Dog Jaunt

Feb 28 2013

Reader’s report: Flying with two dogs in a divided carrier; vacationing in Fort Myers/Naples

In one of those twists of fate, I got a message from a reader asking about traveling with two Pomeranians at once, in a divided bag — and at nearly the same time, reader Debra posted several messages on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page about her recent trip to the Fort Myers/Naples part of Florida with her dogs Raisin and Mia, in a divided large SturdiBag. How lucky is that? I knew there were issues with traveling with multiple pets in the same in-cabin carrier — take a look at the “pets per passenger” column of this Dog Jaunt guide to U.S. airline policies and you’ll see what I mean — but on the rare occasions when we’ve traveled with two pets, we’ve put them in two carriers.

Here’s what I’ve learned from Debra. First, her pups both weigh about 8.5 lbs., and they’re about 2 years old. They’re a “fairly new hybrid called Mexican Frenchies…French Bulldog x Chihuahua. Very sturdy and not afraid or excitable. I take them to nursing homes and hospitals.”

Mia and Raisin on the beach in Florida

After reading Dog Jaunt posts praising the large SturdiBag, Debra bought one, but she chose a divided bag, so the pups would travel together, but still have space to themselves (they’re sisters, she explained recently, and sometimes they pull each other’s hair). She planned to travel either on U.S. Air or United, she told me, and what did I think? I expressed concern, and urged her to ask several people at each airline, and take extensive notes from her conversations, in case she ran into a problem with the ticketing agents. Sure enough, one of her messages reported that she had “been told 3 different things. I just called U.S. Airways and was told that they had to be from same litter and under 20 lbs.”

She decided to fly on United, and prepared in advance for possible problems: “I’m going to use another carrier as a carry on just to be on the safe side.” More details: “Not knowing if the airline, would let us keep them in one, we used another bag as our carry on. It was full of ‘stuff,’ I had an empty flat fold up bag inside of it also just in case we needed to empty it and use it for one of the dogs.”

When she weighed her pups in their carrier, the scale said 21.5 lbs. Although United’s website does not provided a maximum weight (and neither does U.S. Air’s) for in-cabin carriers, Debra had apparently been told that 20 lbs. was the limit. She did her best to trim ounces by moving “pads, shoulder straps, tags, etc. into my carry-on (their extra bag, just in case)!” In fact, though, “no one weighed them.”

So what happened? “On our first flight, the ticket agent made us separate them, so we did use both bags. The rest of the flights there was no issue flying them together. Better be safe and prepared than sorry!” More details: “The first ticket agent checked the policies and asked if they were under 6 mos. I was afraid to push it so I told the truth. I don’t think he would have questioned my answers, he didn’t look in or check. We moved them back into the same bag in flight, because they kept each other calm. No problems on the way home, we were only charged for one, no questions and the airline personnel got them out to ooh and ahh over them. Live and learn. We will always use the extra bag as a carry-on, just in case.”

Raisin, on the left, and Mia, lying down, in their large SturdiBag divided carrier, on a United Embraer 175

Raisin and Mia together in their large SturdiBag divided carrier, on a United Embraer 175

How did the size work for her two pups? The large SturdiBag was marginal, says Debra: “It’s a great bag, but limited (obviously) in size. I would have preferred the extra large, but because of size limitations I was a little skeptical of trying to get by with it.” In a later message, she told me the bag was “at the limit of size that I would put them in. Raisin actually slept like that picture on the flight, Mia finally would get comfortable with the zipper open. I discreetly hid them with the little table and my shawl.”

