I just got dumped by my now ex-girlfriend and I am left with our beautiful 9-month old husky Saki.

Edit: I live in Tucson Arizona.
I plan on moving back home near Boston and plan to do so as soon as possible, but I have a couple issues:

First - I don't have a crate for her since when I trained her, I was living with my roommate who had an Australian Shepard and he owned a crate. I measured her with a 18'' ruler, which was extremely difficult, and think she is about 34-36'' long, and about 25'' tall sitting. I've been confused at crate sizes since I went into Petco earlier today. Their 700 series kennel was barely big enough for her to stand and turn around in. That means that an 800 would fit her better, but their 800 series is roughly the same size as an IATA 500 series crate. So if anybody could help me out with choosing a good crate to use for traveling, that would be awesome. I assume I need at least a 40'' L x 27'' W x 30'' H crate. Also, one I can get as soon as possible - aka not wait a week for it to ship. I really want to leave as soon as possible.

Second - I am planning on flying back home and mailing most of my stuff so all I have to worry about is flying with Saki when I head home. Does anyone have suggestions for the most accomodating airline to use? Mainly airlines that will allow me to bring Saki I already tried American Airlines and they said that the largest kennel they can fit on their planes were 36'' L x 26'' W x 28'' H, so that didn't work. I usually fly southwest, but they only allow pets in the cabin and obviously Saki is too large for that. I have my eye on United Airlines for now, but if somebody has other suggestions, please share.

I thank you all in advance for any and all contributions.

I haven't a clue to what the airlines will cost you to fly Saki home but maybe see if you can locate a pet transporter instead.

http://www.pettravel.com/passports_pet_transporters.cfm

http://www.tlcpettransport.com/Transport/rates.html

http://www.thepettransporterguys.com/


There is a whole slew of them just do a Google, for "pet transporters."

I second Len's suggestion to find someone to transport your pup for you.

If I'm not mistaken, if you fly your pet via commercial airlines, it will go in cargo and it is very stressful for a young pup, or any other pet. Some airlines might even recommend you tranquilize your pet. I used to travel consistently from Denver to Boston and that was about a 4.5 hour flight from gate to gate. Don't forget that you will need to check in at least 1.5 hours prior to flight, so your pup will be crated for at least 8 hours because it will also take time to unload cargo until you claim your 'cargo'.

Or, if you can, mail your stuff while you make the drive with your pup, taking breaks and breaking up the trip into 2 days to drive it. (At least that's what I'd do if I had to move....I wouldn't put my 2 through cargo unless I had to fly overseas).

cmanding wrote:

If you can, mail your stuff while you make the drive with your pup, taking breaks and breaking up the trip into 2 days to drive it. .

I second Claudia's idea, but it probably would take more then 2 days of driving unless you drive like harrise.

Just think of what a cool road trip it would be, something you might never get the chance to do again.

We had to fly our sibe a few years ago (from WA to FL and back again) and had to get a smaller airline approved crate than I would normally get for our boy but we had to get one that would fit through the cargo doors which was the 36" size. It wasn't very spacious but it did the job for the trip and he was still able to stand and turn around in it, just didn't have the space to stretch out like he normally would. It wasn't ideal as he fits better in a 42" crate which we have at home, but for the 8 hour flights he could tolerate the smaller accommodations. FWIW, my sibe is 22" tall, 50 lbs.

I forget now which airline we flew, but it had to be either Delta, Continental, or American Airlines. If I had to guess I would say it was probably Continental but I couldn't be sure without trying to dig up my records.