DOG COMFORT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 22, 27 January 1939, Page 10

DOG COMFORT.

Pets Travel in Modern Air Liners. (By KAY CARSON.) Women air travellers are making llieir presence felt in no uncertain manner. So frequently have they requested tliHt they lahoulil lie allowed to take their ]iet dog* in the pa**cnger fa loons of air liners travelling to the Continent, that, this question was one of the main problems discussed m the International Air Tin iis|Mirt Association's conference in London. The result i* that the women win— up to a point the point being the size of the dog. It has been decided that xtiinll dogs which are carried* in basket* —that is, lap dogs -may accompany their mistress, if *he is 'willing to pay a percentage of the passenger rate for the pet in question. This rate i*. of course, higher than the freight rate which still applies to dojr* that travel in the freight compartment. In other words, woman's whim in complied with, and the old adage still hold* good. Big dogs, however, will always travel a* freight and are charged for at the current freight rate. Imperial Airway*, who cater specially for alt clause* 'of pet*, have carried a variety of dogs who*e -dzes have varied from the tiniest of Scotch terrier* to huge Afghan hound*. Puppies could not. be treated with more consideration than if they were . babies, and even have their own special food* provided. A Scotch terrier puppy which recently flew to Zurich had ordered for him freshly mashed meat and warmed milk. Meals are always administered to the dogs at the airport, however, and never on the 'planes, a* it ha* been found that, they travel so much better if not disturbed by strangers whilst in flight. Also, in the instance of puppies, they have to be very carefully packed, especially if a litter is carried. Five bull-dog puppies, barely a few weeks old, which flew to the Continent the other day. could not have been more carefullv packed than if they had been made of priceless Venetian glass. Women are not the only air travellers who indulge in whims about their pets. Imperial Airways can recall a recent case in connection w-ith dogs travelling by air which occurred in Central Africa. Two men were flying up the coast from Lindi to Dar-es-Nalaant. One of the men had a dog. which he wished to accompany him, and was most upset when told that it was not possible to carry animals on long-range flyingboat*. The dog owner was adamant. "If the dog stays, we stay," he declared. Airport officials made many helpful suggestions. "You might send the dog by irain/' "No." "Then why not take a flying taxi," said the officials, "the special charter department has several on hand. There is no ban on dogs in aircraft privately chartered." And so a solution was arrived at and they all flew away happily together.