And was all the effort worth it? The pups’ first flight was, after all, their first flight: “Flying was an experience and one which we are glad to have under our belt, but the airport personnel were so happy to have us around, all loved seeing the girls and had fun questions and comments. [The pups] were better on the way home and I suspect each flight will be easier for them.” The vacation itself sounds like a total delight, and Debra could not have been more positive about it: “Our doggie vacation was a huge success…Ft. Myers, Naples, etc. are welcoming to dog guests. We can’t say enough about the locals, beach and restaurants being dog friendly. Really amazing, actually.” And check out her pictures:

One of her post titles says it all (“So sad to leave!”), but in a later message she told me that her kids are grown, and she and her husband are planning to travel a lot with Raisin and Mia. I’m loving her final comment (“Can’t wait for my hubby and the girls to go again!”), but I also love her care in researching and preparing for the trip, and for her excellent tip about carrying an extra dog carrier, just in case. Thank you so much, Debby, for the pictures, for the details about how you made the trip work for you and your pups, and for your wonderful enthusiasm! Please note that I’m adding the in-flight picture to Dog Jaunt’s growing collection of pictures of carriers under plane seats (see “Pictures of carriers on planes,” in the sidebar), for use by travelers while planning or while negotiating your way past airline agents.

Feb 27 2013

Dog travel of yesteryear: My search for the kennel on the Queen Mary

After (naturally, after) the last time I visited the Queen Mary, a glorious Cunard ocean liner that sailed from 1936 to 1967 and is now permanently moored in Long Beach, CA, I found a site that provides the original deck plans for the various levels of the ship, along with plans of the ship as it’s now configured. I noticed that the Queen Mary’s dog kennel was located on the Sports Deck, just in front of the second funnel:

Original plan of the Queen Mary's Sports Deck (detail of the area below the second funnel, forward to just behind the first funnel)

Original plan of the Queen Mary’s Sports Deck (detail of the area below the second funnel, at left, forward to just behind the first funnel)

These days, the Queen Mary 2 is the only cruise ship that allows pets on board — but as on the Queen Mary, your pet must live in the ship’s kennel for the duration of the voyage. My colleagues at The Road Unleashed wrote a couple of great, detailed posts about how that works, and indeed, it sounds like it works pretty darned well, all things considered.

I wanted to see the kennel on the older ship, or at least see where it had been, especially since many of the glamour shots of the ship’s heyday are of celebrities traveling with their dogs [for example, do an Images search on Google for “windsor ‘queen mary’ ship dog,” and you’ll see a couple of (copyright protected) pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor sitting on the steps of one of the ship’s staircases, with two of their Pugs]. The TED conference brought us back to Long Beach, and today I stuck Chloe in her stealth messenger bag (dogs are not allowed on board, but the self-guided walking tour is largely outdoors, so I did not anticipate that she’d cause anyone any trouble at all), and made my way to the Sports Deck. Here’s a plan of what that part of the ship looks like now:

Plan of the moored Queen Mary’s Sports Deck, from just behind the second funnel to just behind the first funnel

The closest I could get was to walk down the little service hallway in the upper right corner of the plan and peer through a hole in a locked access door. Through it, I could just see the little courtyard (on the original plan, it’s the area where the words “Lift motor house” are written) and the door of what was the dog kennel — now, apparently, a room with High Voltage in it.

The best view I could get of the room that used to be the Queen Mary’s dog kennel

I'm standing pretty much on the center-line of the ship, facing, um, aft. That's the second funnel, and that wall separates me from the former squash court and dog kennel. The little service hallway is to the right, just out of picture.

I’m standing just off the center-line of the ship, facing aft (with the first funnel behind me). That’s the second funnel, and that wall separates me from the former squash court and dog kennel (as you can see on the original plan, those two blocked windows used to provide a view of the squash court). The little service hallway leading to the dog kennel is to the right, just out of picture.

So much for my plans to take a quick, forbidden picture of Chloe in front of the old dog kennel! I loved the sleuthing, though, and it was a perfect SoCal day, so no tears.

