Dog Jaunt

Mar 19 2015

Reader’s report: Dog-friendly cruise on the Rhine and Mosel Rivers

Last July, I wrote a post about a company offering dog-friendly river cruises in Europe. Reader Jenna had brought the cruises to my attention, and last fall she and Tara, her French Bulldog, went on one. I met Jenna and Tara in person in October 2013, when they hosted me and Chloe for breakfast in Paris — which was just as elegant as it sounds. Jenna writes a wonderful Facebook page about their travels, and kindly agreed to contribute this post to Dog Jaunt.

I love this collage Jenna posted on Tour de Tara

Four Paws on Deck: Dog-Friendly European River Cruises

“I’ve just returned from an amazing trip around Europe with my 14 year-old French Bulldog, Tara. The first stop on our 6-week ‘Grand Tour’ was Cologne, Germany. This city serves as the base of operations for 1AVista Reisen, a unique company that offers several river cruises for dogs and their people.

Tara and I were booked on their 8-day journey down the Rhine and Mosel. I didn’t actually care where we were going. I was just excited that Tara and I would be able to experience it together. Dogs are allowed in the cabins and all public areas of the ship.

The MV Normandie, leaving Cologne (Jenna’s picture, as are all of the pictures in this post)

Our home for the week was the MS Normandie, a 100-passenger vessel registered in the Netherlands. All of the cabins contain twin beds and a private bathroom. I selected one on the upper deck because it had larger, operational windows.

The cabin had a small TV and telephone but there is no Internet access onboard. Regardless of which deck you stay on, entering the dining room requires you to go down a steep flight of stairs. If you have a dog with mobility issues you may need to carry them.

An additional flight of stairs will take you up to the Sundeck. I came to think of this as the ‘poop deck’ because there was an area covered with sod where the dogs could relieve themselves. It was rarely necessary for Tara to use these facilities as the itinerary was designed to allow frequent stops along the riverbank.

The Normandie’s “poop deck”

The main destinations on this journey were Koblenz, Cochem, Bernkastel, Alken & Rudesheim. It was never very far from the dock to the center of town, making organized tours unnecessary. Some information on the ports was provided in German but the cruise director was also available to answer questions in English.

Cochem, one of the cruise’s stops, from the river…

…and from land. A tiny, ancient town on the Mosel River, Cochem is just ridiculously charming. [Dog Jaunt editorial]

I was the only non-German speaking passenger on this cruise. All of the announcements, activities and booking materials are presented in German. I never found this to be a problem as most of the crew and passengers spoke some English. They even printed special dinner menus for me in English.

Speaking of menus, I found the food on the MS Normandie to be fantastic. Breakfast is a hearty hot and cold buffet. You generally have a choice between 2 salads, soups, main courses and deserts at lunch and dinner. The ‘all inclusive’ price also included house wines, beer and soft drinks.

I think that no matter where you are from or what language you speak, dog lovers share a special bond. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the passengers on our river cruise. Tara also seemed to relish the extra belly rubs and treats.

I had hoped to take Tara back to Cologne next year for 1A Vista’s Netherlands dog cruise. Unfortunately, several weeks after we returned home she was diagnosed with cancer. I’m afraid her jet setting days are over but I’m so grateful that we were able to have this amazing experience together!

For more information on 1AVista’s cruises please visit www.1avista.de. Photos and stories from Tara’s travels can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TourdeTara/”

I am happy to report that Tara remains symptom-free as of today (nearly 3 months after Jenna sent this guest post to me). She is a dignified dog, and I’m grateful that loving, careful Jenna is her person. I’m also grateful that Jenna took the time to share this adventure with Dog Jaunt, and I, for one, am ready right now to cruise Germany and Holland’s rivers with Chloe.

