[Gpdd] CARE: air travel

Luita Spangler luitad at zedat.fu-berlin.de
Thu Mar 23 13:52:11 EST 2006


Hello Gwen and Comet,

Regarding airplanes and guinea pigs, my first and most important advice
would be to double and triple check with the airline that they will
accept piggies as proper passengers. You definitely don't want to arrive
at the airport and only then discover that Comet can't travel in the
passenger department. When I moved to Germany I got all sorts of
conflicting information from Lufthansa, with the final result that
Adelle had to travel in cargo, despite her airline-approved carrying
case. She did fine, despite the 9-hour flight and the transfer in
Frankfurt. I made sure that Lufthansa guaranteed that the cargo area was
both heated and had proper air pressure, mildly mentioning the
possibility of legal action if anything happened to Adelle. Then I
provided her with much hay to burrow into (the cargo section is
undoubtedly very noisy), part of an old t-shirt of mine to provide a
familiar smell, and lettuce and carrots to munch on during the journey
(no loose water, as that would only spill and cause a mess). Lufthansa
promised me that she would be first among the downloaded luggage, and
she was, arriving in Berlin with eyes as big as saucers but no worse for
wear. She lived many happy years in her new country before she went to
the bridge, a sweet, highly opinionated New Hampshire rescue piggie now
sleeping peacefully under a wild rose bush in the German countryside.

Luita
Bert and Ernie, my Berlin Boys




More information about the Gpdd mailing list