Addressing Emergencies During Pet Transport

The vast majority of traveling pets get to where they need to go safely and without incident. While true emergencies are rare, things can happen that disrupt your pet’s travel. 

At Tailwind Global Pet, we pride ourselves on proactive measures that prevent the most common issues that arise with traveling pets. When unexpected challenges do occur, we get into solutions mode to respond to those challenges immediately. 

We tailor our solutions to safeguard your pet’s well-being every step of the way because their safety is always our top priority.  

Communication

We pride ourselves on 100% transparency throughout every step of your pet’s journey. In the rare event of an emergency, we let our clients know what’s going on immediately and maintain constant communication until the situation is addressed.  

If we’re not on-site with your pet, we work directly with our trusted, contracted partners to address the situation wherever they are. Everyone on our staff and everyone at our partners has the necessary expertise to respond to and troubleshoot situations that may arise.

No matter what, whether your pet is on a short domestic route or a complicated international flight, you will be fully informed from the moment your pet’s travel is in our hands.

Your pet’s safety is our top priority, and clear, honest communication is key to our processes and ensuring an experience that is as stress-free as possible. 

Common Issues

We don’t have a set definition of what constitutes an emergency in pet travel. In our minds, any situation that requires our immediate attention or that doesn’t go as planned is treated with urgency. We have processes in place to address issues big and small. 

How we handle or solve issues with your pet’s flight depends on the situation. In the case of a serious health emergency in transit, our immediate course of action would be to get your pet to a veterinarian immediately. This includes situations where a pet injures themselves inside their crate or develops some kind of health condition mid-flight. 

Pet health emergencies aren’t always the result of air travel, either. Pets have to be cleared to travel by their vet to ensure they’re healthy enough to fly. Unfortunately, sometimes pets have underlying conditions that go undetected and aren’t already a part of their health history. 

You can take steps to prevent escape attempts or anxious behaviors while your pet is mid-flight. To alleviate the stress of travel for your pet, get them acclimated to their travel crate. Give them lots of positive reinforcement for using their crate and build positive associations with that space. 

Take test runs to simulate what it may be like for them to travel in cargo. If you need a custom-built crate that is more secure or required by the airline due to your dog’s breed, talk to us. We can have them custom made to your pet’s requirements.  

Avoid sedatives, even with anxious pets. Some sedatives can make it hard for pets to regulate their breathing, on top of the fact that airlines won’t allow pets to travel if they look sedated. If you’re worried about this, we can work with you on things your pet needs (and things they don’t need) for a stress-free flight.  

In the case of flight cancellations or route changes, we work with the airline on your behalf. The next steps may include changes to their itinerary or check-ins with our experts on the ground. 

Any delays or disruptions to travel related to missing documents or problems with your documentation are handled on a case-by-case basis. The priority becomes getting access to the necessary documents as soon as possible, which can sometimes mean a missed flight.To avoid delays or problems with the airline, we always prefer to work with clients from the very start of their planning process. That way, we can make sure you have all of the documents you need to meet complex travel requirements, particularly to destinations with strict rules about rabies vaccinations.

Costs

It’s impossible to get into a breakdown of costs involved with the rare pet emergency, as every situation is different. We cover the costs of any issues that may happen as a result of our actions, but rest assured that we have thousands of happy clients for a reason. 

If something happens over the course of your pet’s journey that’s beyond our control, we work with pet owners to come up with the best  outcome and solution to that issue. 

Let’s get into an example. Issues with pet certificates completed before that pet was turned over to us can result in your pet missing their flight. This could be a mistake at the vet’s office or a case of a small piece of information missing to meet airline requirements.

We’d work with that pet owner to find the most cost-effective solution and get their pet where they need to go as safely and efficiently as possible. 

We aren’t in the business of forcing our clients to spend as much as they can to pad our bottom line. We’re in the pet transport business because we love your pets. We live for those happy reunions at the end of your pet’s travel. 

Tailwind Is Prepared for the Unexpected 

We don’t love talking about the what-if scenarios, but complete transparency is essential to what we do at Tailwind Global Pet. We would never want potential clients to assume it’s impossible for something to go wrong, even if it’s rare for true pet emergencies to happen.

We have over 40 years of experience managing the intricacies of pet travel, including addressing any issues that arise, big or small. We can handle whatever comes our way.

Ready to get started? Each pet relocation situation is different. To get an idea of the costs involved, fill out a free quote request.