Pets

What can we learn from Choochy’s travails?

Pets,

The story about Choochy has been going around.

She’s the poodle that caused chaos and flight delays at Boston’s Logan International Airport on Saturday after escaping from her travel kennel while being unloaded from a flight.

The story had a happy ending: after police, firefighters, and other airport personnel chased her around airport grounds, Choochy was finally lured to safety with snacks.

How does a dog escape at the airport? I bet it happens more than we know.
Maybe the kennel got jostled and the door popped open. May the latch was faulty or not closed right. Maybe Choochy figured out how to open the door. Or maybe a well-meaning baggage handler opened the door to give Choochy a little water or a reassuring pat on the head – and the pooch vamoosed.

I’m sure we’ll hear more about Choochy’s travels, but in the meantime I want to pass along a tip I learned this summer while serving as courier for Joplin, a Canadian guide dog being adopted by a family in Seattle.
The kennel owner who sold me a replacement carrier for the one lost by the airlines attached a small pail filled with frozen water to the inside door of the kennel. “This way the dog can lick the melting ice and get something to drink. And this way, no one needs to open the kennel door to give the dog some water – and run the risk of having the dog escape.”

Pet hotel coming to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Pets,

Good news for pets – and their people – who travel via Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The airport will soon put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a 24-hour Pet Hotel and Resort on the airport’s west side. DFW airport has received more than two dozen informal inquiries about setting up such a service. Now, officials say, the RFP should be issued this fall and a contract awarded by the end of the year.

Pet hotels are already in operation on the grounds of, or nearby, many other airports. More airport pet hotels are in the works. The most elaborate set-up I’ve seen is on the grounds of Montreal– Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport. When I visited Manoir Kanisha in early July seeking travel advice for Joplin, a service dog I was picking up for a friend, I saw dogs, cats, birds and even rabbits relaxing on pampered pet-vacations.

Philadelphia Int’l Airport offers relief for pets and their people

Pets

Good news for pets and their people traveling to or through Philadelphia International Airport (PHL): there are now seven Pet Port “relief areas” at the airport.

According to a PHL release, each fenced Pet Port is between 250 and 600 square feet and is landscaped with a 4-inch deep mulch surface, a bench, a fake fire hydrant, and a dispenser filled with biodegradable pet waste bags.

Pet relief areas are not only a great amenity for pets passing through the airport, the relief areas make it easier for drug and bomb-sniffing security canines to quickly do their ‘business’ and then get back to business. (In addition to PHL, you’ll find lovely pet relief areas at airports in Phoenix, Austin, and in many other pet-friendly cities.)

The Pet Port areas at PHL are located on the Departures Road between Terminals A-West and A-East; between Terminal B/C ticketing and the Airport Communications Center; and adjacent to Terminal E and Terminal F. On the Arrivals side, the Pet Ports are next to baggage claim areas in Terminals A-East, Terminal B, and Terminal.

phlpetportarea.jpg

Photo courtesy Philadelphia International Airport

MSP will soon pamper people and their pets

Massages, Pets, Salons, Spas

Last week the folks at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport announced that a 24-hour pet boarding facility will open on airport property in October.  The “pet palace” will have an outdoor play and exercise areas, indoor play areas, and a spa and grooming area with a pet therapy pool and massage services.

Now travelers passing through MSP can also look forward to some pampering.   On Monday the airport announced that XpresSpa will open a wellness center inside the airport next fall.  The 5,000 square-foot center will offer spa and beauty services (hair cuts, manicures, pedicures, massages, facials, etc.) a full-service pharmacy, and a walk-in health clinic.