Dogs as freight
 

G'day all,

A family friend of mine does some work for SAFE dogs, a charity which flies dogs out of remote country and mining towns for adoption all across Aus. Recently their airline sponsor who would fly the dogs for a cheap fee has cancelled their contract and thus they have no way to extract the dogs.

I would have offered my services however my CPL test isn't for a few months and airlines are quoting astronomical prices so we're all out of ideas.

Does anyone have any knowledge on the sort's of requirements to carry dogs as freight and what mobs would be okay to contact to re-gear this operation?

Cheers,
Whiskey

WhiskeyKilo - Why don't you find out who in the trucking industry services the town or local mines - and when you get some contact numbers, ask if any of the truckies are happy to transport the dog/s.

Stepdaughter does FIFO and has two little dogs that she sends to a kennel she favours down in the SW of W.A., while she's away at work in S.A. The kennel is about 350km S of Perth.

A truckie based in a large SW town who does regular runs to Perth, transports the dogs to and from his Perth depot and the kennels in his truck, for $50 each time.

He loves doing it, and even lets the dogs out for a leak (on their leashes) if he's held up anywhere.

Most truckies I know are dog lovers, and enjoy transporting them if there's no holdups in their schedules by picking up or dropping off the dogs.

In SD's case, she's in direct touch by phone with the truckie, he keeps her advised as to timing, she drops the dogs at the depot just as he's leaving, for transport down South - and whenever he returns (usually around midnight) he calls in to give his reasonably precise ETA, and either she or myself and missus call around to the depot to pick up the dogs, just as he arrives.

Sometimes our timing is so good, we arrive at the trucks exact arrival time, and follow the B-double down the street to the depot, and collect the dogs as he gets out to open the main gate.

I think you will find its cheaper if the pax is travelling with them. so if you can organise an already travelling pax to claim the dog is theirs you will save a $$$ or two. Easier than it sounds I know.

Sweet, thanks for the help guys.

Secondary question: If a pilot could borrow, hire or use his own aircraft to transport the dog, would that be possible under a PPL?

Under a PPL the only requirement is a seat belt and thorough briefing. :}

You can carry a Rhinoceros as long as it is not 'for hire or reward'.

"Welcome to the flight, WOOF WOOF, BARK, GRR, lifejackets, WOOF, HOWL, BARK, BARK, emergency exits, WHINE WHINE WOOF, thank you"

Nah, put 'em in the baggage hold. You can't hear 'em scream that way. :}

What? Pax or dogs? ;)

Both :}

What kind of prices have been quoted to transport the dogs by air, if hiring your own aircraft and doing it yourself, looks attractive?? :confused:
There's got to be be some serious dollars in cost, even in a flight in a 150, for a few hours?? :suspect:

A couple hundred per dog.


When I said hiring I mean we've had a couple guys say they would lend us their plane and we'd just have to pay for fuel. Sorry for any confusion. Didn't mean forking out for everything, that would be WAY too expensive.

I heard about the particular airline dumping their arrangement with a dog re-housing charity, sad sign of the times I guess.


Between selected destinations some breeds may be included as checked in baggage quite cheaply. However most destinations fall outside the few selected destinations, additionally a number of breeds are excluded from this service.


I recently adopted a 3 year old American Staffy and freighted her from PH to AS cheapest quote was $900 most expensive $1800.


Not sure what possible solution other than to talk to the airline and find out what caused them to drop the arrangement and try and problem solve that issue if possible.

recently transported a rescue pup from Geraldton to Perth Provided my own crate and the dog weighed just 3kg. Charge was $80.00 (cash only WTF?) I guess that was pretty cheap probably because I was flying on the same flight.

Woof
 

Dark classes, a cane and dog can travel free...

Got to be little ways to Rory the system!

Wrong, and has been wrong for many, many years.
Reg. 206 is the determinant, and "hire and reward" does not appear in Reg. 206
Tootle pip!!

I hope you guys aren't considering carrying the dog in the cabin with you. watch out!!! ( reg 256A ):uhoh:

"Hire or reward" appears three times by my count...

can I just put a finger in the air on behalf of dogs? (not the bird, an index finger),

dog physiology is quite different from humans.
they have incredibly more sensitive senses of smell and hearing.
putting a dog in a light aircraft is an inhumanly bad thing to do.
the noise levels in small aircraft are too high for a dog to endure comfortably.
it would be like you sitting beside the speakers of an outdoor rock band for hours on end.

dont torture your dog.

I have mentioned this directly to pilots concerned.
most thankfully only do it when they know the dog is already deaf.

woof woof. end of diatribe.

Just take it down the local Asian market, they'll pay market price....and you no longer need worry about dog...:ok: