Our Dog's Panama Journey Part 3 - Houston Delayover
Wheels down at 6:05A Houston time. We had heard the weather in Houston was getting nasty. We were told that international flights had priority meaning that we would land and take off even as domestic flights through Houston were being cancelled. My concern was for the dogs..I did not want to overnight in Houston nor did I want us to be on a different flight from them. Although they were in Cargo and I couldn't get to them, knowing they were on the same plane was an ounce of reassurance.
I asked the flight attendant about the dogs and she reassured me saying that although the captain could not say whose dogs were in cargo, the fact that the crew was alerted to 'animals in the galley' meant the dogs were on board. They were the last to be boarded in LAX and the first to be off in Houston. The last to be boarded in Houston and the first to be off in Panama City.
Once we landed and were sufficiently caffeinated, I guided Bryant over to the United Customer Service desk in our terminal and asked questions. The agent made several phone calls, said that she spoke directly to the PetSafe manager and that our dogs were receiving comfort care after being off boarded. That would mean they would be walked, be fed and their kennels cleaned if necessary. I had attached food and leashes to the outside of the kennels as instructed by the airline for this very service.
I asked why I never received any alerts about the dog's progress. Logging into the Cargo website for updates would only yield the location by city and time stamp and no other detail. This was not what I had expected. United would not allow dog owners to see their dogs citing a secured area. Well, wasn't the terminal we were in secured as well?
Our 3 hour layover turned into four before we boarded our Panama City bound plane. 20 minutes post delayed departure time a flight attendant made the announcement that the Sr. Pilot had not yet arrived. He was inbound on another flight that was diverted to Dallas. A replacement was called and was on the highway driving to the airport. We should depart in about 45 minutes. Yup, you guessed...that pilot didn't make it to the airport either... but the diverted pilot did. Then there was a line to de-ice the plane.
Wheels up finally after 6 hours. The dogs had been sitting in the cargo hold for 3 of those 6 hours. We had a 4 hour flight ahead of us. I was not happy. I had horrible thoughts. Sleeping was out of the question and I was miserable for the most part. Bryant and I only passed out for a bit because we had a full row of seats available for each of us so we could lie down.
And the food selections on this flight were such that I could eat...NOTHING. OK, you have an idea of how miserable I was. Bryant only slightly less. He can eat anything and he ate everything.
I asked the flight attendant about the dogs and she reassured me saying that although the captain could not say whose dogs were in cargo, the fact that the crew was alerted to 'animals in the galley' meant the dogs were on board. They were the last to be boarded in LAX and the first to be off in Houston. The last to be boarded in Houston and the first to be off in Panama City.
Once we landed and were sufficiently caffeinated, I guided Bryant over to the United Customer Service desk in our terminal and asked questions. The agent made several phone calls, said that she spoke directly to the PetSafe manager and that our dogs were receiving comfort care after being off boarded. That would mean they would be walked, be fed and their kennels cleaned if necessary. I had attached food and leashes to the outside of the kennels as instructed by the airline for this very service.
I asked why I never received any alerts about the dog's progress. Logging into the Cargo website for updates would only yield the location by city and time stamp and no other detail. This was not what I had expected. United would not allow dog owners to see their dogs citing a secured area. Well, wasn't the terminal we were in secured as well?
Our 3 hour layover turned into four before we boarded our Panama City bound plane. 20 minutes post delayed departure time a flight attendant made the announcement that the Sr. Pilot had not yet arrived. He was inbound on another flight that was diverted to Dallas. A replacement was called and was on the highway driving to the airport. We should depart in about 45 minutes. Yup, you guessed...that pilot didn't make it to the airport either... but the diverted pilot did. Then there was a line to de-ice the plane.
Wheels up finally after 6 hours. The dogs had been sitting in the cargo hold for 3 of those 6 hours. We had a 4 hour flight ahead of us. I was not happy. I had horrible thoughts. Sleeping was out of the question and I was miserable for the most part. Bryant and I only passed out for a bit because we had a full row of seats available for each of us so we could lie down.
And the food selections on this flight were such that I could eat...NOTHING. OK, you have an idea of how miserable I was. Bryant only slightly less. He can eat anything and he ate everything.
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