McLean Puppy Chronicles: What happens when you do the unthinkable and open yourself up to raise a puppy to give away to someone else: You create joy and freedom for a visually impaired person. We're puppy raisers for Southeastern Guide Dogs. Read about our journey.
Disclaimer: This blog is written purely for entertainment purposes. It may contain excerpted and abbreviated accounts of events and should not be construed as a reenactment of the actual event. Author is prone to exaggerate for comic effect.
Our last meeting was at the St. Pete Airport where Dewey was able to experience the wonders of travel, without the crowds (or expense!). It was a major meeting with all for puppy groups from Pinellas County showing up.
Some of the raisers walking with their puppies down the hall of the airport.
We met at baggage claim and then we all proceeded to security where we lined up to be scanned.
Fred and Dewey wait patiently to go through the security scanner.
Dewey was paying very close attention to Fred, which was a good thing as going through security you need your dog to be focused on you and the commands you are going to be giving them.
Dewey is watching Fred intently.
Here is the process for taking a guide dog puppy through security.
Leave the collar, leash and coat on.
Put your dog in a sit.
Tell your dog to stay.
Walk through the scanner yourself. Your dog should remain on the other side in his stay.
Ask your dog to Come to you.
Depending on whether they have a buckle collar or a martingale or training collar, they may need to be patted down. Have them hold a Stand while the TSA agent does this. Try to prevent any licking! 8-)
Most of our puppies, like Dewey's sister Bridget, made it through security just fine!!
A close-up of the lovely Marcie, a yellow lab.
Fred walking Dewey out to the Allegiant plane.
Melisa, Brian and Fred and their pups in front of the plane with the sun in the background.
Melisa, Brian, Fred, Blair and Julie and pups in front of the plane.
Blair walking Sheba up the planes ramp.
We also all got to board a plane and have the dogs sit in a plane and experience walking down the aisles.
We had the pups experience the loud baggage claim area. Dewey did great! He wasn't scared at all of the noise or the turning belts.
Dewey staring at the baggage claim belts.
Dewey sitting by the baggage claim belts
It was an amazing meeting. Great exposures and wonderfully organized!!
Here is some other info for flying with your dog that we have gathered over five puppies:
We have had several experiences flying with our Southeastern Guide Dog puppies
and even thought the airline was the same, it really all came down to the personnel. We always used US Airways and for the most part, they were great. It was the return flight that was generally the problem (they weren't used to service dogs like Tampa people were). However, we just recently had a raiser in South Pinellas group who had an incredibly bad experience with Southwest Airlines, that I just have to share: No Fly Zone!
The TSA also has a general list of rights and guidelines of what their handlers can and will do when you and your service dog are going through the line. It would be a good idea to make a copy of this webpage and have it in your purse/backpack if it seems the TSA agent is unsure how to pat down you or your dog. It never hurts to be prepared.
I always have copies of shots and a note from the vet stating that the dog is good to travel. This info is not required, but is nice to have on hand just in case. In addition, you can request an airline access letter from Southeastern (ask Katie Young) and that will detail you and your dog's credentials. This letter must be requested at least 2-3 weeks in advance of your travel date in order to give them time to prepare and send it to you on letterhead.
Another thing I have found to be very helpful is knowing where the relief stations are. It used to be that you could ask for a supervisor to escort you and your pup out onto the tarmac just before the fight and they would take you (they did this with Bingo, but not with Berkeley because of the Xmas underwear bomber. They won't do that anymore in most cases.) It was nice, because a lot of relief stations are back behind security!! Now someone has come out with an app for finding those relief stations! The app is called Where to Go. It was created by Working Like Dogs and there is an app for the iphone and the android.
So, if you are making reservations and you are taking your pup, be sure to do the following:
Send in a request for an airline access letter to the appropriate person at Southeastern Guide Dogs at least two to three weeks BEFORE you plan on traveling. She will be able to get you a letter on official letterhead attesting to your status with Southeastern, your dogs credentials, etc.
