I called the AirFrance/Delta customer service line today to see if they had approved allowing Seymour onboard and found that no one had put in a request. Lesson 1 - get the name of the person you talk with and get specifics on how AirFrance will be notifying you about accepting the pet.
I found that although AirFrance and Delta work together, they have 2 different computer systems. They were able to get the AirFrance approval while I was on the line but could not get the Delta approval (which I was told had already been done last Monday) because the connecting flight was "not a valid connection". AirFrance stated that when you have a pet traveling in cargo, you need at least 2 hours between flights. Since Seymour is traveling with me, we don't need that much time, but the Delta system would not allow them to put Seymour on the flight.
After over an hour of being transferred from one person to another, one airline to another, Quincy from Delta said "Not to worry, he is confirmed on all of the flights - but I can't give you anything in writing". For some reason, I'm still worrying. Especially since I am purchasing non-refundable tickets to save money. I don't pay for Seymour until I get to the airport to take off. I know I have to show that I have all of his paperwork and microchip information up to date before he can get on the flight, but I am still questioning if Delta and AirFrance have actually figured this connection stuff out. It doesn't seem that I would be the first person to fly with a pet having connections between Delta and AirFrance, but it sure feels like it. I will probably call back on Monday (the last day I have to pay for my tickets) to be sure he really is confirmed.
So on Monday, I will cross my fingers and pay for my airline tickets and then get Seymour set up for his health exam. I also need to start working on getting Seymour used to being zipped in his crate for 8-9 hours at a time. Hopefully our first hurdle has been jumped!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Italy Plane Reservations Made - Almost
OK, now this is feeling more real. As I have been doing for the last month, I went to the AirFrance website to put in different dates and check fares. Last week, the fares for the date range I had been looking at increased $200! I was about to kick myself (not easy for an older woman to do that, I must say) when I checked another website for the best days to purchase airline tickets. They said Friday was the worst day and midweek was the best. Just for the heck of it, I checked airfare today and found the price went back down to the original fare so I booked it - sort of.
As I mentioned previously, you have to book your flight before you can call to book your pet. You can delay payment for a flight for up to 24 hours but unfortunately AirFrance has up to 72 hours to let you know if there is room for your pet on board. So, luckily they have another option where you can pay $20 to hold your reservation for 1 week. I paid the $20 to hold my reservation and am now waiting to hear from AirFrance. Delta has already stated that there is room for Seymour on their flights that I will be taking to and from Atlanta. They agreed with a previous Delta person I talked with, that I can bring another carry-on so I should be able to travel without checking luggage. That will make our travel so much easier and quicker.
Now it's a waiting game. Once I receive an answer from AirFrance I will make my reservations at the Language school in the Tuscany area.
I'm getting nervous and excited! Seymour is sleeping.
As I mentioned previously, you have to book your flight before you can call to book your pet. You can delay payment for a flight for up to 24 hours but unfortunately AirFrance has up to 72 hours to let you know if there is room for your pet on board. So, luckily they have another option where you can pay $20 to hold your reservation for 1 week. I paid the $20 to hold my reservation and am now waiting to hear from AirFrance. Delta has already stated that there is room for Seymour on their flights that I will be taking to and from Atlanta. They agreed with a previous Delta person I talked with, that I can bring another carry-on so I should be able to travel without checking luggage. That will make our travel so much easier and quicker.
Now it's a waiting game. Once I receive an answer from AirFrance I will make my reservations at the Language school in the Tuscany area.
I'm getting nervous and excited! Seymour is sleeping.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Emergency Room Trip
Holding Seymour while Googling "Emergency Vet Clinics", I found names of clinics where you could call in case of an emergency and a 24 hour clinic. I finally called the 24 hour clinic, which was quite a distance from my house. They were exceptionally nice and gave me the names and number of 2 clinics closer to me. I called one, got directions, put Seymour in his crate, and headed there. It was about 40 minutes away. I have never been so frightened for Seymour as I was then. I prayed that I wouldn't get stopped for speeding or going through yellow lights. I was thankful when I heard Seymour's constant coughing because I knew he was alive. OK, I'm a little dramatic but he is very important to me.
We finally found the clinic and luckily no one else was waiting. After I filled out the paperwork and gave them Seymour's symptoms, they said that it sounded like he had been stung by a scorpion. Three other animals had been in that night with the same symptoms, and one had an especially severe reaction to the sting.
