Flying Large Dogs

[Bob Orts]

Don't know if this will help in your situation. I friend who moved to Kauai did the following:
Arranged transportation via I believe Pacific Air Cargo from LA to Honolulu.
Used a pet boarding service in CA who kept the dog there until the next day.
Took themselves to the airport that day and flew to Kauai, got settled in, and got some rest.
The next evening the boarding service took the dog to the airport. The flight was late night so it's cooler and less hectic. They knew exactly when to bring the dog so it was drop off, clearance, on the plane.
Arranged for an authorized handler to pick up the dog when it arrived in Honolulu and took it through quarantine inspection. Because the handler recommended a longer stopover than most people normally do when they book flights, the dog was able to leave the airport and get some quality leg stretching time before returning to the airport for the inter-island flight to Kauai. Again, the handlers knew exactly when to bring the dog to reduce waiting time.
They went to the airport and picked it up when it arrived in Kauai.

They said it was so much less stressful from the stories they had heard from others. I imagine it probably cost a few hundred more.

[Genxor]

I'm sorry I don't remember the charge for Jackie / Winston. It was well worth the few hundred dollars- which included the flight to Hilo.

Pets are taken directly to the quarantine facility by the airlines - this site is off airport. This is where Jackie/ Winston really come into play - larger dogs will likely be on the cargo flight to Hilo ( Aloha Air ) which arrives to Hilo at 9:45 ..?
Though we wanted "Gracie" and "Penny" with us, we felt it really was better for all involved for Jackie/ Winston to take care of them upon their arrival at HNL to shipping them off to Hilo.
They had seen so many strange faces - flying from Washington DC to Hilo- at first they didnt recognize us - but they came through fine and excited. Though Gracies still not sure where all the squirrels went to..........

Greg H.

[mella l]

Greg, thanks for the chuckle about the squirrels! And I agree the peace of mind is like the one in the hand and two in the bush principle, for those of us whose mind is freyed due to cat issues.

mella l

[Iju]

Jackie and Winston charged us $85 plus the air-cargo. It was money well spent. I highly recommend using the authorized handler.

Val

[Robin C]

Mella,

I did have a bit of a hard time finding the quarantine office. I was a little burnt from the move and stress was high, so could have been more of a user problem than airport layout.

Here's a link to a map. On the right side of the page where the road makes a big turn "down" to the inter-island terminal, there's a road (not shown on the map) that goes up to where it says USDA. Go up that road. You go under a bridge/pedestrian walkway. Continue up the empty, industrial-looking road until you get to the quarantine station. It will be on your left. There's a sign above the door.

http://www.hawaii.gov/dot/airports/maps/...%20map.pdf

Our pets were ready to go when we got there. It took about five minutes for them to verify that I'd paid and wheel out the "kids".

Robin

[hooligal]

Hrm, try this link instead:
http://www.hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/info

The look for the paragraph that reads "Direct Release on Neighbor Islands: Pets may now qualify for direct release at Kona Airport (Big Island), Kahului Airport (Maui) and Lihue Airport (Kauai). See "Checklist for Requesting Direct Airport Release at Kona, Kahului and Lihue Airports.""

it's about 8 paragraphs from the top. Third try's a charm I hope!

If I understand it correctly, yes...it's not direct release. Instead your pet stays with the quarantine vet office for MAX of 5 days.

Here's the phone number for the Kona Quaratine Vet:
Kona Veterinary Service
(808) 325-6637 for Kona arrivals"

Erin



Edited by - hooligal on 09/28/2007 08:15:26

Edited by - hooligal on 09/28/2007 08:18:23

[HADave]

Iju, Robin, Hooligal, This is all very good information. Many thanks

The direct release seems to be very possible In Kona as long as the checklist is followed. The only catch that I could foresee would be the Vet having an Emergency that interfered with your scheduled time spot.

Does anyone know the permit costs and Vet charges? This has to be a great solution to an ever growing problem. Now hopefully the appropriate airline flies directly to Kona.....

Aloha Lucy & Ethel

[KathyMeek]

We are moving over to the Big Island the end of this month. We are sending two cats over on one day (10/30) and three dogs the next (10/31). I like the idea of getting a handler to help in Honolulu as my husband will already be in Hilo to secure a house and to pick up the animals when the fly in. I, on the other hand, will be in Colorado getting them off safely. I have been trying to get a hold of Jacke and Winston Kupau to set something up but as of this date have had no sucess. Does anyone know of someone else that could possible help (and is dependable) with the transport from Honolulu to Hilo? We are planning on sending the animals as cargo on the Aloha flight that leaves at 10:53 p.m. They will be coming from Colorado on a direct flight on United which arrives at 3:22 p.m. in Honolulu. I would appreciate any suggestions as this is the most stressful part of our move. This guys are our kids and I will be worring the whole time until they land safely in Hilo.

Thanks for any advice.

Kathy Meek

[Bob Orts]

This is the list of authorized handlers if it helps.

http://www.hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/aqs-interhandlers.pdf

[KathyMeek]

Thanks! Does anyone have any recommendations for people on this list.

Kathy Meek