Air Animal

Know Before You Go

aanimal — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 09:43:09 +0000

Case History: South Afrikaners enjoy vacationing in Florida and wish to bring their family pet dogs with them on “holiday” to the Sunshine State.

Transporting a pet dog from either Cape Town or Johannesburg is relatively simple with direct service via Delta, Lufthansa, and British Airways. All that is needed by the vacationing Afrikaner is to have their local veterinary surgeon in South Africa issue an international health certificate within 7 days of travel showing evidence of a Rabies immunization at least 30 days prior to US entry and not more than one year prior to entry.

The pets travel as accompanied baggage in the pressurized and temperature controlled holds of the aircraft from South Africa to the US, with Orlando, Florida as their frequent destination.

As of this date, there is no requirement for microchip identification to enter the USA; yet pets entering and/or returning to South Africa require microchip identification.

When the pet owner looks at their return to South Africa after the visit to the family or simply having a Florida holiday, the pet owner encounters the following scenario, much to their chagrin and consternation.

An import permit is required by the South African Dept. of Agriculture, blood samples are required to test for five (5) different diseases within 30 days of entry into South Africa, a health certificate is required to be issued within 10 days of flight, the four page document requiring USDA export endorsement, and most importantly, all live animal shipments entering South Africa are required to fly as manifest and booked air cargo, rather than as accompanied baggage as they did from South Africa to the USA.

Air Animal

Out of the Chaos in Libya,a reunion in Cancun, Mexico

aanimal — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:21:10 +0000

Moving the Yorkshire Terrier from the Houston area in December, 2010 to Tripoli, Libya was easily accomplished for the oil company executive. With flights from Houston

Pet Travel Advisory

aanimal — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:18:22 +0000

Pet Travel Advisory

Prepare Your Dog for Summer Vacation

aanimal — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:06:51 +0000

Summer is a time when many families make plans to visit the beach, mountains or one of our nation’s expansive amusement parks for a few days or weeks of family time. If your family includes a dog, take a few extra steps to ensure the trip is fun for everyone, including your furry friend.

Caesar Milan, star of the National Geographic channel’s The Dog Whisperer, encourages dog owners to plan ahead to keep anxiety levels low for everyone. If you

7 Tips for Summer Pet Safety

aanimal — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:22:55 +0000

When you think of long summer days, do visions of boating, barbeques and beach outings come to mind? It

7 Tips for Acclimating Your Dog to a New Home

aanimal — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:06:37 +0000

Sure, moving into a new home can be very exciting. But even under the best circumstances, leaving behind familiar surroundings and friends can also be a bit stressful. When the move is one that takes you across state lines or national borders, additional adjustments are needed. If you own a dog, you’ll want to take steps to ensure the transition goes smoothly for him as well. Here are some tips to help, but in general if you think in terms of continuity and positive reinforcement it will ease your canine companion’s adjustment.

New Home Tips for Dogs

To help with transition challenges, keep your dog in a secure carrier in a quiet area on moving day.
Bring along a good supply of your pet’s food and treats. They may not be readily available in your new location.
Maintain the same feeding and exercise schedule. Place the feeding station and toys in locations as similar to the old ones as possible.
Introduce your furry friend to the new neighbors and neighborhood. Taking short frequent walks in the new neighborhood accompanied with lots of praise and treats will increase his confidence and security. Coach neighbors to approach your dog gingerly and with praise. They’ll need to allow him to sniff them before they attempt to pet him. Let them reward him with treats for positive interactions.
Stay home a few days before going off to work and pay extra attention to your pet. He will adjust more quickly and feel more comfortable in his new home.
Use part of those days to get established with a new veterinarian before you need one. Ask your former veterinarian for a recommendation if possible. You can also consult your new pet-owning neighbors for guidance on this important decision.
If you will be gone during the day, hire a dog walker so your pet can get exercise and stimulation in your absence. Don

10 Tips For a Pet-Friendly Road Trip

aanimal — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:20:25 +0000

Summer is a time when many Americans pack their car and hit the road in search of precious family time, relaxation and fun. If you plan to bring along a four-legged member of your family as you see the USA by car, a little planning can go a long way toward making it safe, comfortable and fun for you and your pet.

There is more to traveling with a pet than loading the animal into the back seat and putting the car in drive

A Dog-Friendly Vacation is a Click Away

aanimal — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:51:06 +0000

Why place your dog in a kennel or with a friend when you can take your furry friend along on summer vacation? The internet is packed with resources to help you select the perfect destination and accommodations so you and your canine companion can have a great time. Whether you plan to travel by car, plane, boat or train, all it takes is a little homework to put the daily grind behind you and switch to vacation mode.