Mar 18 2015

Two dog-friendly hotels with vintage charm in the Texas hinterland

Actually, “hinterland” might be an understatement. Chloe and I and our friend Chandler recently drove from Tampa to Seattle the long way, via Palm Springs, a route that includes the entire width of Texas. Day 14 in Texas (I exaggerate, but not by much) took us from San Antonio nearly to El Paso, and for most of that day we were so far behind the back of beyond that our phones just gave up. The situation (please note that I don’t call it a “problem,” because heavens, that part of Texas is really lovely) was compounded by the fact that we chose to detour to Marfa, a tiny town that gets an inordinate amount of press in the art & design world.

We depended heavily on La Quinta hotels for most of the trip, but they, like cell phone coverage, don’t exist that deep in the heart of Texas (well, looking at the map, it’s more like the kidney of Texas). I was delighted, therefore, to learn that the Hotel Paisano, on Marfa’s main street, is not only charming but dog-friendly — and that one of its original sister hotels, also dog-friendly, is still operating in the town of Van Horn. I recommend both for anyone visiting Marfa, the Guadalupe Mountains, or Carlsbad Caverns. They are both significantly more appealing than any other lodging we saw as we started the next day driving through El Paso, Las Cruces, and Lordsburg.

I have pictures from both Marfa’s Hotel Paisano, where I bought postcards, and from Van Horn’s Hotel El Capitan, where we stayed. I might have saved myself some effort, because the two hotels are copies of each other, designed by the same architect and completed in almost the same month of 1930. Each went through good times (the Hotel Paisano hosted Elizabeth Taylor and the rest of the cast of Giant in 1955, for example) and bad times, and both have now been returned to beauty by the same developer. (There were three other hotels originally in the “Gateway” family, but the Hotel La Caverna in Carlsbad and the Hotel El Hidalgo in Lordsburg have vanished; the fifth, El Paso’s Gateway Hotel, exists but only barely.)

Here are daytime shots from the Hotel Paisano. Even if you don’t stay there, you’ll want to visit its excellent shop, and have a drink in its extremely pleasant courtyard. The pet fee is $20 per night, per pet.

The Hotel Paisano from across the street, on an overcast day. The courtyard is on the left side of this shot; the corner facing you is occupied by an unusually good hotel boutique.

The cheery courtyard

This is the smile of a woman who isn't quite sure that she, her dog, AND the hotel sign are all in the same picture.

This is the smile of a woman who isn’t quite sure that she, her dog, AND the hotel sign are all in the same selfie.

By the time we reached the Hotel El Capitan, it was pitch dark outside. The neon sign on the roof has been restored, and is once again a beacon of hope for weary travelers. The pet fee is $15 per night, per pet.

Both hotels were staffed by really friendly people, who fell over themselves to pat Chloe. My room at the El Capitan was modest but scrupulously clean, and overlooked the courtyard. Because the hotel was completely restored after the previous major tenant, a bank, had ripped out all the bathrooms, my room’s bathroom was absolutely up-to-date (despite its vintage appearance).

A vintage postcard of El Capitan, hanging in one of the hallways. That sign on top has been restored, and welcomed us as at the end of a long, dark road.

The tiled lobby. Just behind me is a small room with a working fireplace, leading into the dining room.

The tiled lobby. Just behind me is a cozy lounge with a working fireplace, leading into the dining room.

My room, looking a little stark. I kind of wish they'd repaint with the warmer colors of the foyer tile decorations. (Chloe's in the foreground, yearning to be on the bed, but I haven't yet put down the drop sheet we travel with.)

My room, looking a little stark with just the overhead light on. (Chloe’s in the foreground, yearning to be on the bed, but I haven’t yet put down the drop sheet we travel with.)

One of my beloved panorama shots of the bathroom — here, despite distortions, to show you how clean and well-appointed it was. Also, thumbs-up for the water pressure.

An early-morning departure shot of the courtyard.

I didn’t have dinner at the El Capitan, because I have a serious nut allergy and the hotel’s signature dish is a chicken cutlet in a pistachio crust, but Chandler reported that it was a tasty meal. If I had to complain about something (and I did, in the hotel’s comment form), it’d be the mixed drinks, but that’s easily solved: When you visit, have a beer instead, and toast your good fortune in finding two such beautiful, comfortable, and dog-friendly places to stay in remotest Texas.

