From:    Anonymous Poster <[log in to unmask]>
...I would also like to ask Mr. Goins of Little Rock if he could be a little
more specific on his recommendations against flying pets in the cargo hold.
>Mr. Goins, is this based on your first hand knowledge and experience?  If
>so, could you tell us a little bit more?  Also, what was your experience in
>coming into a California airport?  Try as I may, I cannot seem to word these
>questions so that they don't sound rude.  I really don't mean it that way...
 
No offense taken.  That's what's so great about the FML -- it gives us a
chance to exchange ideas in open forum.
 
I hope no one took my post to mean that flying pets in cargo is an automatic
death sentence.  It's not.  Most of the time, things go without a hitch.  On
the other hand, if the weather is extremely hot or cold, a pet can be left
on the tarmac in terrible weather while waiting on a connecting flight or
waiting for other baggage to be loaded.  I've seen this many times from the
window of the airplane, and on a couple of occasions I've notified the
captain, even when it was obvious the pet was to be loaded on the plane next
to mine.
 
The airlines will always pressurize the cargo hold if an animal is in there,
but I have heard of a few times when the paperwork got screwed up and the
captain didn't know.  True, it's a long shot, but it does happen.  That's
why I recommend Delta Dash or one of the other priority cargo methods.  More
expensive, but the margin for error is greatly reduced and there is no
sitting on the hot/cold tarmac.
 
As for California, I have no personal experience with that as (fortunately)
I've never had to fly a fuzzbean into a California airport.  But I do have
friends who have had bad experiences trying to do so.
 
And on that note, here's wishing all you wonderful California ferret folks
the best of luck in getting fuzzbeans legalized!
 
C.B. and Maximilian
[Posted in FML issue 1893]