Had to Return a Dog Crate for the Third Time

Always the bargain shopper am I. My 105 lb German Shepherd hasn't needed a crate for four years...he's such a good doggie. I knew I couldn't buy him a seat on the plane to Germany, so I started hunting for a good, solid crate. Dumb me started looking at price first. Do you know there are crates all over the internet? My first purchase was a Furrari pet crate, in their Giant size. It's the biggest that brand comes in...he'll fit then. You should've seen him in there after I closed the door....once I finally did get the door closed. His feet were hanging over the end when he was lying down and when he did sit up, he was hunched over and made a face like he does when he gets into something he maybe shouldn't. It's a good thing I ordered that one from Petco.

At least the return process was easy. I had originally done some googling and found a coupon code for 20% off, so I wasn't worried at all that shipping was non-refundable. I printed off the return form and took it to my local Petco, no questions asked. Now for Round 2.

I decided to stick with Petco. Petsmart didn't have the really big crates at all. I ended up calling Petco's 1-800 number and actually talked to someone knowledgeable about crates who just happened to have a big dog herself. The next purchase was a run-of-the-mill Varikennel. Their Giant size was really giant, not like that European-sounding crate I had just returned...why can't all this be standardized? Crate #2 arrives, and it was truly Giant. It's a good thing I have a minivan...you can forget getting that thing in a car. Everyone fit and everyone was happy.

Then my dad visited, an ex-airline employee. He said, let's check what the airline says on its site. I said I had already been there. Well, somehow he found a page I hadn't found. We went down the list...yep, yep, got all that, good to go...uh oh...international flights, that's us. The kennel must have ventilation on four sides. I ran to the crate and counted, then re-counted again...and then one more time, because I didn't want to believe it....only three sides...no airholes in the back. God da**....I screwed up again! My dad called a friend to verify, and yep, that's right. So now what? Petco didn't have any other choices, and neither did Petsmart.

We trolled around the internet and found Dog.com...wow, lots of crates. There was a 700 series Sky Kennel ...it looks just like the Varikennel...wait, it is the Varikennel with extra airholes in the back. It's a new upgraded kennel that meets international requirements. We called the airline back and asked if this would even fit on our particular plane, a Boeing 767? After being on hold, the guy came back and said is this a series 700 kennel? Yes! Yes! He said when he checked the configuration for the aircraft, this particular kennel was actually listed as the largest size crate they will take...and oh, it's called an extra-extra large by the airlines. Again, no standardation. I had friend of a friend email me that day from Germany, lamenting how their friend had to send their two Great Danes via airfreight, cause no airline would take them, at the tune of $1500....ouch. So, I dutifully had the airline rep note it in the record that we had a Series 700 and to expect it on the plane. I don't know if that will help, but we felt we had to do something to ensure our big doggie some kind of spot. I also asked my dad if he was prepared to keep Argos, should some baggage snafu happen at the airport. They are new best friends as of now.

What do we do now along with the usual worrying when you have all these moving parts during a move?....we keep our fingers crossed til hit time...we assume that the cat will be okay in a smaller version of the crate. I'll let you know how it goes from the other side. If you have any lessons learned you can share about traveling with pets, please do post a note.