Mar 17 2015

Which seat works best with an in-cabin dog? [Virgin America A-319]

We fly on Virgin America several times a year, but always, to date, on one of their Airbus 320 planes, never on an A-319. In fact, I’d concluded they only had A-320s, so my tape measure was well of out reach when I saw the A-319 emergency card. Here’s what I used as an alternative, which proves that where there’s a will, there’s a way:

That middle hieroglyphic, for example, means that the middle seat space was 2 card-widths wide PLUS up to that bold line (nope, x-ed out, actually the bold line NEXT to it). I’ve had resourceful readers tell me how many of their foot lengths a space was. You work with the materials at hand.

As with the A-320, there are three seats on each side of the aisle (here’s a seat chart from SeatGuru so you can follow along). On this particular flight, at least, the extra legroom of the Main Cabin Select seats wasn’t available to me, since those seats (the emergency row and the bulkhead row behind First Class) can’t accommodate an under-seat pet. I was in a normal Economy seat (I’d reserved 9D for these pictures, but ended up in a middle seat; on the return trip, we were in aisle seat 14D). Both worked just fine, even though I was giving a whole new carrier (the Teafco Argo Petagon, slightly larger than Chloe’s usual SturdiBag) its shakedown cruise.

The width of the aisle seat space is 18 1/4″. The middle seat space is wider — just shy of 19.5″ wide — but it has a 2″ box attached to one of its sidewalls. The window seat space is narrower, at a hair over 17″ wide. All three spaces are 9 1/4″ tall, and all three have a hard plastic box on their “ceilings” for life jackets. Normally, I’m leery of aisle seats, but this time it was the best of the available choices.

Here’s Chloe in her Teafco Argo Petagon carrier, which I’ll review in a separate post. For the purposes of this post, it’s enough to say that the carrier is 21″ long, and about 13″ tall (though that’s a bit misleading — its top is not rigidly supported, and squashes downwards).

I keep looking from this picture to Chloe, currently asleep on my hotel bed, and back, trying to pattern-match the fur bits visible through the mesh. Could that be her forehead?

A close-up shot, so you can see the relationship of the end of the carrier to the seat support — like I say, the Petagon is a long carrier, but it fit surprisingly well.

I’m adding this post to Dog Jaunt’s ongoing series of posts recording airplane under-seat measurements, and tagging it so it appears in Dog Jaunt’s ever-growing collection of pictures of carriers deployed under plane seats.

Jan 2 2015

Flip, flop, and fly: Alaska Airlines again requires health certificate for in-cabin pets

I’m losing patience with Alaska Airlines, so I’ll say up front that this is the airline’s policy as of today’s date; given their track record, check their page about pet travel carefully. Heaven only knows what their policy will be when you’re making your plans.

Back on November 4, I reported that Alaska Airlines had started requiring health certificates for in-cabin pets and expressed a fervent hope that the other major U.S. airlines would not follow suit. Two weeks later, I reported (with relief) that Alaska had reversed itself, and once again only required health certificates for pets traveling in the belly of the plane. That, I thought, was that — but on December 31st I got word that Alaska’s pet travel page had changed yet again, and now looks like this:

In relevant part, the page now says “A health certificate is also required for pets traveling in the cabin, and many states have specific importation health and vaccination requirements. It is recommended to contact the State Veterinarian at your destination prior to travel to determine necessary documentation (such as health and cold weather acclimation certificates) and vaccination requirements.”

That’s bad news, for all the reasons I laid out in my first post and on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page. Please also note that the policy is “Effective December 4,” which is a little rough on the folks who were making plans between November 21 (when Alaska dropped the policy) and December 31 (when they reinstated it).

