Pets in the military (dogs, cats)

[contraildash]

Ok after looking through 138 posts on the subject of pets...my eyes are dizzy and I have no answer:

I'm going overseas, and we are taking a commercial flight then the rotator. On the commercial flight it's supposedly going to cost $250 per pet. On the rotator it's $100 per pet. So for my wife's two cats we are looking at $700. Easy math.

So is that cost covered in some PCS allowance, is it something I can claim and get reimbursed, or am I just going to be out $700 for two pussies that do me no good?

I don't have any information in my gouge on this, other than the govt allowing me to bring two pets to my new base. And it's 4pm so no one on base answers their phone.

[stract]

govt will only reimburse the cost of kenneling for a quarantine, up to a certain amount. You're out $700, sorry.

[Hacker]

Since I was traveling with a family, I just elected to use a pet shipping service. It cost about the same, and eliminated the hassle. Someone else picked them up at my house, put them on the airplane, picked them up on the other end...and eventually dropped them off at my new house on the other end.

Again, cost more, but was oh-so worth it in diminished hassle.

[pcola]

I just pcs'd back to the States after 3 years flying Learjets at Ramstein. Congrats on the awesome job, you're going to love it.

About the cats. Yes, you are out the cash, but that's not all they are going to cost you. You need to talk to the base vet if you haven't already. They're going to need documentation of all their shots, and the rabies have to be current, but completed MORE THAN 14 days prior to your departure. You are also going to need to get them chipped if they aren't already, and lastly, you're going to have to get a letter of health from a vet written in English and Deutsch. The base vet will be able to help you with all of this. You are also going to need to find a place for them to stay while you house hunt. That may mean boarding them at 10 Euro/day. Ramstein TLF now has a limited number of pet friendly units. Call ASAP to reserve one if you haven't already. Odds are you are already too late, though, they fill up fast. And oh yeah, if you don't "lose" the cats w/in the next three years, plan to repeat the process (and the money spent) when you move back to the States. Cha-Ching, yeeeaah.

BTW, do you have a sponsor yet? Has he/she done anything for you? PM me and I can help grease the wheels, I just left there in June, so I'll know your sponsor. If you don't know yet, I can call over and find out. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Man, I wish I had it all to do again. Oh well, time to pay my dues now as part of the AMC machine...

[Clayton Bigsby]

Not sure. The airline is the one that hurts the most...$500? Ouch.

From what it sounded like, no matter how I go about this there will be a connection/layover somewhere. Rotator or not.

Well you're certainly going to do a connection, however doing it all within one airline greatly simplifies things - usually an airline has a monopoly on a certain number of gates within an area, maybe an entire concourse if it's their hub. That means the difference between pets being moved over a couple gates to the connecting flight, to having to go to another concourse clear on the other side of the ramp/airport/whatever since it's an interline (to another airline) connection.

Keeping it on one airline also is cheaper - you'd only have to pay that pet fee once instead of twice. No matter which way you cut it you're going to have to pay that most hurtful one - the rotator can't get you everywhere.

Which airline is charging you 250 per animal, and on what itinerary? I've heard of and seen 100-ish per animal, more if the kennel is huge, but for 2 cats...

I get to pay 100 per animal to go to Hawaii, plus all the quarantine processing fees. Yay.

[Clayton Bigsby]

Contrail - PM me with your itinerary, I worked for United up until this last week (still have plenty of connections), I'll see if it's REALLY 250. That sounds fishy, it usually goes off of kennel size and two cats are hardly huge.

[pcola]

Also, check and see if you can take them as carry ons. No shit, my PCS flight from Frankfurt to Ohare was on Lufthansa, and they told me I could bring the cats as carry on. I decided not to piss off everybody else around me so they got checked, but if your domestic flight is relatively short, it would be worth it to save the 400 bones. I'd check into it if I were you.

[Clayton Bigsby]

There is a pet-in-cabin fee, but it may be less than checking the animal. It's case dependent.

Sometimes on international itineraries/routings, pet-in-cabin is made unavailable (except for service animals),due to customs clearance issues - for example, due to quarantine requirements, pet-in-cabin is specifically unavailable on United to Hawaii. Same for England.

[tripilot]

Did a search for this but didn't find anything.

I'm 24, single, male, pilot select. I won't be starting OTS for another 6 months so I want to get a dog to have throughout my career now. Anyone have any recommendations on the best breed for a single service member like myself? I'm pretty athletic, so I want a larger, agile animal, intelligent and a good companion. But he also needs to be able to cope with change and new situations well, because of all the moving around.

Any of you guys got dogs you find are really good with your lifestyle?

[HU&W]

So, what kind of dog do you plan to kennel while you spend three months at OTS (no dogs), six to twelve months in the dorms waiting for UPT to start (no dogs), thirteen months in the dorms during UPT (no dogs)? My recommendation is to put off your pet friend until you are established somewhere that will support that choice. Don't worry, you won't get too bored between now and then. Perhaps you should try to find a girlfriend.

[itsokimapilot]

Did a search for this but didn't find anything.

I'm 24, single, male, pilot select. I won't be starting OTS for another 6 months so I want to get a dog to have throughout my career now. Anyone have any recommendations on the best breed for a single service member like myself? I'm pretty athletic, so I want a larger, agile animal, intelligent and a good companion. But he also needs to be able to cope with change and new situations well, because of all the moving around.

Any of you guys got dogs you find are really good with your lifestyle?

Sounds like a crappy deal for the dog. Wait until you're done with training or until you're married to get a dog.

