😬 Dogs Are Joining the Mile High Club

In Today’s Email:

• 🎶 CoMe FLY WiTh MeEeEe 🎶 - Air travel just got ultra luxe.

• Maui’s wildfires are displacing pets. You can help!

• “The Squeeze” aka The Internet’s Best Dog News in 60 seconds.

• The Last Laugh: What we’re laughing with. Not at.

✈️ Flying private just got a lot furrier. Buckle up.

Private air isn’t reserved for Zuckerberg, Musk, or Gates anymore.

It doesn’t seem like that long ago that private jets were considered completely out of reach for anyone who wasn’t obscenely rich or famous – both in some cases.

But private aviation has become far more accessible over the years, and there’s been a particularly large shift since 2019.

Global aviation company VistaJet has reported a 86% increase in the number of animals it’s flown over the last two years, and it’s not just cats and dogs we’re talking about.

According to Matteo Atti, executive vice president of marketing and innovation for the company, one in four of its members now flies with a four-legged companion, while the amount of birds being taken on board are also on the rise.

“Rabbits are a recent new breed of pet flown by VistaJet, and while dogs continue to make up the majority of animal passengers, the number of cats spiked 357% from 2019 to 2020 alone,” says Atti.

Why so sudden?

VistaJet suggests that the “fast increase in pet adoptions” during the height of the pandemic – the number of foster pets in US homes jumped by 8% between March and September 2020 according to PetPoint, a software program with more than 1,200 shelters in its database, may have played a part.

How can we not be for pets leaving shelters and hopping on private jets?

This has even led to charter companies completely rebranding to solely focus on their new, target audience: dogs.

K9 Jets received an unusual quote request for a flight from London to New Jersey for 10 passengers and ten dogs! TEN DOGS!

The rest was history…

Simply book a seat for yourself and your four-legged friend at a fixed cost, and each route is made up of an outward-bound flight and a return flight.

The flight gets confirmed once the 75% passenger and pet threshold is reached for the full route and they keep passengers updated on the status of the flight on a regular basis.

The perks?

• No cages required for dogs

• Dogs can sit on your lap or by your side in the cabin

• Cats must be in their carriers

• No queues for customs or security

• Complimentary bar and refreshments

• Secure site to upload passport and pet documentation

• 20 kg luggage & carry-on per passenger

• Maximum of two pets under 50lb or one pet 51lb and over per seat booked (Included in the seat cost)

And people are DOING this?!

Why not?! With all of the regulations surrounding bringing your pet in-cabin on commercial flights, more and more pet parents are electing for a life of liberty in the air… and where traditional private air can cost a mortgage, more and more companies are relying on crowdsourcing the cost of the flight, making the concept more widely adopted.

So far, about 150 pets have flown with K9 Jets, and the service seems to be catching the attention of many. As the company plans to debut the new service between the Middle East and the UK capital, its summer charters have reportedly sold out.

It’s newest leg? London to Dubai… just a mere 7 hours 😂

K9 Jets will launch its first Dubai-London service on September 25th. Adam Golder, the company's founder, and Client Director, spoke about how demand inspired the new service, according to Gulf News.

So, this is a tad extreme. How else can I fly?

We get it. You don’t want the most Instagrammable photo ever (only kidding).

The next rung down in luxury, airborne pet travel would be in-cabin travel on the commercial airline of your choice. Every airline is different, so a brief list of items to consider:

• Do your homework with the airlines. Confirm that your dog can travel in the airplane cabin under the seat in front of you. Determine what paperwork you must have in preparation for travel including vaccination records and a health certificate for travel. Identify with your airline the precise weight requirements and dimensions under the airline seat, as this will dictate the size of your transport carrier.

• Acquire your dog’s travel carrier well in advance of your trip. Consider a soft-sided travel carrier as it is more “forgiving” for fitting under the airline seat space. Teach your dog that the carrier is a great everyday place to hang out. Always have the carrier open and available in your home in order to make it as inviting as possible. Feeding your dog in the carrier can help to create a positive association. Practice entry and exit from the carrier to make it as routine a process as possible - this will be important during security screening.

• Once your dog’s flight reservation is made, schedule a visit with your veterinarian close to the date of travel. Most airlines require a valid health certificate for travel completed by your veterinarian in order for your dog to fly with you. Be sure all relevant vaccinations are up to date and be sure to have your dog’s rabies vaccination certificate handy when traveling.

Just don’t let your dog know we clued you in to private jets. 😉

🔥 Maui pets in peril - you can help.

Maui wildfires have turned Hawaii into “hell.”

The natural disaster is the deadliest wildfire in US history.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green reported that hundreds of families have been displaced — and thousands of buildings have been destroyed.

“It’s going to be a long haul,” Green said.

The Hawaiian Humane Society and the Maui Humane Society are requesting assistance in getting supplies and funding for the displaced animals.

“With our population over capacity before this tragedy, we are running extremely low on space, supplies and foster,” the Maui Humane Society posted on Facebook. “As we are experiencing tragedy or know someone who is, we will need to band together as a community for both our humans and animals.”

The Hawaiian Humane Society posted their own update on their Facebook page, urging people to support the Maui organization.

“Update from our friends at Maui Humane Society: currently, all animals at their shelter are safe, but stressed,” the post started. “Their shelter — and those across the state — have been over-capacity since before this disaster, and a surge of lost, scared and injured pets is expected to come into their already overcrowded and strained shelter.”

The most powerful aid: donating.

The Hawaiian Humane Society emphasized in all caps that the “NUMBER ONE THING NON-MAUI RESIDENTS CAN DO TO HELP MAUI HUMANE SOCIETY IS TO DONATE.”

The Maui organization also encouraged people to donate funds and supplies such as pet food, pop-up kennels and litter to sustain the animals as well as provide supplies for families who had to evacuate and leave all they had behind. Locals can drop donations directly at the Maui Humane Society in Puunene.

As for those on the mainland who wish to help in this way, the organization provided an Amazon Wishlist that will allow supplies to be directly shipped to them, adding that monetary donations are also “crucial to cover the costs of the lifesaving medical treatments necessary to save animal lives affected by the fires.”

❤️

Overheard at a dog park:

“The Squeeze”: Dog News In 60 Seconds

• 😰 Just breathe, Bella! Here’s the #1 sign that your dog is stressed, and we were shocked YouTubing squirrel videos doesn’t fix it…

• 👰 “I do” just isn’t complete without our furballs. Here’s how couples are including their dogs in their weddings.

• ✈️ Did the baggage exceed 50 lbs?! A Pittsburgh airline passenger abandoned his pet at the airport after learning he wouldn’t be able to fly with him. Don’t worry! He’s in great hands!

• 🏄‍♂️ Surfs (no longer) up! Skyler, the famous surfing dog, is retiring from professional dog surfing… and we’re simply devastated.

• 🎙️ Drake is dropping his new album For All the Dogs, but this fake poster at a Toronto subway stop didn’t fly with him…

• 🗣️ If your stubborn dog won’t come back, here are 5 trainers tips to practice recall with your pooch.

• 🪪 Hey, Texas: if you live in Palestine, you better get your pet a license…stat…otherwise, $231 fines are on the way.

Today’s Last Laugh:

It’s a bird…it’s a plane… no… it’s just Apollo.

@apollotheaussie9

#dogsoftiktok appolo the dog vs the hose