I don’t know if and when Alaska will change its mind and steer itself back into line with the other major U.S. airlines (except Hawaiian, which, given the islands’ concerns about remaining rabies-free, is a special case). I am amending Dog Jaunt’s chart about health certificates and U.S. airlines to indicate that Alaska’s policy is up in the air and should be checked and double-checked as you make your plans.

For those of you wondering what the heck a domestic U.S. health certificate is, here’s a blog post showing you what it looks like, and how it’s different from other bits of pet travel documentation.

Dec 30 2014

Reader’s report: Under-seat space on a Delta A-319 (First Class)

This is a quick post courtesy of reader Danielle, who sent a report via Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page about her recent trip with new pup Addison on a Delta A-319. She kindly agreed that I could repost the info and her picture here, so it wouldn’t scroll away into the Facebook ether.

I have traveled with Chloe on a Delta A-319 in the past, and reported about the under-seat spaces I encountered, but I was in the Coach section — and it looks like Delta has changed its A-319 configuration a bit since I wrote that post (nowadays there’s also an Economy Comfort section, and the bulkhead is in front of Row 4, not Row 5). Here’s the current seat map for Delta’s A-319s, courtesy of SeatGuru. Please note that Danielle and Addison were in Row 2 on both flights, first on the port window (2A) and then on the starboard window (2D):

“I recently adopted a mini schnauzer, and wanted to take her home for the holidays with me to meet her loving family, including a fellow mini schnauzer (just a quick flight from ATL to New Hampshire). It was with your blog that I was able to choose the right carrier (Large SturdiBag), picked up tips to make her comfortable when in it, and educate myself on what to expect while both in the airport and on the plane. Addison was an incredible traveller — breezed through security and silently snoozed in her carrier the whole time. We were lucky and upgraded to first class both flights — window seats 2A and 2D on Delta’s A319. I was a bit nervous when reading that first class can be hit or miss, but it was definitely a hit on this plane. Plenty of space for Addi, and plenty of space (and free wine 🙂 ) for Mom. To add to your collection of carrier photos, I took one of Addi snug under the seat.”

Here’s that picture of Addison, peeping out through the SturdiBag’s top hatch:

I believe this picture is from the starboard side of the plane, since it looks like the seat pocket ends at the right, and there’s a hint of a right wall at the bottom. This, therefore, is a large SturdiBag (and adorable pup) in the under-seat space for window seat 2D on a Delta A-319.

Thank you so much, Danielle, for sending word back to Dog Jaunt Nation about your trip, and congratulations to you and Addi! I trust it’s just the first trip of many you’ll take together. I’m adding this post to Dog Jaunt’s ongoing series recording under-seat measurements of the various planes we fly on, and I’m tagging it to join the blog’s collection of pictures of carriers in action under airplane seats — to inspire other travelers, and to serve as a resource in case they need to convince an airline rep that there’s room on a particular kind of plane for their pet’s carrier.

Dec 29 2014

Which seat works best with an in-cabin dog? [United 737-800/900]

Traveling from Seattle to Tampa recently, Chloe and I occupied the same seat (8F) on two different Boeing 737-800/900 series planes. Please note that that’s an Economy Plus seat — while the under-seat spaces are the same throughout the Coach section, Economy Plus gives you a few more inches of pitch, so you can reach down to your pet more easily. If your budget allows it, it makes a world of difference.

Here’s a seat map from SeatGuru so you can follow along (there are several configurations for the kind of plane I was on, but only this one has a bathroom right across from Aisle 7). On this plane, all three Coach section seats will work for folks with a pet carrier (assuming you orient it front-to-back, not left-to-right), but I think the window seat is most desirable.

The space under the aisle seat is 13″ wide; the space under the middle seat is 17″ wide (there is a hard grey box containing electronics on the left side of the space); and the space under the window seat is 18″ wide at the floor, sloping up to 21″ wide just below the seat pocket. All three spaces are about 19″ deep (measuring from the rail just behind the heels of the person in front of you to the plane of the seat pocket).

