From: megm@sco.COM (Meg McRoberts)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Need information about shipping a live animal
Keywords: Safe safe safe!
Date: Tue, 07 Apr 92 17:18:46 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.


In article <1992Apr3.134128.11378@cbnewsk.cb.att.com> king@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (joyce.l.king) writes:
==> 
==> Does anyone know how to ship a live animal from one place to another,
==> namely Indianapolis to Madison, Wisconsin?  I need a SAFE method of
==> shipping a ferret in a cage.

i take it you want to send the ferret alone, unaccompanied?  the
safest way would be to fly yourself and take your ferret with you
on-board.  a lot of airlines that allow in-cabin dogs and cats
do not allow any exotics in the cabin, but there are exceptions.
i know TWA allows rabbits in the cabin, so my guess is they also
allow ferrets, but you might have to fly through St. Louis, in
which case it might be just as fast to just drive.  and be prepared
for not being able to get the flight you want -- when we shipped
our rabbit to San Francisco to Miami, we called 2 minutes after
the cargo flight opened up to get the reservation, only to find
out that the US Mail service was using the entire cargo area for
that flight.

you can also ship animals cargo.  call the individual airlines
to get their specifics, but generally you can only make a reservation
2-4 days ahead of time.  the animal has to be brought to the air cargo
area two hours before takeoff and can be claimed about two hours after
they arrive (those are the rules -- it seems you can often get the
animal sooner, but you have to be prepared to sit and wait).

if at all possible, put the animal on a non-stop flight, or at
least one where there is no plane change.  if the animal has to
change planes, you need to have a two-hour window between when
the first plane lands and the second departs.

the animal needs to have a health certificate issued within ten
days of the beginning of the trip.  this is a simple little form
your vet fills out with history of immunizations, and a statement
that, to the best of the vet's knowledge, the animal is healthy
enough to travel.  you need several copies of that, including one
to attach to the animal's carrier.

to attach papers to the animal's carrier, we got some of those
sticky clear envelopes Federal Express uses.  if you stop at
Fed Ex, they'll give them to you free.  i don't know anywhere
else to get them and they wouldn't let me pay for them.  in the
same envelope, attach names and phone numbers for lots of people,
so if there is an emergency they'll be sure to find someone at
the phone.

other information is probably species-specific.  for animals who
can go without food for the length of the trip, you don't need
to put food in the carrier, although it's a good idea to attach
a small container of food to the outside just in case something
goes haywire -- the airline personnel will ask your permission,
but if they have the food you can just tell them to give it to
the animal.  water is difficult -- it spills and all, even if
you use a water bottle or something.  for the rabbit, we put
in fresh vegetables and fruits, which provided enough liquid
to prevent dehydration without causing a spill.

the things that can go wrong are the big risk here -- if all
goes according to plan, the animal arrives at the other end
on time, possibly a bit annoyed, but basically none the worse
for wear.

if i can provide further assistance, write to me.
meg mcroberts
uunet!sco!megm