I am so late in writing this review but I really wanted to do it because this guys have been life savers . If you don't believe in miracles , hear this : they managed to move my 47kg / 104 lbs German Shepherd -mid pandemic- mid-july- from LA California to Bucharest Romania - on the same day as my flight !!
I tried for weeks to plan his trip on my own thinking nobody , no company is gonna care as much as I do and take all necessary precautions ,and talk to all the right people and make sure my baby is ok . I was in denial that anybody can do a better job than me . And I drove myself crazy , hours everyday of research , of calling airlines , of taking notes , of checking online regulations , of calling again and every single time , right as I was calling to purchase the tickets and his spot , I was given a no . Each time after talking to several different people from an airline asking them a million questions , when it came time to purchase the ticket the last person I talked to would actually tell me they can't fly him for various reasons : weather -and they stop flying pets internationally past a certain day (this was in July) so that they're not too hot in the luggage compartment ,covid regulations , they just don't fly dogs that big or their flights kept getting cancelled because nobody was really flying at that time . I didn't have many options to begin with since most airlines had come to a halt.
And then I found AirPets America ! Q the angelic choir music ! From the first time I talked to Brett , I felt a sense of ease and confidence come over me : Alright ! This guy knows what he's talking about ! He told me in 20 years of doing this they have never lost a pet or had any health issues -injuries happen to one .
Monty , the team member assigned to my case , walked me through every single step . From the paperwork I needed , where to go , what to say ,where to have them sign so no customs agent anywhere can find fault , to what crate size I need , what bowls and other practical matters to the actual flight route for my dog which ended up being on cargo planes due to his size but on the same day as my commercial flights .
So here is how the day went . Arrived at LAX at the place where you drop off your pets at noon . There was someone there paid by the company to stay in line and do all the paperwork for us . So because my flight was only at 6pm , I just stayed there keeping my boy company , walking him , giving him water , in the 3h it took for his papers to be done . I could have just put him in his crate and handed him over , the depo where they were keeping the other dogs and all the cargo merchandise was really well ventilated so that the pups and fruits and whatever else they were moving , stays safe and chill in that July weather . When the paperwork was done I had to hand him over and the whole staff there helped me fix his papers right on his crate , I even talked to the pilot and everybody was so nice and reassuring and for the remainder of time he had left to wait, 2h , in the depo , they said someone checks on them every 30 min and pours them more water .
I received an email when he was loaded on the plane and when the plane took off .
He had a layover in Frankfurt and I also received emails when he landed , When they received him in the animal center there , I received pictures of him and updates from the staff and they were very friendly and answered promptly all my emails . In the center they have vets checking on them , they let them out of their crates in a huge room , feed them , calm them down even wash their crates !!
I received an email when he was loaded back on the plane towards Bucharest and when he landed .
In Bucharest , Monty had found a company that would do the airport pick up for him and all the customs paperwork . Since I arrived earlier that day and he arrivesd at 2 am that night , I couldn't wait for him and since I was supposed to go straight into self quarantine at home , I couldn't be the one who went and picked him up . So these amazing people went there at midnight and waited for hours and dealt with customs, gave him water and brought him all the way in front of my door at home ! Safe and sound and not even that traumatized . He was happy to see me but not in a " Omg ! Thank God you're here ! That was awful ! "Type of way !
I can't thank Airpets America enough for being there for me every step of the way and finding solutions where I thought there are none . This year has been crazy enough and worrying about my dog getting lost , sent to the wrong country or mishandled and hurt on this long trip would have been the end of my sanity :) thankfully I found this team so if you're looking for solutions and if you're trying to decide on a company , look no further ! Thank you Brett and Monty read more