All three spaces are about 9″ high at their lowest, where the life jacket packet is. There is a little give there (say a half inch to an inch), because the life vest container is soft. It’s located about 8″ forward of the plane of the seat pocket, so Chloe’s large SturdiBag, with its rounded top, would have missed it altogether had I oriented her left-to-right (I don’t, these days, though I used to — nowadays, I orient her front-to-back, so she can see me out the front “door” of her carrier, and I can reach down to her through the SturdiBag’s top hatch). Where the life jacket container isn’t, the under-seat space is about 11″ high.

Here’s Chloe, waiting to take off on our flight from Seattle to Houston:

Chloe in her large SturdiBag, in a window seat on a United 737-800/900 plane — what you see is mostly ear and paw (her nose is off to the left)

This post is part of an ongoing series recording under-seat measurements of the various planes we fly on. Keep in mind that most domestic and international airlines have rules about the maximum size of in-cabin pet carriers they allow on board (see Dog Jaunt’s handy charts under the “Taking your pet on a plane” tab above).

Nov 21 2014

Alaska Airlines reverses direction: Health certificate no longer required for in-cabin dogs

On November 4, I reported that Alaska Airlines had started requiring health certificates for in-cabin pets and expressed a fervent hope that the other major U.S. airlines would not follow suit. Imagine my surprise to learn today that Alaska has reversed itself, and returned to its previous hands-off policy (“A health certificate will not be required for pets traveling in the cabin, however, many states have specific importation health and vaccination requirements”). You can see in my November 4 post what the relevant portion of Alaska Air’s pet travel page looked like at that point, and here’s what it looks like now:

The crucial bit follows the exclamation-point-in-the- triangle

I don’t know why Alaska has done this Forward/Backward Dance (one reader suggested that the original policy shift was prompted by fears that pets might transmit Ebola, and the timing is certainly suggestive), but I’m grateful that Alaska has returned to the baseline occupied by all of the other major U.S. airlines except Hawaiian.

Nov 6 2014

Interstate health certificate, shot record, international health certificate, pet passport: Sorting out the documents

A couple of days ago I wrote a post about how Alaska Airlines has changed its pet travel policy to require a health certificate for travelers with in-cabin pets. That was newsworthy because for the past several years, no major U.S. airline other than Hawaiian had that policy. Health certificates are, and (essentially) always have been, required for crated pets traveling as baggage/cargo, but for in-cabin pets they were a thing of the past — so much so that there was confusion in Dog Jaunt Nation over what I meant by a “health certificate.” A flurry of posts on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page later, it struck me that it’d be helpful to see what an interstate health certificate looks like, and make it clear that it’s a different beast than a shot record or the documentation you need to take your pet abroad.

Interstate health certificate

This post, though much edited, will tell you nearly all you need to know about interstate health certificates. What’s missing is a picture of the certificate (sometimes formally known as a “Certificate of Veterinary Inspection”). Washington state’s certificate is a half-page document that looks like this:

The different states’ forms vary in appearance, but they cover the same info

It’s signed by your veterinarian after she conducts a brief but thorough physical exam of your pet, and consults your pet’s vaccination records. Getting one requires making an appointment with your vet and, because it involves both tech and vet attention and time, a fairly substantial payment (typically around $50).

Once signed, an interstate health certificate lasts for 30 days; it’s typically required to be signed within 10 days of travel; and those two time periods are normally not a problem except when there’s an unexpected delay on the front end (consider getting your certificate shortly before you’re scheduled to depart) or you’ve planned a very long vacation (keep an eye on your certificate’s expiration date, and be prepared to get a new one, from a vet at your destination, for your return trip).

Shot record

Another document you can get from your vet is your pet’s shot record:

I'm not winning any awards for this picture, and the document got drenched in today's rain, but you get the idea

I’m not winning any awards for this picture, and the paper got drenched in today’s rain, but you get the idea

You’ll note that this document is labeled a “vaccine certificate,” and if your vet has a similar form, you might be misled by that word “certificate.” But as you can see, this is just a list of Chloe’s vaccinations and their current status.