Feb 15 2013

Photo Friday: Chloe and the Giant Orange

Chloe’s there — a bit blurry, as she is in so many of my pictures — sitting on the counter of a now-closed Giant Orange:

Orange-shaped stands used to dot old Highway 99, a north-south thoroughfare that ran the length of the West Coast. Much of it has disappeared, replaced in large part by I-5, but pieces remain, lined with evocative neon signs and yes, giant oranges. This shack, which once served orange juice to thirsty, hot travelers, is now attached to a very decent restaurant in Shasta Lake, CA, called Joe’s Giant Orange Café.

Feb 14 2013

Update: Picture of a large SturdiBag on a Virgin America 320

This is just a quick post to show you Chloe’s large SturdiBag in place on today’s Virgin American flight (on an Airbus 320). I’ve posted under-seat measurements for Virgin America’s A-320s, but that was before I had the bright idea of collecting photos of the SturdiBag in use.

Chloe's large SturdiBag (and a good view of her face!) in the space under 5D, an aisle seat on a Virgin America A320

Reader Brigid, this one’s for you! Hope your trip to Dulles goes well! Please note that I’m adding this picture to Dog Jaunt’s growing collection of pictures of carriers under plane seats (see “Pictures of carriers on planes,” in the sidebar), for use by travelers while planning or while negotiating your way past airline agents.

Feb 12 2013

Dog-friendly coffee shop (and shopping) in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood

When I met my husband, back in 1992, his bachelor china was from a new-to-me company called Heath, located in Sausalito. It turns out that the fact it was new to me meant only that I was ignorant — Edith Heath founded the company in 1948 and, while she experimented with oddities like ceramic modules for house construction, she became known for her stunningly simple and elegant tableware and her exquisite glazes.

A few examples from Heath's "Coupe" line (photo by Heath Ceramics)

The pottery is so beautiful that my parents, who (rightly) distrust all taste but their own, took one look and agreed that Walter had chosen well. We received a massive infusion of Heath pottery as a wedding gift from dear friends, and have been adding (and, sadly, replacing) ever since — but that meant trips to Sausalito (which is no hardship, but it’s a little off the beaten path, even when you’re in S.F.). So I was thrilled to learn that Heath has opened a factory and shop in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood.

I was even more pleased to learn that it’s dog-friendly — and that it shares space with a Blue Bottle coffee shop which is also dog-friendly (and serves magnificent Blue Bottle coffee). Walk with your pup up to the counter to order, and take the results to a spare but comfortable lounge area overlooking the factory workings.

Entrance to Heath/Blue Bottle

View from the lounge area -- Heath factory on the left, and the shop entrance is around the corner

The only downside is that the café does not have wi-fi, so you’ll be forced to spend your morning reading, or writing, the Great American Novel. Heath/Blue Bottle is located on 18th, between Florida and Alabama. It’s in a quiet, backwater part of the Mission, within walking distance of Mission and Valencia, but far from those streets’ hurly-burly.

Feb 11 2013

San Francisco: 24-hour emergency vet in the Mission

This post is just a note to let you know about a well-regarded 24-hour emergency vet in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. Heaven forbid that you should need one, but if you do, San Francisco Veterinary Specialists is located at the corner of Alabama and 18th. [After receiving a worried message from a kind reader, I hasten to add that Chloe is fine — we just walked past the facility and were happy to make a note of its address (and to learn that it does good work).]

Feb 11 2013

Fort Funston: San Francisco off-leash dog park

San Francisco has such great dog parks. I’ve heard joyous reports about Crissy Field (leashed or voice control dog walking allowed “excluding the Wildlife Protection Area at the west end of Crissy field beach where leashes are required all year except from May 15 to July 1”); we loved the Bernal Heights dog park; and today we were struck dumb by Fort Funston.

Chloe on the dunes above the beach (seen over her right ear). She loves sand, and shortly after this picture was taken went mad with joy, racing around in butt's-on-fire circles.

