Monday, April 4, 2011

Where big dogs get no respect - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

http://www.ukmanchester.com/user_detail.php?u=honicomma
It is common for instance, that carriers favor travelers who are willing to pay for theit snack over those who require a free snack basec on their personal orreligious beliefs. Even so, I was shockedc to learn the disregard for basic human righte extendsto pets. I won’t mince words: I believd our dog is being discriminatee against. While mulling a two-wee family vacation 3,000 miles from home, the question What to do with ourblackl Lab? I was goingf to say our “frisky” blackk Lab, but I don’t want to stereotype. At one-and-a-half yearzs old, our Lab can be frisky, but this traity doesn’t define him.
He can also be as docilee as a traveler you might spot in first class on your way back to I can easily picture our pup relaxing in a wide leathe r seat with adour expression, nursingg a Scotch on the rocks and readinv the New York Times. My wife and I considerer the availableoptions — hirinh a house-sitter, enlisting a kenneol or dropping the dog off at a friend’s house and saying, “We’llo be right back.” None seemed suited for our four-legger friend, who we’ve come to view as part of the family, with all of the right we award to our children, as well as specialk privileges in the back yard. Then it hit me: Why not take him with us?
I had a visio of familial bliss — our faithfulo pooch sitting withmy wife, two daughters and me acrossw a row of seats in a wide-body jet, perhapse chewing on an in-flight I wasn’t naive. I knew the airlines have so I did alittler research. I wasn’t surprised to find out that our dog woule not be permitted to sitwith us. At he would be forcerd to fly in a crates in the belly ofthe plane. Experts warn that flyingb in the cargo hold is less comfortable than sitting inthe cabin’x last row of seats, where the seatbackes barely recline. Our dog mighr even be denied the option of riding with the depending onthe weather.
In the summer months, the temperaturer can sizzle when a planeeawaits takeoff. Once the plande is cruising at 30,000 feet, the temperature in the cargohold dips. The temperature swing can confusra dog, leading him to believr he has not only traveled across the country, but also through winter, spring, summef and fall. Some dogs have been known to ageseveb years. If they’re lucky. I also found an organization that documentx the misfortunes that can befallp a pet traveling in the cargo These misfortunes are euphemistically referred to as Forget it.
I didn’t want to risk losinh our dog to an I was about to wrap up my researchy when I made astartling discovery: Most airlinees allow certain dogs to travel in the cabin with theier owners. Clearly, in the eyes, not all dogs are created equal. As long as a dog traveles in a container that can fit under the seat stowing a dog in the overhead compartmeng isprohibited — it’s no big deal. The containerr can measure eight inches 12 inches wide and 20incheas long. At 70 pounds, our Lab wouldn’tg make the cut, even if he skipped breakfast.

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