It does not cost anything. Your vet’s front desk staff will print one for you on request (if you discover a need for one while you’re on the road, your vet will likely fax you a copy, but please note that that will only happen during your vet’s business hours).

A shot record is a useful object, and I always travel with the current version of Chloe’s, because you never know when it might be needed. Infrequently, a hotel will ask for it, and pet daycare facilities always do. It is not, however, an acceptable substitute for a health certificate, because it is not a statement signed by your veterinarian vouching for your pet’s health at a particular point in time. (And please note that an interstate health certificate would not address the needs of a daycare facility, since it focuses on rabies and doesn’t mention bordatella/kennel cough.)

International health certificate

When you’re preparing to travel abroad with your pet, you assemble a packet of documents required by the country you’re visiting. In this post, I included photos of the documents we gathered to take Chloe on our last trip to France (please note that the packet included a “Rabies Vaccination Certificate for the State of Washington,” which also includes the word “certificate” in its title and also does not qualify as an interstate health certificate!). This packet will look much the same for all EU countries, but other countries’ forms will vary a bit. [4/6/15 The form for a health certificate for pets traveling from the U.S. to the E.U. changed a few months ago — be sure to download and fill out the current form.]

I’ve given you advice on how to find the correct, current forms for the country you want to visit, and I won’t repeat that here. This post is just to show you that an international health certificate (ours was called a “Veterinary certificate to EU”) is a different creature than the interstate health certificate Alaska Airlines now requires. The EU certificate is bilingual (French & English) and five pages long, and here’s one [PDF] from a randomly-chosen non-EU country (Brazil) — as you’ll see, it’s also bilingual (Portuguese & English) and it’s three pages long.

International health certificates require an examination by your vet, and depending on your destination, your vet may also have to perform and record the results of additional procedures, like a rabies titration or a treatment against Echinococcus multilocularis. You’ll pay significantly more for your international paperwork than for an interstate health certificate.

Once signed, your international paperwork typically needs to be presented at your destination country within 10 days (but please do not take my word for it — that’s a crucial detail you’ll want to nail down for yourself). How long it lasts varies by country — our EU paperwork for Chloe was “valid for 10 days from the date of issue by the official veterinarian until the date of the checks at the EU travellers’ point of entry and for the purpose of further movements within the Union, for a total of 4 months from the date of issue of this certificate or until the date of expiry of the anti-rabies vaccination, whichever date is earlier,” while the Brazilian form states that it’s “valid for 60 (sixty) days from the date of issuance.”

What about those pet passports you’ve heard about? They are also for international travel, but, officially, they’re only meant for residents of the E.U. That said, we got one for Chloe when we were last in Paris, and several Dog Jaunt readers have done the same thing. The tech who handles our Seattle veterinarian’s international paperwork recently told me about a client of theirs who frequently travels to France, and uses an E.U. pet passport to do it [but see Audra’s very helpful cautionary comment, below]. Here’s what it looks like; as you’ll see, it covers the same info as the international paperwork you’d typically assemble. On our next trip to Europe, I plan to have our normal international paperwork in my back pocket, so to speak, and attempt using just Chloe’s E.U. pet passport (appropriately updated and signed by her U.S. vet) to get there, around, and back.

As you contemplate upcoming travel, think carefully about what documents you’ll need and their “good for” dates (you’ll want to keep a sharp eye on your dog’s rabies vaccination expiration date too). As an example, my frequent flyer miles are on United, so I could return to the U.S. using the same documents that accompanied Chloe into France (assuming that her rabies vaccination falls into the proper time window), and continue on my merry way to Seattle. But after December 4, travelers who arrive in the U.S. and transfer to an Alaska Airlines flight will need to provide an interstate-style health certificate signed and dated by a vet no more than 10 days earlier, if that’s the first Alaska flight in their itinerary — and what if they were on a two-week vacation? (You’d find a vet at your destination, and get them to examine your pup and fill out a form of certificate that would satisfy the local U.S. authorities, as personified by the Alaska Airlines ticketing or gate agent you encounter. Do-able, never fear, but you’ll need to think ahead.)

