The Big Day (AKA the day you fly with your pets to Hawaii)

Aloha. I'm power blogging today so that I can get this information out there for those of you moving your pets here. This is the perfect time of year to fly over because it's not too hot anymore for the airlines to restrict boarding and not yet too cold.

To repeat, if you're new to this blog, the entire process of preparing and moving our pets is described in detail starting from the first post. For best understanding go back to the beginning and read forward.

Here is some very important information regarding additional final preparations for the big day. If you don't have someone to take you to the airport and you have big dog(s), pre-arrange your SPECIAL transportation! We needed to call for a taxi that would fit us, the dog crates and our luggage. I must have called 2 or 3 times to repeat how important it was for us to get a van with space for passengers, luggage and dogs. That a row of seats should be REMOVED to make room. As it turned out, they sent a mini-van without the seats removed. The driver had no idea how to remove them. I had to climb in the van and figure it out and remove the seats for him, and was only able to do so in a rush of adrenaline like when a mother has a car on top of her child or something. If we missed the flight after all the preparations, it would have been, well, I can't think of a polite word. I made the cab driver leave the van seats in our driveway and come back for them later.

For the other end, make sure you have transporation arranged from the airport in Hawaii. This went smoothly because Jay from Aloha Airport Shuttle RULES! Book him in advance by calling (808)538-3355. He removed his back van seats before coming to the airport. He was waiting for us when we arrived, picked us up at baggage claim, and took us to the Animal Quarantine Station. He waited for us to pick up the dogs, then drove us to the nearest park outside the airport so the dogs could pee. Dogs/animals can't be let out of their crates outside the Quarantine Station or anywhere on airport grounds so this is important. He then put up with the smell of Tasha's "accident" all the way to the Windward side of Oahu. Thank you Jay, soooooo much!

Another final preparation was a trip to the groomer to get all the excess hair off the dogs to make them as comfortable as possible for the introduction to Hawaii's warmer climate. Our groomer is booked far in advance so I had to plan ahead. I scheduled it BEFORE the vet health certification day, so that the bath wouldn't interfere with the application of the Fipronil at the vet.

Okay, so the Big Day had finally arrived. Time to move our dogs to Hawaii! As I posted previously, you must make sure your flight arrives in Honolulu (if that's where you are going)while the quarantine station is open. For that to happen, we had to leave very early in the morning. We got up very early to walk the dogs so they could take care of their business and we dosed them with the calming remedies I mentioned earlier. At the airport, we got a giant baggage cart. We let the dogs out of the crates and put them on leash. I honestly am not sure if this is allowed, but I watched a show on Travel Channel about traveling with dogs (I cannot remember the name, sorry) and the host walked his dog into the airport on a leash in one hand while carrying the crate in the other. Here's photographic evidence that we did it without getting arrested.

At the ticket counter, the airline employees stuck "this side up" and "live animal" stickers all over the crates (as if mine weren't enough already!) and placed baggage tags on them.

For the Northwest Airlines Priority Pet program, a tag is placed on each crate with tickets that are to be torn off by the baggage handler and delivered to the flight attendant. The flight attendant then deliveres it to the pet owners in their assigned seats to show that the pets were boarded.

After checking in for our flight, we took the dogs out for one last walk, then went to the special large baggage drop off point. We had to seal the dogs into the crate with zip ties and bid Aloha to them.

We waited around in the boarding area and watched them load the dogs through the window before we got on. The gate attendants received a transfer ticket from the baggage handler showing that the dogs had been boarded. So it appears that the baggage handler tears the ticket off and delivers it to the gate. If we're waiting to board, they call our names and give us the ticket so we know the crate has been loaded onto the airplane. Alternatively, the ticket could have been delivered to our seats after boarding. We flew the first leg on Alaska. Here's the pics I took when we landed in Portland. I posted a few more of these in my earlier posts.

As I mentioned previously in the post "booking your flights" we were very fortunate to be able to claim our dogs at the layover and walk them. In Portland, we went to baggage claim and grabbed a luggage dolly. Here's the dogs straight off the plane.

Before we chose Portland as the layover airport, I researched and found out that Portland has a pet relief area. I mapped out the airport in advance, so we knew where to go. The pet relief area is adjacent to baggage claim. We wheeled them out to the pictured area below, with the doggy sign. We watered and walked them. They each lapped up a packet of waterbites gel as well.

There was some time before we had to check them in for the next flight, so we hung out with them until the last possible minute. Here are some pictures of the dogs hanging out during the layover in their crates, in the baggage claim area of PDX.

We gave the dogs a treat to chew during the layover. This turned out to be a big mistake! Tasha got airsick and made a mess in her crate on the way to Honolulu. After checking the dogs back in, we had lunch and waited for our flight to HNL. The Northwest agents at the gate let us know the dogs had been boarded.

The flight went smoothly, with no delays, which was a huge relief. This is another reason why I chose PDX. On at least two previous trips to Hawaii, SFO was often fogged in or the runways were over capacity, so our flight was prevented from landing, and as a result we missed our connecting flight. For this trip, I purposely chose a LONG layover.

When we landed in HNL, it was about 3pm. I was beyond excited to see the dogs. Jay from Aloha Airport Shuttle called my cell as soon as we were on the ground to let me know he was right outside baggage claim. We grabbed our bags as quickly as possible and he zipped us to the Animal Quarantine Holding Facility. Here's a pic of Jay, our hero, and the outside of the Airport Animal Quarantine Station.

Inside the facility, there is a window where we presented our paperwork. All we needed at this point was the health certificate. They had our file ready, showing that we had already paid all fees and presented us with an airport release card to fill out. I've kept the airport release cards because I recall seeing them as a requirement for future trips in and out of Hawaii.

Finally. . . the moment of reunion! The door opened and they wheeled the dogs out to us. They were quickly released into our custody, no muss, no fuss, no quarantine.

Here's Jay loading the dogs into his van, which he thoughtfully prepared by removing the back seats. He also brought us bottled water.

Again, you are not allowed to remove your pets from their crates at all while on airport property. After six hours, they probably had to pee pretty badly so Jay promptly drove us to the nearest park, which is off Sand Island Access Road. On the way there we noticed the unfortunate smell coming from Tasha's crate. She tossed her cookies during the flight from Portland to Honolulu. Think about what to feed your pet before the flight if at all. Here are pictures of their first pee on Hawaiian soil. . .

By the way, peeing is called going shishi in Hawaii. After the pit stop, we drove over the Koolau mountain range to our new home on the Windward side. Danzig set to work marking every coconut palm in sight. We went to the beach immediately, to introduce them to the ocean. The dogs grew up drinking from the rivers of snow runoff on their walks.
They'd never been to the beach before, and didn't know the ocean would be salty! Here's a clip from their first beach walk, and Danzig trying to drink the seawater!
They learned pretty quickly that the ocean is not for drinking.

Almost a year after our move, the dogs still love the beach and get as excited to see the ocean as the first time they every stuck their toes in the sand. Reviewing my previous posts, I realize life has been good since we got here. The nice man we met and photographed on the beach last year, who I referred to as "Mr. Obama" in my early blog post became President of the USA. We've become a happy part of this small beachside community and run into someone or some dog that we know almost everywhere we go. Every day I appreciate my life and feel so lucky to live in Hawaii.

Mahalo for reading along and sharing in our adventure. Aloha!