The park is located on the west side of the city, about five miles south of the Golden Gate Park. It contains remnants of a fort decommissioned in the early 1960’s and, from a dog-walking point of view, consists of a long flat beach and, above it, a series of cliffs and dunes threaded by paths. As you can see, it’s gorgeous. Once you’ve parked, you’ll find a wood-chip field that was being used by some dogs but also by kite flyers (it’s a windy spot, also beloved by hang-gliders), a foot bridge to a view overlook, and the head of the walking trail (near the water fountains).

The wood chip area near the parking lot. The boardwalk in the middle distance leads to an overlook/view point.

Water fountains at the beginning of the walking trail

A misleadingly tranquil shot of the start of the walking trail (though I suspect it does look like this on more overcast days)

We opted to stay up on the cliffs/dunes, a long and varied walk with plenty of detour options, but about halfway along there’s a turn-off that leads you down to the beach. If you walk past it, the trail turns and loops back, returning you by a choice of routes to the parking lot. There’s a vast amount of ice plant, groves of eucalyptus, and views that will knock you sideways.

The beginning of the path down to the beach. Keep in mind that swimming, even for dogs, is a very bad idea because of the undertow and the strong current -- but your pup will love the long, flat strip of sand.

The view -- the details are too small for you to see, I think, but it's the full sweep from the Golden Gate Bridge to Sutro Tower

We arrived on a perfect, glorious day — and a Sunday, so every dog owner in San Francisco was circling the parking area, looking for a spot, and the trails were full of dogs. I liked that, though, because I liked seeing how the park functions at full capacity. I was impressed — despite the number and diversity of dogs (every size from Great Danes to miniature Dachshunds), and the variety of activities (ChuckIt throwing, leashed walking, unleashed walking, group play), good humor reigned. The dogs, and their people, were extraordinarily well behaved. Poop was picked up. Trash cans were available, and were used.

On this sunny February day, I was grateful for a light sweater and a jacket and a hat — when you visit, keep in mind that it will be windy. Please note that there are water fountains for people and dogs at the parking lot, and then again later along the cliff/dune trail.

Jan 28 2013

A side-by-side comparison: Large SturdiBag next to Sherpa Delta Deluxe Pet Carrier

I’ve said plenty of rude things about Sherpa carriers over the years, but I’ve only briefly owned two (the large- and medium-sized wheeled bags). That all changed at the end of December, when my husband and I decided to bring home a cat my parents had rescued but couldn’t, realistically speaking, keep. We had no idea how well Cora would handle the stress of travel, so I decided to buy a good quality carrier, and the best one I could find in central Ohio was a Sherpa.

And indeed they are sturdily-made carriers. My objections, over the years, have instead been to their size (the Medium too small for larger small dogs like Chloe, the Large too huge for in-cabin use) and their design. Since I began writing this blog, Sherpa has added new carriers to its line-up, and has fiddled with the measurements of its existing carriers. I’m happy to report that it is now easy to find a reasonably-sized Sherpa carrier. We bought the Sherpa Delta Deluxe Pet Carrier at a Petco store. There’s some on-line confusion about the carrier’s measurements (Sherpa’s measurements are wrong, oddly enough, but Petco’s are right: 18″ long, 11″ wide, and 10.5″ tall). Cora, a 9.5 lb. cat, had plenty of room, and the carrier fit in the under-seat spaces of our Southwest 737-700 planes.

Here’s what I liked about the Sherpa carrier: It was readily available in rural America; it’s solidly constructed; there are extensive mesh ventilation panels; the provided faux sheepskin pad is thick and comfortable; there is a capacious zipped pocket on one long side, and a smaller pocket on the other; and (my favorite feature) there is a luggage panel on one of the long sides, to hook over your suitcase handle, and to string a car safety belt through.

Cora did scrape a bit at the Sherpa bag, mostly during car travel to and from the airport, so I was grateful that we’d sprung for a carrier with sturdy mesh. Once she resigned herself to her fate, she curled up comfortably in the carrier, and has gone into it voluntarily since her arrival in Seattle.