My .02

Edited April 18, 2010 by itsokimapilot

[MilitaryToFinance]

So, what kind of dog do you plan to kennel while you spend three months at OTS (no dogs), six to twelve months in the dorms waiting for UPT to start (no dogs), thirteen months in the dorms during UPT (no dogs)? My recommendation is to put off your pet friend until you are established somewhere that will support that choice. Don't worry, you won't get too bored between now and then. Perhaps you should try to find a girlfriend.

Agree with this competely. I waited until I found out I didn't have a pilot slot before getting a dog. And even still there are times I feel bad. If you work a 9-10 hour day when you add in commuting to and from work, plus some PT, you're talking about leaving your dog home alone for 12+ hours. Not to mention to massive expense of putting the dog in a kennel every time you go TDY(believe me, it eats up probably half your per diem). You should really reconsider getting a dog before OTS and pilot training.

[MKopack]

Have a friend (and Squadron Safety Officer) who "redeployed" a cat from the Middle East back to Europe on his lap in an F-16C. He didn't seem to have a problem with it, not sure about the cat...

I understand that there are pics somewhere...

Mike

[sky_king]

I guess he really let the cat out of the bag.

<does 50 pushups as a penalty for using a pun>

[tripilot]

Ok, first of all, I seriously searched for "dog" and looked at EVERY thread that came up. So I don't know how the hell I didn't find this one.

So, what kind of dog do you plan to kennel while you spend three months at OTS (no dogs), six to twelve months in the dorms waiting for UPT to start (no dogs), thirteen months in the dorms during UPT (no dogs)? My recommendation is to put off your pet friend until you are established somewhere that will support that choice. Don't worry, you won't get too bored between now and then. Perhaps you should try to find a girlfriend.

During OTS the dog will stay at my parents' large house in Texas where he/she will have a black lab and a shepherd/collie mix to keep him company, and my highly competent parents to care for him.

Now, as for casual and UPT. I was under the impression that one could always opt to live off-base. I would choose some place with a yard and retain the services of a dog-sitter or local kid in the summer to take him out and walk him mid-day. If this assumption is wrong, and there is a period of time in which I am mandated to live in dorms (besides OTS), I perhaps need to recalculate.

However, that kind of doesn't make sense to me. This thread has lots of examples of people that have multiple pets and seem to deal with it OK. Also, what happens if I show up at UPT with a dog? They tell me get rid of it, or you can't fly? I know the military does not operate along the rules of reason or empathy, but even by military standards that sounds fairly improbable. There must be a solution for a single person with a pet at UPT.

Finally, it has been my experience that a girlfriend is considerably more expense and effort than a dog, and on top of that nearly impossible to crate-train.

[Slander]

Dude, I was in your shoes 2 years ago. Here's how it worked for me:

I got a dog when I was casual and bored out of my mind. It was great when I had nothing to do. Then I had to go to IFS and ASBC and my girlfriend watched him for the 2 months I was in the dorms there. For you maybe the parents would work out instead of a girlfriend but whatever.

Showing up at UPT you will most likely be living in the dorms for 2 months minimum. Having a dog does not exempt you from living in the dorms, and pets are not allowed in the dorms. I left my dog with my girlfriend while I was stuck in the dorms. Except when I snuck him in a few times. Possible, yes, but not recommended, I almost got busted and it could've gotten really ugly for me.

During UPT I had a couple roommates once I got to live off base and they helped me out with him as well as my girlfriend watching him (she lived a couple hours away). When I was on formal release, he stayed home for 12 hours inside. Then I took him out and we played for 30-40 minutes until he was ready to settle down. When you're in UPT, during formal release, generally it works like this after work: study, eat, work out, sleep. Pick 2.

Bottom line dude, plan on living in the dorms for a while at UPT, don't plan on them caring you have a dog, and decide from there. PM me if you want more specifics on how it worked for me.

[Herk Driver]

Also, what happens if I show up at UPT with a dog? They tell me get rid of it, or you can't fly? I know the military does not operate along the rules of reason or empathy, but even by military standards that sounds fairly improbable. There must be a solution for a single person with a pet at UPT.

Finally, it has been my experience that a girlfriend is considerably more expense and effort than a dog, and on top of that nearly impossible to crate-train.

No, they simply tell you that dogs aren't allowed in the dorms and you are required to live there.

Girlfriends may be considerably more expensive, but in my experience, they can let themselves into and out of the bathroom to relieve themselves, unlike a dog.

[tripilot]

Dude, I was in your shoes 2 years ago. Here's how it worked for me:

I got a dog when I was casual and bored out of my mind. It was great when I had nothing to do. Then I had to go to IFS and ASBC and my girlfriend watched him for the 2 months I was in the dorms there. For you maybe the parents would work out instead of a girlfriend but whatever.

Showing up at UPT you will most likely be living in the dorms for 2 months minimum. Having a dog does not exempt you from living in the dorms, and pets are not allowed in the dorms. I left my dog with my girlfriend while I was stuck in the dorms. Except when I snuck him in a few times. Possible, yes, but not recommended, I almost got busted and it could've gotten really ugly for me.

During UPT I had a couple roommates once I got to live off base and they helped me out with him as well as my girlfriend watching him (she lived a couple hours away). When I was on formal release, he stayed home for 12 hours inside. Then I took him out and we played for 30-40 minutes until he was ready to settle down. When you're in UPT, during formal release, generally it works like this after work: study, eat, work out, sleep. Pick 2.

Bottom line dude, plan on living in the dorms for a while at UPT, don't plan on them caring you have a dog, and decide from there. PM me if you want more specifics on how it worked for me.

Hey FSU, check your PM.

Thanks