Friendly skies encouraging furry flyers
By Jennifer Gardner
It's getting a little easier to travel with your pets.
Those pet owners who take their pets with them on airlines will be the first to tell you that flying with an animal can be a huge hassle. If you fly with your pet, you must make your reservations well in advance because most airlines have a limit of one or two pets in the cabin of each flight. If you send your pet in cargo, weather restrictions may mean you can't fly if it's too hot or cold. And don't overlook the expense — getting a plane ticket for your pet can be costly.
This week, the ailing airline industry began to make overtures to pet owners. Midwest and United both unveiled frequent flyer programs for pets. United, which serves both the Portland and Eugene airports, will give pet owners 1,200 bonus miles on up to two round-trip tickets when they fly with their animals before May 27.
"We recognize that pets are members of the extended family and an important part of our customers' lives," says Jerry Dow, managing director of Worldwide Advertising and Promotions for United.
Different airlines have different restrictions on what kind of animals can be in the cabin. United allows cats, dogs and small birds. If you have a rabbit or a parrot, for example, you'll need to check around and find an airline that will permit cabin transportation of those animals. While I have heard of people successfully passing their rabbits off as small, long-eared cats, security is too stringent these days to bet on such an arrangement being accepted by the airline.
Before you go anywhere with your pet, you will probably need to get a veterinary checkup. Most out-of-state destinations require proof of a vet exam and vaccinations, so check with your travel agent to find out exactly what documentation you will need before you fly.
SENSE OF DANGER
It's been amazing to read stories of how animals in Southeast Asia reacted to the earthquake and approaching tsunami. One account I read was from a man whose dogs refused to go for a regular daily run on the beach. Their reactions saved their lives and their owner's life as they were on higher ground when the wave hit.
Other news stories have told about elephants breaking their ropes and leaving for higher ground, and flamingos abandoning their watery living areas — before the tsunami came. From reading these accounts, it seems that far fewer animals died in the tragedy than humans.
We already know that animals can have senses much better developed than our own. For example, dogs have senses of smell thousands of times better than our own. Some dogs are even being used to sniff out cancer in human beings! And cats can see much more detail, even in the dark.
Scientists are working to find out how animals detect infrasound, extremely low levels of noise that can't be heard by humans. What we term natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, may generate this infrasound at a level audible to some animals. It would be amazing if we could somehow tune into our pets enough to know if a natural phenomenon was about to occur.
PET OCTOPUS, ANYONE?
I love hearing about people who responsibly keep exotic pets, but it's important to remember that unusual pets are not for everyone. Most have special needs that are difficult or impossible to maintain, as well as being very costly.
But I was really intrigued to read about octopi as pets recently. They are reputed to be extremely intelligent, able to interact with humans and play with toys like Legos, and many types can change color depending on their surroundings. Before you get excited about having your very own eight-legged creature, it sounds near impossible to get the right level of care for these guys. A few people, with a lot of time and money, are able to do it successfully.
According to the TONMO.com Web site (TONMO stands for The Octopus News Magazine Online), an octopus must live alone, in a 50-gallon or larger salt-water aquarium. The temperature, pH, salt and nitrates must be kept at very exact levels, which can be maintained by replacing 25 percent of the water (this is salt water, remember) on a daily basis. Diet consists of live shrimp, crab or other kinds of mollusks, but stress can keep an octopus from eating.
In addition, an octopus only lives from six months to two years. Once they finish their breeding cycle, they almost always die immediately. So even if you are able to maintain the necessary environment for them to thrive, you'll never get to enjoy them for very long.
To get more information about octopi, turn to TONMO.com. It has the best information about keeping octopus as pets, as well as a lively forum for those interested in learning from experts.
Jennifer Gardner is a freelance writer and editor and a board member at Heartland Humane Society in Corvallis. She can be contacted at jennifer@visualpeople.com or through The Gazette-Times.