Here’s what I don’t like: The top panel of the Sherpa carrier is solid fabric, so you cannot see down into the carrier — and for most of your travel day, your pet will be at your feet. The zippers were stiff and difficult to unzip, making it a question whether I’d get my hand into the carrier before Cora got one or more body parts out. Only one end unzips, so the carrier cannot be collapsed. Both ends are reinforced so they’re solidly square — while the middle part of the bag is less structured, and flexes a bit, the stiff ends make it difficult to maneuver the carrier around under-seat obstructions. The stiffness of the ends, too, made unzipping the one end that opens (to reach in and pet Cora) unworkable — your hand and wrist are pinched and abraded by the time they make their way into the carrier. The privacy panels on the ends are kind of a nice touch, but really, they’re pointless, since one entire long side is mesh — and doesn’t have a privacy panel. There is no pad on the shoulder strap. The handles are long and floppy — which means they can be used to reinforce the luggage strap (see the picture below), but also means that they’re annoying unless they’re Velcroed together.

A light-blasted photo of the Sherpa Delta Deluxe carrier on my husband’s carry-on — you can see the carrier’s built-in luggage strap, supplemented by the handles (as well as a hint of black-and-white Cora)

Chloe’s large SturdiBag is not perfect. After all these years, I have come up with three flaws I can’t overlook: There is no protective strip of fabric under the top panel zipper, so I always risk catching Chloe’s head fur in it when I open/close it to reach her (mind you, the Sherpa zipper is exactly the same — but it’s so balky I never open it, so the problem doesn’t arise). If the black plastic ends come off the supporting carbon rod ribs, the rods will poke through their fabric pockets (a very rare problem). And while there is a better seatbelt solution on the SturdiBag (two vertical nylon twill straps force the seatbelt to hold the carrier tightly against the car seat), there is no luggage strap — looping the handles back over your suitcase handle works to a point, but for real security you need extra help.

As you see in this picture, both carriers fit equally well under a Southwest 737-700 seat.

Large SturdiBag on the left, Sherpa Delta Deluxe on the right. The SturdiBag looks longer, but only because it has that 1.5″ fabric awning around the end that zips open. I still have no idea what purpose it serves.

However, Southwest’s under-seat spaces are generously sized, and are relatively easy to maneuver around. In nearly every other airplane I’ve flown on, there’s less space, and the space available is complicated by projecting electronics boxes or life jacket containers. After giving a comparable Sherpa carrier a good workout, I still prefer Chloe’s large SturdiBag.

Jan 27 2013

Chloe’s Clicks: This, um, month’s best dog travel links

Holy cats, this Chloe’s Clicks is way overdue! I’ll just plunge in with the oldest link in the collection, a post about a private jet company in the U.K. that invites your pet to join you in the main cabin. On the plus side: Your pet’s with you in the main cabin, and she has her “very own leather-upholstered seat, strapped in for safety, all while enjoying a window view.” On the minus side: If you have to ask, you can’t afford it (though “pets under eight inches tall or weighing less than six and one half pounds” fly for free).

In the Places to Go category, we have posts about dog-friendly hotels in Palm Springs, CA; a positive (of course!) review of Philadelphia’s Hotel Monaco (pet-friendly, like all the Kimpton group hotels); and a video report about dog-friendly restaurants in Houston, TX (I hate video reports too, but this one is only 1:43 long). Here’s the article mentioned in the video report, by the way, and here’s the link in it to the list of 33 Houston restaurants with officially-approved dog-friendly patios [PDF].

Gigi Griffis and her dog Luna are still in Perugia, Italy, and Gigi’s making it easy for you join them by writing a post about how to take your dog to Italy (also not to missed — her article about three “unexpected benefits of traveling with a dog“). Right now my favorite posts about foreign pet travel are from the blog (new to me!) Zadigloves, written (in French, but people who don’t speak French should not despair — this is where Google Translate shines) by Parisian pup Zadig for his “amis à pattes.” The link I’ve provided takes you to a review of Paris’s Parc Montsouris — poke around the blog and you’ll find more park and restaurant reviews.

