When Pets Fly

✈️🐾 **What is the most important seat in pet air travel?**

For many pets, it is the travel crate.

The crate is not luggage. It is the pet’s transportation environment—where the animal may spend hours being handled, transferred, transported and waiting.

Join me and **Giulia Gebhardt, Senior Vice President of Client Services at WorldCare Pet Transport**, as we discuss:

🐾 What “IATA-compliant” really means
🐾 Proper crate measurement and sizing
🐾 USDA, IATA and airline requirements
🐾 Common crate problems that can delay travel
🐾 Gaps in the commercial crate market
🐾 Why crate acclimation must begin early
🐾 Why routine sedation is discouraged for air travel

A crate can look suitable and still fail the pet, the airline or the journey.

📅 **October 2, 2026**
⏰ **1:00 PM ET**
🎙️ **When Pets Fly®: The Veterinary Air Travel Podcast**
🌐 www.whenpets.com

**The travel crate is the most important seat in pet air travel.**


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“A vest does not make a dog a service dog. Training and task performance do.”

A service dog is individually trained to perform specific work or tasks for a person with a disability. A vest, certificate or online registration cannot replace that training.

During my conversation with Brittany Esparza and Becca Bell of Canine Companions, we discussed the training behind legitimate service-dog partnerships—and why preparation matters in demanding environments such as airports and aircraft.

A service dog must do more than gain access. The dog must remain under control, perform its trained tasks and support its handler throughout the journey.

Watch our conversation on *When Pets Fly®: The Veterinary Air Travel Podcast.*

Learn more about Canine Companions: https://canine.org/
Visit: https://www.whenpets.com/
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What does **“pet-friendly”** actually promise?

One of the most important lessons from my conversation with **Beth Miller of Wagtown** was that the problem is larger than the terminology.

**NOW:** “Pet-friendly” remains an undefined promise. Consumers may hear “welcome, accommodated and safe,” while a business may mean only that certain pets are permitted under specific conditions.

**THE GAP:** A written policy does not create the experience—people do. Employees need appropriate education and training, and pet travelers must understand their own responsibilities.

**THE FUTURE:** Genuine pet-friendliness will require clear standards, trained employees, informed pet travelers, veterinary and behavioral expertise, animal-welfare safeguards and measurable accountability.

Most importantly, **responsibility is required from everyone**—businesses, transportation providers, employees, communities and pet travelers. No single group can create a safe, consistent and genuinely supportive experience alone.

The solution is not simply redefining “pet-friendly.” It is building the structure needed to deliver that promise consistently.

**Permission is not preparation. Acceptance is not suitability.**

Watch my full conversation with Beth on the **When Pets Fly®: The Veterinary Air Travel Podcast** under **Veterinary Air Travel Podcasts** at [whenpets.com](https://whenpets.com/).

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At 19 years old, Puccini reminds us that every traveling pet deserves an individualized assessment—especially senior pets.

Leslie Puccini Riddle, a friend of When Pets Fly®, has traveled with Puccini for many years. Their experience reinforces an important lesson: successful pet travel begins long before arriving at the airport.

Senior pets and other vulnerable animals may have greater difficulty tolerating stress, temperature changes, prolonged confinement, disrupted routines, unfamiliar environments and travel delays. Chronic medical conditions, mobility limitations, anxiety, respiratory disease and medication schedules can further affect transportation risk.

Age alone does not determine whether a pet is fit to fly. However, a health certificate alone does not establish travel readiness either.

Always consult your veterinarian before traveling—particularly with senior pets, very young animals, brachycephalic breeds and pets with medical or behavioral concerns. The discussion should include:

• Medical fitness for the complete journey
• Medication, feeding and hydration needs
• Carrier or crate acclimation
• Mobility and airport-relief planning
• Temperature, routing and delay risks
• A contingency plan if the journey changes

The goal is not simply to complete the paperwork. It is to determine whether—and how—the pet can travel safely.

Safe pet travel must be individualized because the pet experiences the journey, not the health certificate.

When Pets Fly®
Veterinary Air-Travel Medicine™
[www.whenpets.com](http://www.whenpets.com)
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🐾 September is National Service Dog Month

This month is an opportunity to recognize the extraordinary work of service dogs—and the independence, support, and partnership they provide to people with disabilities.

It is also an opportunity for greater education.

What is a service dog? How is a service dog different from a therapy dog or emotional support animal? What is appropriate etiquette around a working service dog? And how can misrepresentation affect legitimate service dog teams?

These are important conversations—especially when we consider air travel, where a service dog must navigate an environment very different from everyday public access.

🎙️ On When Pets Fly®: The Veterinary Air Travel Podcast, I spoke with Blake Woody, CEO of Certify Canine, about service dog certification, awareness, misrepresentation, behavior, and real-world readiness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkXhNXHkvAs&t=34s

And there’s more to come.

📅 September 11, 2026 | 1:00 PM ET
I’ll be joined by Brittany Esparza and Becca Bell of Canine Companions for another important conversation about service dogs and air travel.

Throughout National Service Dog Month, I hope we can do more than celebrate these remarkable dogs. Let’s also learn how to respect, support, and protect the teams who depend on them.

— Nelva J. Bryant, DVM, MPH
When Pets Fly®: The Veterinary Air Travel Podcast
Safe Pet Travel Starts With Us™

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Traveling with a non-traditional pet?

Birds, rabbits, reptiles, and other exotic animals experience travel differently from dogs and cats. Their medical needs, response to stress, transportation requirements, and airline acceptance policies may also be very different.

How can pet owners determine whether the journey is appropriate for their animal—not simply whether the paperwork can be completed?

Join me and exotic-animal veterinarian Dr. Doug Mader as we discuss traveling with non-traditional pets,, emotional support animals, and the importance of protecting animal welfare throughout the journey.

📅 Friday, August 28, 2026
🕐 1:00 PM ET
📍 Live on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube

🎙️ When Pets Fly®: The Veterinary Air Travel Podcast

Because the animal experiences the journey—not the health certificate.
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