They took him back to the exam room, without me, and said they would give him a shot of Torbugesic, which is a pain killer and sedative. I had given him some Children's Benadryl earlier because I was afraid he might have been bitten by something. The doctor said (and don't quote me here because I was a bit stressed) that you should give an animal 1 mg for each pound of their weight. So Seymour weighs about 7 pounds and he should get a little over 7 mg of Benadryl. I need to see if I have a dropper with mg or ml on it. I really want to be better prepared in case this happens again.
So now I have the name of the Emergency Vet clinic, the address and phone number. They were going to send my vet a copy of the records for their file. I was very pleased with the customer service at this clinic and will go back, if needed. It is called the Emergency Animal Hospital NW Austin, although they have 2 locations and the one in South Austin was closer to me.
Seymour is much better today but still coughing a little. The only good to come from this was the I finally used the crate Seymour will be using on the plane to take him to the clinic. I zipped it up so he was confined for over an hour. When we got home, I kept him zipped in the crate and put the crate next to me on the bed, so he was in it for a few more hours. He started whimpering and I kept telling him "no" until the whimpering got loud and steady. I then took him outside and the poor guy really had to "go". So, I will need to figure out when he is whimpering because he wants to get out versus when he need to "go".
What a night!!
Friday, June 3, 2011
More Pet Travel Updates - Updated
I have to admit that I've been slacking off a bit in my planning for our trip to Italy. I have finally printed the right forms that need to be completed related to Seymour's health status. I called my vet and found out that he is an accredited vet through the USDA. That is very important - make sure the vet you go to is accredited - not all are since accredited is different than licensed. When I called my vet, they told me that when I make an appointment, I need to let them know to which country we will be traveling because they do their own research on what tests, etc. need to be completed. They won't rely on the information I have. I like that.
I'm still concerned about the microchip. One piece of information I read said that the pet MUST have a 15 digit non-encrypted microchip operating at 134.2 kHz. Seymour has a 10 digit microchip. But I also saw that if they don't have the 15 digit microchip, you must bring your own scanner. I hope the latter is true because it will be easier than thinking about putting 2 microchips in him. Other information (besides the microchip stuff) related to bringing a dog to Italy includes:
1. Dates must be written in the DD-MM-YYYY format on all forms.
2. Dogs over 3 months must have had their rabies vaccination more than 21 days prior to departure.
3. Inoculation record must include name of vaccine, manufacturer of vaccine, batch number, date administered and expiration date of the vaccine. (I sure hope we have all of that information somewhere because I did change vets)
4. Only the rabies vaccination is mandatory but the follow are recommended: Distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parovirus and parainfluenza. My vet was telling me about the parainfluenza vaccination but I opted not to get it; I might have to change my mind.
After the vet fills out the EU form 998 within 14-21 days of the date of departure, then I have to take the form to the area UDDA/APHIS/VS office with a check for $36
to get the form certified.
I also found a farmstay website where you can stay on a farm in Italy www.italyfarmstay.com I emailed them to see if Seymour could stay and they promptly wrote back and said "yes, but he would need to stay outside." That won't work for me since Seymour is not an outside dog, so I'm glad I asked.
UPDATED: I just received an email from Antonio at farmstay and they said that since Seymour is so small that if I rented a private room, it would have an outside door so Seymour could stay in the room. BUT he shouldn't sleep on the bed. I appreciated their flexibility with this and said I would get back with them when I made a decision.
Wow, getting Seymour ready for this trip is much more work than getting me ready! I am gathering clothes and necessities to bring with me. I am purchasing some quick-dry clothes so that I can wash things and have them dry overnight since I am planning on bringing very few items. I'm sure that by the end of 3 months, I'll be sick of the clothes I brought. I have heard that people have left the clothes they don't want where ever they were traveling but others have said that it isn't proper. I'll just make that decision when I'm there. I'm also planning on bringing some inexpensive bracelets to give as gifts to people we stayed with. They will take up little space in my backpack and I hope will be a nice gesture. Of course,I know that money is always accepted as a thank you.
Next step - getting those plane reservations made. I found the cheapest dates to travel but I will need to call AirFrance to be sure there is room for Seymour on those flights. Once I have those reservations made, this trip will be more "real" to me.
UPDATE: In one day, the cost of the flight increased about $200. Now I'm going to wait until next Wed or Thurs to see if the price goes down. I read that the worst time to buy an airline ticket was Friday or Saturday, but I have a feeling it is probably going to be the same price (and hopefully not higher) next week. Another lesson learned!