Don't choose Southwest.
Do choose United/Continental who officially supports Southeastern Guide dogs in training or US Airways (I've had good luck with them).
When making your reservations, tell them that you are bringing a service dog so that they can indicate that on your reservation from the very beginning.
Our Tuesday night meeting was held at the Clearwater Airport. We had a combined meeting, which was fun as we got to see some familiar faces from down south.
The purpose was to get an exposure to some very specific travel hazards that visually impaired people and their guide dogs might encounter. The first one that we went to was the baggage claim area.
Normally, you would just think of baggage claim as an annoying place to wait for your luggage. In fact, it is a noisy, potentially scary place for puppies. think about the alarm that sounds before the baggage claim luggage mover starts to move (and what is the name for that?!!). There is even a revolving police light! I have NEVER noticed that light before.
So we all crowded around and waited for the siren and lights and the baggage claim thingy to move. then they placed some baggage on it and let it come around. Jam was curious, but unfazed. Jam is so super cool. Really, nothing fazes him.
Then it was on to security.
Security is a major deal. ANYTHING can happen. You can check back to our previous posts about taking a dog through the airport to see that you can have a great experience on a flight out and a horrible one on the flight back. With THE SAME AIRLINE. It all depends on the attendant and whether they are feeling the love.
So it all really rests on you and how you handle the situation. So, some things you can do:
1. Always remain calm, cool and collected.
2. If there is a way to exploit your dog's cuteness, use it. It never hurts.
3. When making your reservation, make sure to tell the airline that you will be traveling with a service dog. They put a special code next to your reservation. It might also be a good idea to call the local airline a day before and ask if they have it noted on your reservation.
4. Be confident. Approach the ticket counter with a smile and have your dog sit and stay. Never use the word puppy. You have a service dog in training. If possible, try to get them to list your dog carrier as an assistive device and not charge you for it. Some managers have done this for us, some haven't. You may not always get this, but it worth asking for.
Now, I recommend that you don't get the largest dog crate to travel with and that you don't travel with it put together (see previous post). It exceeds the largest luggage allowance and if you get a cranky attendant they are going to stick it to you ($125 fee). Then you have to deconstruct the crate and somehow get it to stay together. Better to travel with it deconstructed or buy the smaller one and never have that problem. TRUST ME!!!
When going through security, there are a myriad of things that can happen. You can have a security guard go off her meds and run screaming from the security area:
"I'm afraid of dogs! I'm afraid of dogs!" As happened to one of our puppy raisers. No problem with the puppy getting excited about that hysterical person. Right!
Or you can have the person selected to give you a pat down be afraid of dogs and ask for backup, as happened to me. Making it a menage a tois of a really weird sort with a distracted, jumping 70-pound puppy leaping up and the security guard trying to pat me down shrieking and veering away from me. Lovely. I thought Fred was going to cry he was laughing so hard.
Trust me. You want security calm and happy.
Approach them and tell them what you would like to do.
1. I would like to go through the machine first.
2. I will have my dog sit and stay on the passenger side and I will walk through.
3. Once I have passed through, I will call my dog.
4. Once he has passed through, you can pat him down.
Explain that leaving the leash and collar on will make sure that there isn't a loose dog running around. Ask if this procedure meets with their approval or if they have another procedure they want to follow.
Sometimes they have special short line they put you in. Yea! I love it when that happens.
If you can get the bulkhead sit, take it. There is lots of room. Make sure though, that you keep your dog in your seat area and don't allow him to spread out to the other passenger's space. Encroachment is rude.
If you don't get the bulkhead, don't despair. We have traveled with two dogs, one tiny and one large. They both fit under the seat, no problem. Do a down under and you're good to go.
It was an amazing meeting. Our thanks to all the employees at Clearwater Airport, Michele Routh, the head of marketing, for arranging it, Clearwater TSA and Alligiant Air for letting us board a plane. They really helped us out! And to Judy and John our ACs for making it happen.
Here's a video of some of what we did at the airport!
