Weather Delays Happen—Even for Pets—Tips to Weather the Storms.  2023 has been peppered with weather-related airline delays so far. Pet parents traveling with their pets in the passenger cabin and pets relocating to their new homes in temperature-controlled air cargo areas can be delayed by weather.

“Generally, pets under 22 pounds (10 kgs.) may travel in the passenger cabin. Larger pets travel in air cargo,” advised Walter M. Woolf, VMD, founder and CEO of Air Animal Pet Movers. “Many U.S. and international airlines only accept pets for air cargo transport when air temperatures are between 45 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 27 degrees Celsius) at origin, all transit points and the destination. These regulations assure pet safety.”

As a result, airlines cancel flights when temperatures along the route are below or above this window. If that happens. Air Animal’s team works with their clients and the airlines to re-book flights. As with delayed flights for people, out-of-pocket expenses may be required.”

Blizzards, cold snaps, storms and heat waves can cause havoc with carefully planned and anticipated pet moves. “We do all we can to plan ahead, but piloting the planes and controlling the weather are beyond our service package.”

Weather Delay Tips

Passenger Cabin

• When traveling with a pet in the passenger cabin, reduce food intake the day before travel.
• Bring along a collapsible water bowl and a small bag of the pet’s favorite treats along with a leash.
• Offer water often between flights and treats sparingly to avoid messes in the flight kennel.
• Research locations for all Service Animal Relief Areas in each airport along the route.

Air Cargo

• For pets traveling air cargo, reduce food intake the day before travel.
• Freeze water in the flight kennel bowls and add them to the kennel at air cargo.
• Add a T-shirt used by the pet’s favorite person or small comfort blanket to the kennel.
• Add cut up newsprint or newspapers to pad the kennel and help absorb accidents.
• Pack a small bag of the pet’s favorite treats in the human’s carry-on to treat the pet for entering the kennel and to say hi at the destination.

Pets and flight kennels are not always clean when they arrive after long flights or weather delays. A quick, pre-planned trip to a local groomer is a good idea for longer post-flight car trips. We have more quick links for pet parents moving or traveling with their pets for the first time.

Pet Moving Made Easy® is our passion, our focus and our promise to you. Our pet move managers know the drill, the routine and use their experience to de-stress thousands of pet moves every year.

If you’re traveling or relocating with your pet you may feel you’ve got that down. But, do you know what you have to do to return to the U.S. with your pet? 

The United States Department of Agriculture policy is:

• Before leaving, pet parents must make sure their pets meet the requirements of the destination country and the United States if returning.
• Failure to meet the requirements may cause the pet to be refused entry.
• Health certificates must be legible, accurate, and complete.
• Taking a pet bird or exotic animal out of the United States may involve multiple agencies. You must meet ALL requirements for each agency before traveling or returning with a pet bird or exotic animal. 

Airlines establish their own policies for transporting pets. Check with your airline or shipping representative to determine their requirements.

For example, many countries only accept appropriately vaccinated, treated and certified dogs and cats. Many don’t accept rabbits from the United States because of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Virus.

Dogs originating from South Africa can only re-enter South Africa if the dog passed specific certified blood tests before leaving the country. Dogs originating from Australia can easily return from the United States if they were microchipped, vaccinated for rabies and passed a rabies antibody test before they left Australia. Those steps can waive the six-month Australian waiting period.

Birds are especially difficult to relocate because bird flu is spreading around the world. Because bird flu is very contagious, many airlines, countries and pet shippers do not accept birds. The USDA is working with other countries around the world to contain the spread. This is difficult because bird flu is largely spread by wild bird migration.

Before traveling or relocating with your pet, check our resource menu for your destination and complete our online request form. We’ll help you know before you go and make a plan.

Winston Churchill moved from Tennessee to the UK

Vaccinate Before You Go Overseas--Leptospirosis is emerging around the world. If your dog is infected it can cause kidney damage, liver failure and even death. Prevention is easy, according to Walter M. Woolf, VMD, veterinarian founder of Air Animal Pet Movers. Vaccination with a booster 14 days later prevents Leptospirosis and protects dogs for 12 months.