Where To?

Start by choosing a pet-friendly destination. Whether you want to enjoy ocean breezes, hike mountain trails, entrench yourself in history or take a bite of the Big Apple, there are oodles of dog-loving options to choose from. Dogfriendly.com lists the Top 10 dog-friendly destinations in the U.S. as:

San Diego
Portland
Austin
Northern Virginia
San Francisco
Boston
Orlando
Salt Lake City
Charleston
New York

The site also provides a guide to other pet-loving U.S. and Canadian cities. You

Mobile app for Air Animal

aanimal — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:03:36 +0000

Here at Air Animal we are constantly growing and changing our business to meet the needs of our relocating pet owners. This includes tailoring our services to meet the changes in today’s relocating families and matching those needs with the many airlines and partner services involved in relocating your family pets.

In the world of social media, we have actively embraced Facebook and Twitter into our many ways of building a deeper relationship with customers and communicating with them.

One of the more recent ways many businesses like ours connects with customers is through the use of apps. Whether it’s on a smartphone (iPhone, Android) , tablet (iPad or Xoom) and even iTouches, apps can provide valuable tools to our customer or even lighthearted distractions, like games.

We’ve been considering developing an app for our customers and rather than decide in a vacuum, thought it would be more better received if we asked you for recommendations. So

aanimal — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:33:26 +0000

’twas the night before Christmas a the Air Animal “house”, not a creature was stirring, not Dr Woolf nor his spouse.

The phones were all quiet, not a sound did they make, Pattie & Suzanne were caught up with web inquiry intakes.

Traci was delighted & shouted with glee, “all my pets are where they belong, and no one’s stuck in Tripoli.”

Cathy & Gladys were busy with queries that said: “can you send all of my 24 pets, to arrive tomorrow instead?”

When up on the roof top there arose such a clatter, Dr Woolf & Cory ran out, to see what was the matter.

When what to their wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, all tired and sick; they looked at each other, “Could this be St. Nick?”

His sleigh was all tattered, his reindeer too tired, (This old fell looked like he should be retired.)

He hopped off the roof top & pleaded his case, The flu had overcome him; you could see it in his face.

“I’m, through with my deliveries, & am sick as a dog, I can’t drive my sleigh home; my head’s in a fog.”

“I’m hopping a Jet Blue flight home, but they won’t take reindeer, Doctor, can you please send them? I can’t leave them here!”

“This request is unusual, one we’ve not had before, We normally send cats & dogs, not reindeer that soar”.

“Can’t we make an exception?”, Cory pleaded with flair, “We can call them “mixed breeds”, and send them by air!”

“By golly that might work!, Dr Woolf whispered aloud, It’ll take the whole team working together, let’s make Santa proud”.

So a plot was devised, everyone took their positions, Working fast was the plan to complete Santa’s mission.

Cathy & Gladys assembled flight kennels, with fear, “Can we really pull off shipping eight (8) tiny reindeer?”

Traci worked her magic, routing a flight to the North Pole, That would take the 8 tiny flight kennels; not routing through Seoul.

Sue & Kim started typing, flight documents with speed, so all of Santa’s reindeer would be labeled, indeed.

Pattie & Suzanne typed health documents,cleverly created, DR Woolf agreed “Mixed Breed” is what should be stated.

“We’ll disguise them; have to hide the, – oh they can’t look like that!”
Cory said “We need to turn them into dogs right off the bat!”

Kim & Jesa were in awe, at the craziness they saw, Asking “Isn’t disguising reindeer kinda against the law?”

While Dasher & Dancer were coughing & hacking, Prancer & Vixen craved the attention they were lacking.

Comet & Cupid were still & quiet as could be, Donner & Blitzen stuck their noses out to see.

“Let’s get these reindeer out of here before the evening is through! These reindeer are noisy!”, said Linda, “Who knew?”

They disguised each small animal to not look like a reindeer, covering antler’s with stockings to resemble a dog’s ear.

So off to the airport all 8 reindeer were sent, each one in a kennel – disguised as dogs, they went.

The airport staff, a bustle; working through the noise & cold,All to busy to notice the strange “dogs”they started to load.

All the staff at Air Animal, breathed a sigh of relief, By Golly, the plan worked, and without any grief!

Dr Woolf was proud, another mission complete!
He waved at Santa who sitting in his Jet Blue airline seat.

And he heard him exclaim as the flew out of sight, “Merry Christmas to all, and to Air Animal – a good night !”

Created by: Pattie Barlow, Intake Specialist, Air Animal Pet Movers, Tampa, Florida, 04 December 2010