The Daily Dish from WebVet

Federal law does not protect all pets when traveling by air

The federal government and its law enforcement baffle me.  More often than not these days.  Animal lovers and pet owners will want to hear this one, because it was certainly news to me.

The Atlanta Journal & Constitution recently conducted a review of "animal incident" reports filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation.  While the loss or injury of even one pet is unacceptable, what I found most disturbing about this report is that not all "animal incidents" are required by federal law to be reported. 

For example, Maggie Mae, a West Highland white terrier puppy, was crushed to death on the tarmac at Atlanta's airport this spring; however, Delta Air Lines didn't report this incident.  Why?  Because federal law didn't require them to because the puppy was shipped by a breeder.  Her death -- like those of many other animals owned by businesses -- doesn't 'count' under regulations that contain a big whopping loop hole. 

At present, "animal" is defined to mean "one that is being kept as a pet in a family household in the United States."  This loop hole allows incidents involving commercially owned animals such as shipments from breeders, pet stores, laboratories and farms -- most of the animals traveling aboard aircraft -- to go unreported. 

The airlines say they carry hundreds of thousands of animals each year and the vast majority are transported safely.  Nationally, in the past year, airlines have reported the deaths of 29 pets; an additional 13 were injured and seven were lost, according to the AJC report.  The question is, given this horrifying loop hole in federal regulations, how many animal incidents are not being reported? 

We as pet owners have the ability to facilitate the closing of this loop hole, which in turn will hopefully force the airlines to treat our pets with the same care and respect they do unattended children when traveling.  Because as we all know, our pets are our children and no one should ever have to suffer a loss like that. 

Please contact your local representative and encourage them to help change this legislation. 

Doggies do it in style with the new Toyota Venza

As someone who has traveled extensively with my dog, and birds, and is keenly aware of the challenges both in comfort and safety, I'm thrilled to see Toyota come out with a pet-friendly car called Venza.  While I'm not a big fan of the exterior, some of the features they offer pet owners are really cool.  They include a variety of accessories:

• a pet booster seat with an adjustable harness
• a rear hatch pet ramp for easy access (which comes in handy when you have a 120 lb. Sheepdog who can no longer get into the car on his own)
• removable waterproof seat covers for those snowy and rainy days
• a zipline for the rear seat, with a matching harness pet restraint system to allow for movement while keeping your pet restrained should an accident occur
• a dog leash tether to keep dogs from jumping out of the car or into the driver's area
• an adjustable pet barrier to keep pets in the back seat or rear cargo area

Kudos to Toyota for recognizing the important role pets play in our lives and for doing everything they can to help make traveling with our pets a much safer and comfortable experience . . . for everyone. 

I wonder if they can retrofit my Land Cruiser?

Signing off.

How much do I love my bird?

Apparently a hell of a lot.  You tell me.  WebVet recently relocated our headquarters from Chicago to the Big Apple (I love New York!).  Because I have a dog, Max -- more on him later -- and two birds (and an employee that needed a lift), we made the trip via car rather than plane.  The bird in question is Pi, my Quaker Parrot.  The first part of the journey, the poor guy braced himself with one leg on his rope and the other clinging desperately to the side of the cage.  He didn't look very comfortable.  What was worse though is the next day, he spent the first three hours hanging upside down in his cage.  Now I'm no bird - at least not that kind, -- but I do remember my mother telling me as a kid that if I hung upside down too long all the blood would rush to my head and I'd pass out.  So as you can imagine, I started to get worried about my Pi bird.  Then it came to me.  Why not let him ride up front with the grown ups.  My only concern was the bird s**t issue.  For those of you who have, and love, birds . . . you know what I'm talking about.  My solution was to put on an old sweatshirt (courtesy of an ex-boyfriend whom I no longer have any great affection for) and let Pi ride the last six hours on my shoulder.  And so the ex-boyfriend who once s**t on me, got his payback.  Pi s**t on him. Okay, I digress. 

The good news is that Pi was very happy for those last six hours -- kissing me incessantly and telling me that he loves me.  Just what every woman wants. 

The lesson for me in all of this is that when I asked Pi's new vet in NYC why he hangs upside down like that and for how long it's "safe" for him to do this without having all his little blood rush to his head thus causing him to pass out cold . . . she informed me he can hang upside down all day long. And night for that matter.  Apparently, birds have very different vascular systems from humans -- who knew -- and therefore no harm, no foul if they want to hang upside down. 

So all you bird people out there . . . that's how much I love my bird.  Tell us how much do you love yours?