HELP! Getting a Pug dog to Hawaii-(short or snub nosed breed) (Honolulu: transporting, buy) - (HI) - City-Data Forum

katiem8 · 09-22-2009, 01:54 PM

I am planning on moving to Honolulu next May and would love to be able to bring my Pug with me. I have looked at the quarantine procedures and am in the process of starting all of that with my vet. I know that will be a VERY complicated process so I am starting in now. My issue is that my dog is a short or snub nosed breed and because of this they are prone to breathing problems and are more difficult to fly. My dog is 2 years old and in great health no issues. But United & American Airlines will not take a pug between June 1st and Sept 30th or any other time of the year if the forecasted high on the day of travel in Honolulu or leaving from Cali is over 85 degrees F. I need some advice on how to handle this. I could beat the June 1st dealine but the temperature issue seems to be a hassle. I could leave her with my parents and bring her later in the year if it would be cool enough, pheraps Dec/Jan? But I would love to have her with me as a comfort when I move in May. PLEASE HELP! ANY advice or suggestions of who to fly or anyone to call for help would be greatly appreciated!

timbo31958 · 09-22-2009, 02:19 PM

I had my pit bull shipped and ran into the same problems but the air cargo office will check the weather forcast window for 1 week at a time I think. I had to have her shipped a week earlier than expected not because of heat but cold. Since you are starting the process you will have plenty of time to get it all worked out.

katiem8 · 09-22-2009, 02:34 PM

I didn't think the cold would be an issue for Cali to Hawaii. What month did you send your pitbull?

timbo31958 · 09-22-2009, 03:35 PM

she was shipped from Ky. back March of last year. They said they couldnt ship if below 60 degrees. But we got her over here safe and sound.

shuttle713 · 09-23-2009, 06:01 AM

I have a pug and am all too familiar with the temp req. I've moved around a lot over the past few years and understand what you mean about wanting your dog with you for comfort. Most of the time, I try to put her underneath the plane, but mainly because I want to transport her larger hard kennel as well. Twice (due to temps), I used a soft carrier to bring her in the cabin and "stowed" her under the seat. You can buy a special soft carrier that is approved by the airlines...pretty sure the brand I use is "Sherpa", but there are a few. Check your airlines and they will be able to tell you the dimensions of the in-cabin kennel they allow. I have to sedate my dog when she travels because she is a barker, regardless of where she is. Once the drugs kick in, she just lies down and is calm. Most airlines have a req that the dog must be able to stand up, turn around and do jumping jacks in the carrier, but none have ever asked me to prove that. My pug can stand if she wants to, but there's no extra head room. She isn't very stocky so she is very comfortable in her soft kennel and can lie down just fine. The dogs are not allowed out of the carrier during flight so make sure before you fly that the dog would be comfortable for a few hours and has enough room to wiggle around.

Some airlines (like Continental) do not even allow pets to fly to Hawaii, so make sure to double check that. Also, the health certificate can be no more than 10 days old, so if your parents bring your dog over, they will need to get the certificate themselves.

Hope this helps at least give you an option. Good luck!

katiem8 · 09-23-2009, 08:57 AM

I have not been able to find an airline yet that will let you bring a dog in the cabin for the trip to hawaii. She can fly from Chicago to LA in the cabin w/ me, but then the issue is getting her from LA to hawaii. I am going to call all the airline this afternoon and see if what they say but this is sooo stressful! I am taking her to the vet on monday to get everything rolling for the quarantine process. I think between the vet & myself we finally have a decent handle on the timline for everything at least. Thanks for your help shuttle & timbo!

PacificFlights · 09-23-2009, 02:05 PM

Katiem8, there are no airlines that currently allows pets in the cabin between the mainland and Hawaii. Due to HI quarantine regulations, airlines will need to take certain steps to comply with HI regs at the very time when the cabin staff needs to be dealing with a whole bunch of other issues. Because of issues in the past with passengers, airlines have simply decided its not worth the hassel with passengers and their pets during landing.

As for the heat restrictions, this was implemented for the safety of the animal and airlines generally won't violate it. There are 2 other options. You can use a breeder to ship the dog. Breeders are not covered by the regs. The second option is to use an airline with a pet travel program such as Continental. Continental may have restrictions on breed and temp, but their program was designed to remove the core problems that required the breed & temp restrictions.

Otherwise, you'll just have to wait until the temperature is lower.

Shuttle713 - Hawaii is not like transporting pets within the mainland of the US. A Health certificate alone without all the other HIDoA paperwork will result in a 120 day quarantine in Honolulu. Airlines restrict in-cabin animals due to problems with passenegers and complying with the regs. Continental does fly pets to Hawaii everyday in cargo, they will not allow them in the cabin.

katiem8 · 09-23-2009, 03:16 PM

I've already started the process to get everything together on time so she won't have to sit in quarantine and she can be direct released so I'll be ok with that. I have looked at continental and they seemed like the most viable option. They have a June 1st-Sept 30th restriction on the breed, which I understand is for their health. I was more wondering if anyone had flown a pug (or any short nosed breed) to Hawaii in the middle of May? If it was doable temperature wise. I've resigned myself that she will be flying with the baggage but I figure it will be fine because people do that everyday no problems. I have read that I should take a redeye flight out of denver or seatlle to keep the temperature down (must be below 75) but was wondering what the temperature in Honolulu is like at 6AM in the middle of May? It must be below 75 there as well.

The breeder is a good option, I will have to look into that. Thanks PacificFlights!

ILoveLucy · 09-23-2009, 06:18 PM

We flew 3 dogs in cargo, one was a Shih tzu, from Phoenix to Honolulu in December on Hawaiian. They were awesome! When we went to pick them up at the airport none of them looked stressed at all. In fact they were just lying in their kennels like "No, big deal!" If you have to connect just make sure during May it isn't anywhere like Phoenix. Too hot. We loved Hawaiian!

tworent · 09-23-2009, 06:43 PM

I have a pug and would never put it cargo I just buy a seat for the dog no problems