they scratch away and get frustrated ... naa.. better off in the cool dark hold 5 where they can sleep the journey easier and with more room than you lol

Now you arrive at your destination.. or indeed a stop over... if its a stop over.. make a nuisance of yourself.. ask the steward ask the desk.. insist on knowing where your ferrets are and making sure they get to the animal center ( if you have a stop over they will refill water bottles for you at that point) Make them Call and check on them with you standing there.. i was able to talk to the man who was indeed filling a water bottle as i spoke to him lol.

If its your final destination, make sure you know where to go to collect... when we landed in Columbus it was just go to the desk at baggage collection and give them the waybill number.. they'll send someone out with the ferret. easy...

our last trip was with 14 kits, 16 weeks old... They were in their crate far smaller than i would have liked but safer all in all for 21 hours from putting them in to letting them out at the hotel... Really they looked FAR better than i did! They bounced out happy and whole.. had a ragged 20 min run round the play pen then curled up together and slept the night away lol

Hope this helps you understand the process a bit .. and make a decision that works for you!

[Deleted]

Oh my goodness, this helps me SO much. United airlines? I'm going to call them today. This gives me the peace of mind I needed.

[Sherry]

Lorelei- thank you for posting this! I'm going to copy and paste this post into the appropriate section for traveling with ferrets

[Deleted]

Have you thought about taking a train? it will take longer but Amtrak lets you have your pet with you. I have never taken a train, but it sounds like fun. Unless your family lives in NYC where they are illegal, it might be an option.

[Deleted]

Seriously thanks again! I got us both booked to travel on the same plane and they were so helpful and good about it, I know he's going to be just fine. They have an amazing program and I am so grateful you told me about it.

I did look into trains but the cost was very high without factoring pets in! Plus it was a 2 day trip basically

[Deleted]

Yeah, I figured it would take too long.

[Deleted]

I don't think this will help you but you can't take any animal on the Grayhound but my Doctor signed something saying I needed my ferret with me for stress and anxiety reasons and they can't say no to someone with a motional distress animal. Also, my freind had her dog sitting on her lap on the airline because she has the same paper I do.

[Deleted]

So far I'm perfectly happy with my flight but you know, I will keep that in mind when I have to go shorter distances. I have autism, so I'll bet that could work for me too!

[Sherry]

I did look into train travel once when I had to travel with a dog. The logistics weren't much of a problem since every time the train stopped I'd have been able to quickly walk the dog. However she'd have had to remain in her crate in the storage car the entire time. Pets weren't allowed into the passenger cars at all.

[Deleted]

I have traveled many times with ferrets. Back and forth between Texas and Arizona, helped out with ferrets across America a few times heck one year we traveled with ferrets and a rooster to Texas was quite a trip. Took the rooster out to my moms farm he was a city rooster had never seen other chickens before. He thought he was a dog. His name was Henry and he ruled the back yard and played with the dogs and cats and the ferrets. We took the ferrets because Fiona was old and blind and needed medication several times a day so we also had to bring her mate and another just for. We were in a Toyota sienna and turned the whole back end into traveling cage along with frequent stops they sleep mostly and ride up front with us and play

[Deleted]

Aug 13, 2013 20:24:12 GMT -5 @henryqueue said:

Oh haha, now she has two messages! I messaged too.

Yeah, cargo makes me nervous too, only because he's so small and I just feel like he'd be nervous. I'm thinking of being the person who tells the family I'm not going (though i know they'll be upset, but personally he's of utmost importance to me before their stuff).

Sorry I've been MIA for the summer, I just sent you a PM if you have any other questions feel free to ask. For everyone concerned with wellfare, WestJet Cargo does ship a LOT of pets. Each time I've been picking up Rolo, I've been waiting with people picking up their purebred kittens/puppies from whichever breeder etc.

One couple was there waiting for their cat that had been delayed due to vaccinations/records issues when they immigrated, and their cat was just fine coming off a 14h flight. There was also a girl once being reunited with her dog that had also had import issues after moving to canada as well.


So yeah, they ship pets regularly, and I've never heard of any pets dying in their care. I still think there are some individuals that work there who really don't care at all about the pets and urine me off sometimes when I have to fly, but my experiences have been mostly positive with the shipping companies themselves.