How I hope that Alaska Air remains a voice crying in the wilderness on this one — well, except for Hawaiian, but if I was a rabies-free island I’d be careful too. Let me know if I’ve left your questions unanswered. These documents are a tricky business!

Nov 4 2014

Alaska Airlines now requiring a health certificate for all pets

In what is, I hope, a move that no other U.S. airline will follow, Alaska Airlines has decided to require a health certificate for pets flying in-cabin (Alaska also requires a health certificate for crated pets checked as baggage/cargo, but that’s normal policy for U.S. airlines transporting animals). The new policy applies to flights on December 4, 2014 and following, and states that “All pets traveling in the cabin or cargo compartment on Alaska Airlines, (including flights operated by Horizon, SkyWest and PenAir) will be required to have a health certificate dated within 10 days of outbound travel and 30 days of return travel.”

My first inkling that this was in the works was an e-mail from reader Gery, who wrote to me three weeks ago saying that he’d been repeatedly instructed by an Alaska Air rep to get a health certificate for his in-cabin dog, and wasn’t that odd? Indeed it is: When we first started flying with Chloe in 2009, a handful of U.S. airlines required health certificates for in-cabin pets, but over the succeeding years, all of them dropped the requirement. As of April 2013, I wrote that “only Hawaiian Airlines” still required “a health certificate for in-cabin pets, and then only for travel outside the state.”

When Gery wrote to me, Alaska’s page about pet travel still looked like this:

Alaska’s former hands-off approach

But now it looks like this:

New Alaska policy

And this:

Just in case you were feebly hoping it didn’t apply to in-cabin pets

On the one hand, I appreciate their saving me a phone call by making it clear that the new rule applies to pets traveling in-cabin as well as pets stowed in the cargo area. On the other hand, I don’t really see the point of extending the requirement to in-cabin pets, who don’t face the same kind of stress that pets traveling in the cargo area have to handle.

On the third hand, it’s not a change that affects me, since I don’t fly Alaska, but I worry that other airlines will follow Alaska’s lead. I remember all too vividly how vexing it was to have to remember to plan a timely vet visit (within 10 days of travel) and ensure that the certificate covers the return trip (in the case of long vacations, that means visiting another vet at your destination). Each vet visit typically costs about $50, as Gery discovered and as I recall from the bad old days.

Can you, you know, just…well…not do it? In my experience, no. Back when United required a health certificate for in-cabin pets, I faithfully got one for each trip because the ticketing agent routinely asked to see it when we checked ourselves and Chloe onto our flights. My sympathies to you, Alaska flyers, and I hope that other U.S. airlines will resist the urge to fall into line behind Alaska. Here’s Dog Jaunt’s health certificate requirement chart, now updated, alas, to reflect Alaska’s new policy.

Oct 20 2014

Reader’s report: Bicycle customized for three (and ideas for motorbike carriers)

Reader Liberty posted this picture on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page on September 21, and before the pixels had a chance to settle I begged her to write a guest post about what she’d done to create such a gorgeous and safe-looking bike system for her and her two dogs:

Breathtaking, right?

She kindly agreed, wrote her post immediately, and here it is, at too darned long-last (the photo captions are mine). Please note, up front, that the silver Road Hound carrier is no longer available, but at the end of the post I provide some ideas for motorbike carrier alternatives — and I’d love to hear what those of you riding motorcycles and scooters suggest.

“It seems for a number of years some major point of my focus has been how to travel with dogs, be it on a train, bicycle, motorbike and airplane. Way back when we just had the one dog called Mouse, who we tragically lost last year to cancer when she was only 8 1/2 years old. Mouse would come everywhere with us including to work in London. When we had had enough of taking her on the packed crowded London tube we decided to get scooters. The first attempt was a small dog crate nailed to a board on the back, covered in tarp because of the wonderful English weather. This worked well and lasted many journeys from South to West London.