“Before traveling overseas with a dog, pet parents should direct their veterinarian to give the leptospirosis vaccine,” said Woolf. “This vaccination is really important for traveling dogs moving offshore. It’s not an emerging disease in the United States. That’s why some veterinarians will tell you that the jab is not needed.

“You don’t want to go overseas with your precious pet and have them become sick because they’ve walked in the woods, splashed in puddles or chased a squirrel through brush. If your veterinarian is reluctant, show them the links to the American Veterinary Medical Association leptospirosis information below,” Woolf said.

Air Animal Pet Movers has helped thousands of families relocate with their pets. They’ve also provided pet health certificates for thousands traveling with their small pets in the passenger cabin.

Leptospira organisms occur anywhere. They are more common in wooded areas and locales with warm climates and high annual rainfalls. Leptospirosis is rare in people. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control advises reducing potential exposure by:

• Avoiding swimming or wading in water that might be contaminated with animal urine.
• Wearing protective footwear when walking through the woods or near contaminated water and soil.

The American Veterinary Medical Association offers more information in English  and Spanish .

Special note: If you live in an area inside the U.S. that has experienced flooding, you should vaccinate your dog for leptospirosis.

While traveling with you pets, keep them safe from Leptospirosis by getting them vaccinated before you go.

Before you move or travel with your pet, you'll need a pet health certificate. 

Air Animal offers international pet health certificate services for:

• Pet parents traveling overseas "above the wing" in the passenger cabin with their small pet when permitted by the destination and airline.
• Pets traveling air cargo booked by their pet parent.
• Airline and cruise passengers traveling with trained service animals.
• Veterinary appointment required.

Air Animal offers domestic health certificate services for:

• Pet parents traveling from Tampa Bay and Central Florida to the Continental U.S., Alaska, Canada, Cuba, Hawaii, Mexico, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands as air cargo. We also work with those traveling with their pet "above the wing" in the passenger cabin and aboard private boats.
• We assist airline and cruise passengers traveling with trained service animals as well.
• Veterinary appointment at Air Animal Tampa offices required.

Puerto Rico changed several significant pet import rules effective May 1, 2023.

Review the new rules carefully. They affect all dogs and cats entering the territory. 

Different regulations apply to birds, exotic pets and all pets from other countries.

Dogs and cats that do not meet the regulations will be returned to the U.S. at the pet parents' expense.

Relocating to Australia for work or returning home from an American assignment just got tougher, advises Air Animal Pet Movers. “Plan ahead at least seven months because the new pet identity declarations have expanded the timeline,” said Walter M. Woolf, VMD, Air Animal CEO and founding veterinarian.

The new rules effective immediately require two pet identity declarations by two different U.S. Department of Agriculture-accredited veterinarians. Those declarations have to be sent to the USDA electronically. Then the USDA provides the pet identity declaration certificate. “Not all veterinarians are USDA-accredited. Setting up two veterinary appointments for a pet at the start of the process can be tough without guidance from the pet’s regular veterinarian or an experienced pet shipper.

“We’ve updated our Australia Resource page at airanimal.com to help people understand the 18 steps and how the process has to proceed,” Woolf said.

From the Air Animal Australia Resource page

1. Microchip the pet (if not previously microchipped).
2. Verify the rabies vaccinations.
3. Arrange two required identity pet examination/declarations by two different USDA-accredited veterinarians and obtain an identity declaration certificate.
4. Schedule a FAVN-OIE Rabies Antibody blood draw by a USDA-accredited veterinarian.
5. Schedule antigen tests for Leishmania, Brucella Canis and Leptospirosis (dogs only).
6. Submit the blood serums to an approved government laboratory.
7. Arrange for a USDA RNATT declaration by a USDA-accredited veterinarian.
8. Fulfill the requirements of the 180-day waiting period that follows step #7.
9. Secure a DAFF import permit which can take more than four months.
10. Book quarantine space in Melbourne, Australia. Pets that complete all Australian identity check steps, and pet parents who can prove their pets originated in Australia, are eligible for 10 days quarantine. All others will spend 30 days in quarantine.
11. Arrange for the approved external and internal parasite treatments.
12. Arrange a veterinary exam to apply for an international pet health certificate.
13. Obtain USDA endorsement and all Australian health documents.
14. Book a USA cross-country flight (if necessary).
15. Book Los Angeles transfer (if necessary).
16. Schedule the trans-Pacific flight.
17. Obtain an airline air cargo air waybill and check pet in for the international flight.
18. Pick up pet after quarantine or arrange for pick-up and residential delivery by an experienced pet transporter.