The Take Paws team is on the move again, and their latest travel post is about Texas’s Hill Country — the picture of Buster flinging himself into the San Marcos River fills me with joy. Montecristo, too, has been traveling, and I was charmed by his report from Miami, FL. Monte also wrote a very sensible post about staying safe while driving in a convertible. God meant for dogs to frisk happily from side to side in the back seat, and lean blissfully into the sun and wind, didn’t S/He? Not so much, says Monte, and he’s quite right.

For those of us who need to stay home and punch the clock, check out this post about Boston’s dog-friendliest workplaces. Speaking of home, here’s a post from the wonderful DoggieStylish about sewing a custom dog crate cover — I’ve bought two (both boring beige) and used a too-large beach towel for a third, so this is an article I need to study.

On the worrisome front, the AKC reports that dognapping (“out of cars, yards, off sidewalks and even out of shelters”) is on the rise — they recommend microchipping (here’s my post with info about chipping) and not leaving your pup tied up outside while you run in on an errand.

I’ll leave you with a call to arms from Travels with My Dog — Helen and Raja argue that it’s only fair for traveling pets to have an airside pet relief area, given the fees extracted by airlines for pet travel. Some airports do (I’ve been to airside, as opposed to landside, pet relief areas in Seattle’s airport and Washington, D.C.’s Dulles Airport), but most don’t. I’d be thrilled to see more airports hop on board, and it would certainly make the lives of people traveling with service dogs (the intended beneficiaries of the legislation that requires U.S. airports to have a pet relief area) easier if they didn’t have to exit the airport and reenter through security to give their service animal a bathroom break.

Jan 9 2013

Reader’s report: Under-seat space in an American MD-80 (First Class)

Another Dog Jaunt reader sent in a report, almost a year ago now, about the under-seat space she encountered on an American MD-80, but she was traveling in an Economy seat. There’s a world of difference between Economy and First Class seating — and indeed, often you can’t fit a pet carrier under a First Class seat at all — so I was grateful to hear from reader Kelly, who traveled with her husband and their two dogs (a 17 lb. Lhasa Apso and a 12 lb. Poodle mix) from Portland to Dallas and back again over the holidays, on American MD-80s, in First Class seats.

Both of their pups fit in large SturdiBags, and since there were two people traveling with two dogs, they could take advantage of their combined under-seat space. It is my belief, based on the light flare and Kelly’s description, that Kelly and her husband were in seats A&B (row 4, 5 or 6, but not 3, which has a bulkhead) in this picture (here’s SeatGuru’s floor map of an American MD-80):

Two large SturdiBags slotted under a First Class American MD-80 seat (window seat space, and part of the neighboring aisle seat space)

Kelly’s husband is seated on the right (aisle) side of the photo, and Kelly notes that “his space under the seat in front of him was divided by a bar,” which you can see by his left shoe. If you’re traveling by yourself, she recommends that you get a window seat in First Class, since it “has no bar dividing the area.” As you can see, both carriers fit beautifully in that shared space (as Kelly points out, the two dogs “are taking up about a seat and a half worth of room”). Kelly reports that the dogs “fit perfectly under the seats in first class. No issues with either flight, we did have to have our hands swiped at both PDX and DFW when we went through security.”

For completeness’ sake, Kelly sent another picture from their return flight:

Different flight, but pretty much the identical set-up: Two large SturdiBags in the shared space under A&B seats on an American MD-80

There’s no light flare this time, but that floor vent down to the left convinces me they were again on the left side of the plane. Thank you so much, Kelly, for sharing these photos! I’m adding them to Dog Jaunt’s ongoing series of posts recording airplane under-seat measurements, and to Dog Jaunt’s ever-growing collection of pictures of carriers deployed under plane seats.