In Flight Care

Ok, another post! As I mentioned before, I am playing catch up from Dec. 2011 to now. Today I am writing about in flight care. 

Before Diego took his first flight, I read all I could about traveling with a dog. Most of the things I read about, I do, and I have added a few more tricks.

In my last post I wrote about the carrier being a comfortable place for your dog to be. The Sherpa bags are great because they have a soft, washable liner. I am sure many other bags have the same! You can also cover the bottom with a small towel or blanket from home and don’t forget a favorite toy! Diego flies with Mr. Giraffe (of course J) and since the January 2012, a Martha Stewart chicken that squeaks. He loves it so much that we have two. One in Galveston and one in Tunisia!

Since flying with a dog, I have become a very light carry-on packer. I used to have everything under the sun to keep me company… a laptop (the book I’ve been writing since 2006), an iPod, at least 10 magazines, crossword puzzles, work… I created my own little world for 12-17 hours. Now, things are completely different. I still have an iPod, and if I am flying from the USA, one or two magazines, but that is pretty much it. Most of the time I just sit. If I watch a movie or listen to my iPod, one ear bud is in and one is out. I am worried that Diego is going to make a sound!

When someone sits beside me on the plane, I always let them know that they are sitting next to a dog. I am not looking for attention, nor am I looking to have a conversation about my dog. I just want people to know that if they see the bag moving while I am in the bathroom or wonder why I get peanut butter and ice cubes and bend over my carry-on bag for a couple minutes, to not get worried!

This leads me to some in flight basics that I think work well for Diego. I always carry a sandwich baggie with a bit of peanut butter in it. As we take off and land I allow Diego to lick it off my finger to help relieve the pressure in his ears. The swallowing helps clear them, and since I cannot get him to yawn on command or chew gum, having him lick will allow him to swallow. I chose peanut butter because it is not a liquid and he loves it. I always restrict water 4 hour before we fly and during the flight I let him lick water from my fingers or lick an ice cube for a few seconds. I feel that he is getting great care because when we get off the plane he is chipper and happy!

These are things I do every time we fly. I always use the peanut butter and I have a small, plastic dish ready for an ice cube. On most airlines you are not allowed to take the animal out or, in some cases, open the carrier. I have only taken Diego out twice, once because the flight attendants said it would be okay and another time during an emergency. I quickly open the top of the carrier about an inch and stick my finger in. I close it right back up when finished. I don’t want to stress Diego out and would rather leave him alone during the flight.

So now I will tell you about the emergency bag I carry. I mentioned this in a previous post and just now about how I took Diego out during an emergency.

These are the items I carry:

·      Paper towels

·      Two garbage bags

·      Wet wipes

·      Large Ziplock bags

I read about a woman taking two out of three of these things and I added the garbage bags after the following situation…

In March 2012, Diego and I were flying from Amsterdam to Tunis. We were on Lufthansa and had to change planes in Frankfurt. Diego did very well from Amsterdam to Frankfurt and I was confident about our 2 ½ hour flight back to Tunis.

We boarded and found that no one else was sitting in the small, first class row with us (thank goodness). About 20 minutes into the flight, Diego started barking. It was very embarrassing and a couple people around us were quite annoyed (I’m glad I didn’t have a screaming child). There was nothing I could do. I just kept putting food inside his carrier thinking he would want to eat. I was a mess and I know my anxiety was not helping the situation. 

Then, about an hour and a half into the flight I smelled poop. I thought Diego was passing gas, or that the gentleman in front of me was, but as it got stronger, I realized it was coming from Diego’s carrier. I looked in and saw diarrhea everywhere.  I immediately got out the wet wipes and started cleaning. I had to take him out so I laid down a pee pad (Diego is also pad trained for traveling) near my feet and tied his leash to the armrest. Luckily he stopped barking, but the smell was over powering. Oddly enough, however, no one seemed to mind the smell. Most were pissed off about the barking!

I got to work, wiping down all I could and sticking the soiled towels and wipes in the Zplock bag. Diego finally stopped having diarrhea and I put him back in his carrier just as we were landing. Thank goodness I could contain the smell, all zipped up in the baggies! I left them under the seat. Normally I would never had done such a thing, but I just couldn’t handle it. Needless to say, I was in tears by this time, apologizing over and over to anyone that saw me.

It turned out that Diego had suffered a concussion the night before and when he flew it caused him to have diarrhea and later vomiting. Poor guy. When I think about this story or tell it, I get so upset. He had hit his head the night before and even though I watched him, he seemed ok. If I could have done it over I would have changed my flight and taken him to the vet straight away. But I didn’t. I am sure other dog owners have felt the same way and I can imagine that parents have these feeling sometimes as well.

It’s been 13 months since this accident and Diego is doing fine.

I have definitely learned from this experience and have included garbage bags in my emergency bag!

We flew 3 months later to Texas. I was so upset by the previous experience that my mother flew to Tunisia in order to fly back with us. Diego was perfect!

Walking around Amsterdam

At Central Station

Dude! I'm in Amsterdam!