“Pet parents should always register with a local veterinarian in their new locale to keep their pets’ rabies vaccinations up to date. Veterinarians typically send reminder notices when vaccinations are due. If another move is in their future, they will be ready,” Woolf added.

Air Animal helped Mario, a corgi, relocate with his family from Florida to Australia.

A canine influenza outbreak is spreading across the southern  U.S.—Tennessee, Texas. South Carolina, Alabama and elsewhere. It can quickly spread around the world because more people now travel and relocate with their pets. Air Animal urges all dog parents to vaccinate their dogs against canine influenza before relocating, traveling or any visit outside the home.

“People take their dogs with them everywhere today,” warns Walter M. Woolf, VMD, founding veterinarian and CEO at Air Animal Pet Movers. “Going to the dog park, the veterinarian, the dog groomer or doggie daycare can expose your precious fur baby to canine influenza. Flu in dogs is potentially dangerous and very contagious. It does not currently pose a risk for people.”

Like flu in humans, canine influenza is spread through aerosols and respiratory droplets.

"Dog flu is easily prevented by vaccinating your dog with two doses of the canine flu vaccine,” Woolf explained. “Ask your veterinarian about the vaccine. The first shot provides partial immunity. The second shot given about two weeks later is a booster which gives stronger protection."

There are two types of canine influenza vaccines. Ask your veterinarian which she recommends.

• Zoetis – Vanguard CIV H3N2/H3N8 – 2 vaccinations, 3 weeks apart. Considered fully vaccinated 7 days after the second shot.
• Merck – Nobivac CIV H3N2/H3N8 – 2 vaccinations, 2 weeks apart. Considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the second shot.

For people relocating overseas with their dogs, New Zealand, Australia and other countries now require dog flu vaccination, according to Woolf. These countries usually accept a recent booster shot if the documents show full previous immunization and the booster administration date.

Dogs that come down with the flu develop fevers and coughs that last one to three weeks. Dog parents may notice decreased appetite, lethargy and a greenish discharge from the nose and eyes. Some dogs develop higher fevers and pneumonia. Severe dog flu cases cause death.

For people traveling or taking their dogs anywhere outside the home--especially to an overseas destination—canine flue vaccination is an ounce of prevention that really is better than a pound of cure.

Learn more about country requirements for importing pets by using the resource menu at airanimal.com.

Dogs are really social animals. They experience much of their world through their noses. Dog flu is passed by aerosols in the air from infected dogs—that why it is extremely contagious and potentially dangerous to your precious pup. Stop dog flu by getting your fur baby vaccinated.

Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union are popular relocation destinations. All have made or are considering significant pet import rule changes.

Australia is considering increasing it's 10-day pet quarantine to 30 days. They may also require 180-day minimum residency in the origin country. Both changes will goes into effect in 2023 if approved.

The UK and EU have both updated their rabies vaccination policies. To enter with a pet you must show proof of a current rabies vaccination:

• The first vaccination after microchipping or any lapse in coverage is a “primary” vaccination and only valid for one year under the new rules--even if the pet received a three-year vaccine.
• If the primary lapses—even by one day--you must start over.
• If your pet receives its booster before the primary lapses, it is valid for one to three years depending on the vaccine manufacturer’s instructions.
• Pet parents are required to prove there was no lapse in rabies vaccination coverage since the primary vaccination.