Scooters, with Mouse peeping out of her crate carrier

When we both graduated from the 50cc scooters to Triumph motobikes we felt we needed to upgrade her ride as well. I searched for months looking for something big enough and sturdy enough to be mounted on the back of a big motorcycle and to keep her cosy in an English winter. It was then I discovered the Road Hound, made in Texas. They did not deal with the customers in the UK so I had to get it shipped to Holland, where a friend brought it back to the UK for me.

We worked with a welder to make a rock solid support for the back as it jumped around far too much with just the the fixings it came with. This was mainly due to the luggage rack on the Truimph being less than solid. Finally the Road Hound was mounted safely on the bike and took us both to the office everyday.

Triumph and Road Hound, from the front, with Mouse on board

And from the back

Mouse in her Road Hound, rocking her goggles. She makes me think of Highway 1 and Ray Bans and, dangit, Steve McQueen. That is one cool dog.

Fast forward and we moved to San Francisco where I bought a scooter but the back fixings would not allow for the Road Hound to be mounted, but I knew one day it would be used again, so we kept it tucked away in storage. We then moved to Vancouver BC where, after 18 months overpaying on insurance and the realization that we used the car about once every three weeks, we decided to go car free.

Vancouver wheels, first attempt, with Mouse and Badger

We now had Badger the Boston Terrier and our new Mexican SPCAPV rescue dog, Pika. Getting out and about had to work well with both dogs on longer journeys. Initially I had Mouse and Badger on my Townie bike. I then got the Buddy Rider for Pika but this did not work with the shape of my top tube. The space needed between handle bars and seat did not make for a comfortable ride.

Pika in the Buddy Rider, Badger in back

After much research I settled on the Yuba cargo bike, as it was big enough to mount the Road Hound on the back. Getting the electric system set up on it in Canada was the most difficult and long winded process, but that’s a different story. Yuba do not directly sell the electric version in Canada yet, so it meant getting custom work done to make it electric. Finally, after many hours of trying, we were able to fix the Road Hound on the back and we were set.

Pika in front, in a carrier I haven’t been able to identify, and Badger in back

So far, the longest distance I have been in one go is around 15 miles. We have done four trips around Vancouver and there is still battery to spare from the initial charge. The bike is big and heavy and not ideal for an apartment building bike room. I have to take up four bike racks, (luckily they are the stand up ones no one wants.) To fit in the racks the Road Hound has to be taken off after every ride, which can adds to the time it takes to get each ride ready and lock up afterwards.

Once out on the road, the pedal assist works well, especially considering the weight of the bike, Road Hound and two dogs. I am yet to be totally sold on my choice and realize it will be much more of a summer option than a winter one. Still, with joining a car co-op and this owning the Yuba, I think we have everything covered.”

I love this post — how hard Liberty has worked to keep her dogs with her and both safe and comfortable while she’s bicycling! Thank you so much, Liberty, for the inspiration.

I wish, for the sake of those of you with motorbikes or scooters, that the Road Hound carrier was still available, but neither it, nor another hard-sided motorcycle carrier that seemed praiseworthy (offered by Rockstar Puppy Boutique), can be found new (you may be lucky enough to find one on eBay or through Craigslist).

That leaves a handful of soft-sided (but thickly-padded) options. Here are the ones I’ve learned about, grouped by size. I’d love to hear from people who have these carriers, or have considered them, with their thoughts about their quality and workability. For very small dogs, take a look at the Saddlemen Convertible Pet Carrier, the Kuryakyn Pet Palace, or one of the smaller PetEgo carriers that work with PetEgo’s motorbike connection (the Infinita, the Universal Sport Bag, or the small or medium Jet Set). For a larger small dog, the best choices I could find were PetEgo’s Sport Wagon or the large Jet Set (again, using the motorbike connection). Is there a motorbike pet carrier you know about that should be on this list? Please let us know about it!