I'm still concerned about the microchip. One piece of information I read said that the pet MUST have a 15 digit non-encrypted microchip operating at 134.2 kHz. Seymour has a 10 digit microchip. But I also saw that if they don't have the 15 digit microchip, you must bring your own scanner. I hope the latter is true because it will be easier than thinking about putting 2 microchips in him. Other information (besides the microchip stuff) related to bringing a dog to Italy includes:
1. Dates must be written in the DD-MM-YYYY format on all forms.
2. Dogs over 3 months must have had their rabies vaccination more than 21 days prior to departure.
3. Inoculation record must include name of vaccine, manufacturer of vaccine, batch number, date administered and expiration date of the vaccine. (I sure hope we have all of that information somewhere because I did change vets)
4. Only the rabies vaccination is mandatory but the follow are recommended: Distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parovirus and parainfluenza. My vet was telling me about the parainfluenza vaccination but I opted not to get it; I might have to change my mind.
After the vet fills out the EU form 998 within 14-21 days of the date of departure, then I have to take the form to the area UDDA/APHIS/VS office with a check for $36
to get the form certified.
I also found a farmstay website where you can stay on a farm in Italy www.italyfarmstay.com I emailed them to see if Seymour could stay and they promptly wrote back and said "yes, but he would need to stay outside." That won't work for me since Seymour is not an outside dog, so I'm glad I asked.
UPDATED: I just received an email from Antonio at farmstay and they said that since Seymour is so small that if I rented a private room, it would have an outside door so Seymour could stay in the room. BUT he shouldn't sleep on the bed. I appreciated their flexibility with this and said I would get back with them when I made a decision.
Wow, getting Seymour ready for this trip is much more work than getting me ready! I am gathering clothes and necessities to bring with me. I am purchasing some quick-dry clothes so that I can wash things and have them dry overnight since I am planning on bringing very few items. I'm sure that by the end of 3 months, I'll be sick of the clothes I brought. I have heard that people have left the clothes they don't want where ever they were traveling but others have said that it isn't proper. I'll just make that decision when I'm there. I'm also planning on bringing some inexpensive bracelets to give as gifts to people we stayed with. They will take up little space in my backpack and I hope will be a nice gesture. Of course,I know that money is always accepted as a thank you.
Next step - getting those plane reservations made. I found the cheapest dates to travel but I will need to call AirFrance to be sure there is room for Seymour on those flights. Once I have those reservations made, this trip will be more "real" to me.
UPDATE: In one day, the cost of the flight increased about $200. Now I'm going to wait until next Wed or Thurs to see if the price goes down. I read that the worst time to buy an airline ticket was Friday or Saturday, but I have a feeling it is probably going to be the same price (and hopefully not higher) next week. Another lesson learned!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
You Never Know if You Don't Ask
I am starting to get responses back on my doggie questions.
Scanner and microchip - I don't think anyone has ever asked this question to the animal shelter. They have responded with a lot of information and it appears that they have a scanner that scans both USA and International chips, but it looks like Seymour's chip is not an international one. It needed to be 13 digits and Seymour's chip is only 10 characters. Dang - another thing to purchase and carry in my backpack. Now I just have to figure out what kind to buy!
I also contacted a very nice person named Heike at Il Sasso, a language school in Montepulciao, Tuscany. There were very good reviews for this school and it is pretty reasonable. I've never been to Tuscany so I thought that would be a good place to visit while learning some Italian. I wanted to do a homestay while I was there so that I could be around native speakers - and because it is less expensive than a hotel or apartment. He said there is one single woman who allows dogs in her house, but she has a small male dog. If it didn't work out between the 2 dogs, I'd have to move to an apartment. Heike also responded that I could bring Seymour to class with me. I plan to take a 4 week course and hopefully I will learn enough basics to get me through the rest of my trip. Right now I'm trying to read a sentence in Italian and I can't figure out any of the words. "Segnala questa attraione agli altri viaggiatori". I'm in big trouble!
Scanner and microchip - I don't think anyone has ever asked this question to the animal shelter. They have responded with a lot of information and it appears that they have a scanner that scans both USA and International chips, but it looks like Seymour's chip is not an international one. It needed to be 13 digits and Seymour's chip is only 10 characters. Dang - another thing to purchase and carry in my backpack. Now I just have to figure out what kind to buy!
