[nagdu] RE Air Travel with Guide Dogs

[Mark J. Cadigan]

My guide dog is very young, just over two years old. However, spending over 
10 hours in an airport is taxing to anyone's bladder, both people and guide 
dogs. If you are desperate, and the turbulence is not too bad, those with a 
strong stomach can use the tiny bathrooms on an airplane, however, guide 
dogs don't have this luxury. My flight takes off at 9:50 and lands at what 
would be the equivalent of 5:30. Like clockwork, my dog has to go around 
3:00 regardless of what I do. With the getting to the airport at least 1.5 
hours early I am planning to get to the airport at 7:30. With the Memorial 
Day traffic, getting up from the cape, Cape Cod for you non locals, will 
take at least 2 hours. This means I will be leaving my house around 5:30am. 
No matter how you cut it, this is going to be a long day.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Rene" <emrene at earthlink.net>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 4:15 PM
Subject: [nagdu] RE Air Travel with Guide Dogs


> I'm writing, after a long silence, because I think that coast-to-coast 
> flights can be especially challenging to older guides.  I've had several 
> guides, and I find that the older ones need to go outside more often to 
> urinate, even when inactive.  When I've ended a long flight with an older 
> guide, say from Seattle to Atlanta, my dog has been desperate.  He'd been 
> relieved just before the flight, had had minimal water and food, and had 
> taken a nonstop, red-eye flight to simulate a night's rest.  All the same 
> ...
>
> I felt compelled to hand my guide over to a TSA officer to take onto the 
> tarmac at the gate so Wilson could relieve while I waited inside, just to 
> be humane.  That's something I would never recommend to another.  No one 
> should be forced to separate from their guide dog.  Nonetheless, I saw no 
> alternative.
>
> Pet stores do sell training pads for puppies and sick dogs.  These are 
> scented with pheromones that supposedly ease a dog's use of them for 
> relieving inside when needful.  They can be laid out on the floor in an 
> accessible bathroom stall during an airport lay-over, and, theoretically, 
> a dog can be trained to use them in a pinch.  Then these soiled pads can 
> go the way of dirty disposable diapers.
>
> I'd purchased some of these for Wilson's longer flights, but he wouldn't 
> even step on them.
>
> Training pads might be the answer to having to go through the nightmare of 
> repeated airport security checks on long trips.  But I'd recommend 
> starting early in the guide's career to get her used to them.
>
> Just a thought.
>
> But here's a question about guide dog air travel that I've never seen 
> discussed.
>
> What about taking a guide down the emergency slide in the event of 
> emergency?  The instructions are there in the seat packet, but with 
> seconds in the balance, is this the time to learn?
>
> God forbid that this event should befall a guide dog team, but I wonder if 
> we shouldn't be ready.
>
> Are any guide dog instructors or school board members out there reading 
> this list who've pondered the question of emergency exit training?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Elizabeth
>
>
>
>
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