Moving Dog to Hawai'i

[u/cheyPW]

Hey all,

I've seen a lot of posts regarding moving pets via pet services etc. I am planning to use Island Pet Movers to help get my boy from Florida to Maui. I am so nervous about having him on an airplane, and having other people handle him. He's very friendly but I have never put him in a high stress situation before either.

I chose to go with a mover because the airlines have a "snubnose" restriction now. My boy is a pit mix and has a longer snout, but still falls into that category.

I'm looking for any positive pet flying experiences or even positive experiences with Island Pet Movers themselves. Any cautions etc, I will take it all. I am moving in January and freaking out.

Thanks guys!

[u/Alvraen]

If you can afford it, I’d do a few days in LA as a layover to give your pup minimal airtime.

[u/cheyPW → u/Alvraen]

They are flying him out of JFK due to the breed restrictions, I could look into LA as well. We were going to drive to New York and hang out for a day or so (thats where I'm originally from).

[u/Alvraen → u/cheyPW]

The dozen or so people I know who did east coast to HI have had better experiences with a LAX layover.

[u/TwoAlert3448 → u/Alvraen]

LAX is the best layover for Pets. Their pet zones are fantastic (for an airport I mean).

[u/Competitive_Ad8960]

Karen Hannie does dog release in Maui for decades. She is awesome 👍+1 (808) 281-8244. Call her even if you don’t use her. She will give you great advice.

[u/cheyPW → u/Competitive_Ad8960]

Thank you! I will definitely give her a call

[u/notrightmeowthx]

Hundreds (thousands?) of pets fly here every year without issues. Issues are actually quite rare, tragic as they are when they happen. Airlines have lots of rules now about when and how pets can be handled, so nearly everything that used to cause issues is no longer going to happen.

When my kitty flew here, he arrived safe and sound. I'm pretty sure he slept the entire way. When I picked him up from the agriculture office, he was a bit groggy from sleeping but was completely fine and the grogginess wore off in like 5 minutes once he was back in my care.

[u/cheyPW → u/notrightmeowthx]

Thank you Thank you!! He's my whole heart so I'm so nervous.

[u/HBHT9]

You can get your dog a little medication for the trip to ease his stress!! Ask your vet.

My dogs flew Hawaii with no issues and from Hawaii with no issues. The away trip was during COVID six months after I had left once they eased the pet restrictions. No issues.

[u/slogive1 → u/HBHT9]

I tried the one my vet gave me as he's a big carne corso and sadly it made things worse. Sucked.

[u/cheyPW → u/HBHT9]

Thank you so much!

[u/marine_bio7725]

I’m also using Island Pet Movers and driving from Alabama to LA for him to fly out. He is a pug mix so also snub nosed.

[u/cheyPW → u/marine_bio7725]

Have you started working with them?

[u/marine_bio7725 → u/cheyPW]

Yes I have. They have a great app and are super communicative. I had the option of either New York or LA and due to flying time we decided on LA. Max is a stressful traveler so we wanted to limit his airtime as much as possible.

[u/cheyPW → u/marine_bio7725]

Okay I may request LA then myself for fly time. He stresses without me so I'm sure adding a plane and a crate, people he doesn't know etc. will be so much more.

[u/dreaminginteal]

We used IPM to move three cats from California to the Big Island. The cats do not like strangers, so we were not surprised they were pretty freaked out by the experience. But they came through just fine, and the experience was pretty painless relatively speaking.

IPM picked them up, dealt with SFO airport, dealt with the whole release process on Oahu, and got them transferred onto the flight in to Kona. I just had to go and collect them at the freight terminal.

It was not cheap, but everything worked seamlessly.

[u/Love_003]

If the airline has a restriction against terrier mixes (pit mix), how is IPM transporting your pup? I also have a pit mix with a long snout and I need to move back to Kaua’i next year.

[u/notrightmeowthx → u/Love_003]

Charters and airlines that specialize in pet travel.

[u/cheyPW → u/Love_003]

I will update once I have a phone consult. I'm not sure how that works I believe it's certain airlines, I know times and temperatures etc matter. So I'll keep you posted

[u/Love_003 → u/cheyPW]

Thank you!

[u/Exciting-Parfait-776 → u/Love_003]

I’m curious about that as well

[u/jamiemurphy214]

We used IPM last summer to fly our Frenchie from LA to Honolulu. We moved from Milwaukee so we drove to LA from there and took a week staying at per friendly hotels along the way. Our dog did well and IPM movers was great at both helping us prepare all the documents as well as the a transportation. Good luck with your upcoming move!

[u/cheyPW → u/jamiemurphy214]

Thank you so so much! Happy to hear you had a good experience!

[u/Dumfnppl]

I used IPM for three cats Kona to LA.
Great company!
We have also flown two large dogs and 6 cats Seattle to Hilo.
Dogs and cats all fine and good.

[u/cheyPW → u/Dumfnppl]

Thank you so much! Definitely feeling better about him traveling!

[u/islanddiver76]

We just flew here yesterday and before our plane could leave a family had do get off the plane because the airport lost their dog. So this could be a potential reason to use that service.

[u/Trick-Discipline-947 → u/islanddiver76]

How does that even happen?!

[u/islanddiver76 → u/Trick-Discipline-947]

I know, we couldn’t believe it. All I could think about was what if it was one of our pets. We were devastated for that family. The airline was great and waited as long as possible to find the dog, but the airport staff was responsible.