I also contacted a very nice person named Heike at Il Sasso, a language school in Montepulciao, Tuscany. There were very good reviews for this school and it is pretty reasonable. I've never been to Tuscany so I thought that would be a good place to visit while learning some Italian. I wanted to do a homestay while I was there so that I could be around native speakers - and because it is less expensive than a hotel or apartment. He said there is one single woman who allows dogs in her house, but she has a small male dog. If it didn't work out between the 2 dogs, I'd have to move to an apartment. Heike also responded that I could bring Seymour to class with me. I plan to take a 4 week course and hopefully I will learn enough basics to get me through the rest of my trip. Right now I'm trying to read a sentence in Italian and I can't figure out any of the words. "Segnala questa attraione agli altri viaggiatori". I'm in big trouble!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Trip Planning Odds and Ends
There is so much to plan for this trip to Italy. I'm slowing getting things done - or at least started:
1. Emailed the Animal Shelter where Seymour was adopted from to find out what kind of microchip they put in him. I hope I don't have to purchase a separate scanner.
2. Signed up for a class "Italian for Travelers" that will be held in July. I decided I better get some early practice, before I take my language class in Italy. It's like someone who cleans their house before the cleaning people come. I would totally do that if I had cleaning people!
3. Wrote to a language school in Italy (It's in Tuscany) to see if they would accept me with a dog, and if one of the homestays I want to stay in for a month would also accept a dog. I haven't heard back yet.
4. Found a pretty good website www.pettravel.com that has a lot of good information on traveling with a pet overseas. I ordered the Pet passport from them. It comes with all of the paperwork and list of health records I will need to get filled out before we go. They have a forum and I posted a question about how to get a Pet's Health Certificate translated into Italian. Supposedly I need to get that done. No response yet, but five people viewed my question. Maybe it was too dumb to answer!
5. Seymour is beginning to spend more time in his new carrier. Because he likes his sling, I put that in the carrier as a blanket and he has really taken to it. Unfortunately, I haven't started zipping it up yet! He is an expert un-zipper so I'm not ready for that challenge yet.
1. Emailed the Animal Shelter where Seymour was adopted from to find out what kind of microchip they put in him. I hope I don't have to purchase a separate scanner.
2. Signed up for a class "Italian for Travelers" that will be held in July. I decided I better get some early practice, before I take my language class in Italy. It's like someone who cleans their house before the cleaning people come. I would totally do that if I had cleaning people!
3. Wrote to a language school in Italy (It's in Tuscany) to see if they would accept me with a dog, and if one of the homestays I want to stay in for a month would also accept a dog. I haven't heard back yet.
4. Found a pretty good website www.pettravel.com that has a lot of good information on traveling with a pet overseas. I ordered the Pet passport from them. It comes with all of the paperwork and list of health records I will need to get filled out before we go. They have a forum and I posted a question about how to get a Pet's Health Certificate translated into Italian. Supposedly I need to get that done. No response yet, but five people viewed my question. Maybe it was too dumb to answer!
5. Seymour is beginning to spend more time in his new carrier. Because he likes his sling, I put that in the carrier as a blanket and he has really taken to it. Unfortunately, I haven't started zipping it up yet! He is an expert un-zipper so I'm not ready for that challenge yet.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Carrying Less on Walks
Seymour and I take long walks every day. Sometimes we end up passing a place where I'd like to buy a coffee or drink and I have no money with me. Or we walk to the pet groomers to get Seymour's nails clipped and I have to hold my money in my hand or bring a purse. Most of my pants or shorts don't have pockets and I don't like carrying a purse during walks. I may be the last to realize this but I always have the poop bag bone dispenser attached to Seymour's leash, and figured out that was a good place to keep some extra money. I took out the roll of bags and stuffed 2 bags back into the bone dispenser. I then put in some bills and some change - and even a Kleenex, and it all fit. One word of caution is that change will fall out of the hole for the bags so it needs to be kept behind the bills and poop bags.
I was thinking that this would be a good place to keep some extra money and a folded copy of my passport when we are in Italy. I doubt that anyone will try to take Seymour's poop dispenser and screwing it open takes a little effort. I can't see where I'll ever need more than 2 bags on a walk, so I should always have extra room for my stuff. The dispenser has never come off of the leash but I think I will use an extra tie, as a precaution. Another problem solved - I hope.
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