Plane departs. With every bump I feel how P. is getting tense thinking, that this is the definitive end of La Gina. A long and sleepless flight ahead of us...
Btw, given the amount of money we had to pay, I am quite sure, that the whole idea of sending Gina from the cabin (which we actually clarified numerous times before arriving at the airport) to cargo is kind of a business model: Ms. M. had the number of the pet shop owner saved in her mobile. The pet shop owner new exactly what we were talking about and he had a "pre-packaged" offer in place. So it seemed as if that would happen on a regular basis...
Anyway, the overall dog migration action was not at all a good thing. Poor dog. But what would have been the alternative? No such thing as properly funded animal shelters in Córdoba available.
2015-09-18
t-2h: Action
We can't leave the dog behind. So we are trying to organize all things necessary to transport Gina according to Ms. M.'s specifications. And yes, luckily she is really helpful, because she hands over her mobile to let us call a local pet shop, that provides everything we need (i.e. a proper cage)
So with about 36°C I am trying to organize. P. is staying outside of the airport and urgently needs some water, because she really is close to collapse due to stress. So I am running back and forth between the kiosco, P., Ms. M. with water and with mobiles.
One thing in particular is missing, which is: a drinking trough/bowl for poor Gina to have at least some water during the long flight. Somebody tells me, that I could buy one of those at the kiosco. So back to the kiosco. No bowl at the kiosco. Back to Ms. M. to ask the pet shop guys if they can provide a bowl. They can't. Running back to P. see how she is. In tears. Idea regarding the bowl: we've got this soft nylon travel bowl for Gina. It is usually staying in an okay shape as long as it is filled with water. But if the plane moves, the bowl will start sliding and spill all the water. There is a little noose at the bowl. So we need cable tie to fix the bowl to the cage, fill it with water and hope for the best for 12+hrs of flight. Back to the kiosco to ask for cable tie. And surprisingly Argentine airport kioscos are actually sellling those cable tie things. So if you are ever in need of cable strap to attach your nylon water bowl to the last minute dog cage you just bought to send your dog by plane cargo, you are perfectly fine in Argentina.
The pet shop guy tells us, that he is bringing the cage directly to the airport; costs 1600 ARS (about 160 EUR; will comment on this a little later) and takes about 1 hour. We have to "board" Gina until about 1h prior to departure latest. Tight schedule.
I am running to the ATM to get the necessary amount of cash. Back to P.
About 1h prior to departure, the pet shop guy shows up. We hand over the money, quickly set up the cage, attach the bowl, fill it with water, shove the dog inside the cage, run back to check-in... but wait, you don't know Ms. M. Of course you have to pay for the dog, before you can leave. It's 270 EUR for Gina's ticket (vs. 70 EUR for her joining us in the cabin). It is 50mins prior to departure and their flippin' credit card system is not working. So we have to wait... for at least 20mins. Paying the ticket, taking Gina to cargo, filling more water, kissing her good bye... all in one swift action. Then we run off to security to get aboard ourselves. Final call...
We're in the plane. I tell the steward to tell the captain to make sure, that the cargo hold for animals is properly conditioned. And I ask him for a tea to calm P. down a little. We are in our seats...
So with about 36°C I am trying to organize. P. is staying outside of the airport and urgently needs some water, because she really is close to collapse due to stress. So I am running back and forth between the kiosco, P., Ms. M. with water and with mobiles.
One thing in particular is missing, which is: a drinking trough/bowl for poor Gina to have at least some water during the long flight. Somebody tells me, that I could buy one of those at the kiosco. So back to the kiosco. No bowl at the kiosco. Back to Ms. M. to ask the pet shop guys if they can provide a bowl. They can't. Running back to P. see how she is. In tears. Idea regarding the bowl: we've got this soft nylon travel bowl for Gina. It is usually staying in an okay shape as long as it is filled with water. But if the plane moves, the bowl will start sliding and spill all the water. There is a little noose at the bowl. So we need cable tie to fix the bowl to the cage, fill it with water and hope for the best for 12+hrs of flight. Back to the kiosco to ask for cable tie. And surprisingly Argentine airport kioscos are actually sellling those cable tie things. So if you are ever in need of cable strap to attach your nylon water bowl to the last minute dog cage you just bought to send your dog by plane cargo, you are perfectly fine in Argentina.
The pet shop guy tells us, that he is bringing the cage directly to the airport; costs 1600 ARS (about 160 EUR; will comment on this a little later) and takes about 1 hour. We have to "board" Gina until about 1h prior to departure latest. Tight schedule.
I am running to the ATM to get the necessary amount of cash. Back to P.
About 1h prior to departure, the pet shop guy shows up. We hand over the money, quickly set up the cage, attach the bowl, fill it with water, shove the dog inside the cage, run back to check-in... but wait, you don't know Ms. M. Of course you have to pay for the dog, before you can leave. It's 270 EUR for Gina's ticket (vs. 70 EUR for her joining us in the cabin). It is 50mins prior to departure and their flippin' credit card system is not working. So we have to wait... for at least 20mins. Paying the ticket, taking Gina to cargo, filling more water, kissing her good bye... all in one swift action. Then we run off to security to get aboard ourselves. Final call...
We're in the plane. I tell the steward to tell the captain to make sure, that the cargo hold for animals is properly conditioned. And I ask him for a tea to calm P. down a little. We are in our seats...
t-2.5h: The Flight Supervisor from Hell
We are taking all the luggage and Gina back to the checkin queue.
Checkin queue guys are still nice. We wait in line. It's our turn.
Everything is fine. We put Gina on the scale. Scale shows 9kg. The
checkin guy is like: no problem, you're gonna be okay.
The bottom of the bag is a detachable metal plate, which stabilizes the overall bag. The metal plate adds about 1kg to the weight of the bag. So for obvious reasons, we removed this plate before putting Gina in the bag and before putting the whole bag together with Gina on the luggage scale. So the 9kg shown by the scale are actually about 500g bag + 8.5kg Gina. That's actually too heavy for what is allowed in the cabin according to Lufthansa regulations. But at that point in time it seems as if we were okay. (Problem: because we removed the metal plate the overall bag is kinda instable. Admittedly Gina does not look too happy with her home being soft-ish instead of being a proper rigid home.)
All of sudden a guy shows up from behind yelling at us. He yells, that we will not be allowed to take Gina into the cabin. She is too big. The bag is to small. She is too heavy anyway. Not according to the regulations of Lufthansa. He then introduces himself as the flight supervisor. In the calmest way possible I try to explain to him, that
Again I try to explain, that no harm is done to the dog. The bag is the favorite place of this dog. But there is no point in discussing with the guy. As suddenly as he appeared he exits the scene yelling that he has to inform his supervisor.
Enter Ms. M. Apparently Ms. M. is the flight supervisor's supervisor. She tells me in a calmer voice that we will not be allowed to take Gina into the cabin. She (i.e. Gina) is too big. The bag is to small. She is too heavy anyway. Not according to the regulations of Lufthansa. All hell breaks loose. P. is crying, near collapse. I try to negotiate with Ms. M... in vain. They are forcing us to either leave the dog behind (which is impossible) or transport the dog to Europe as part of the plane's cargo (which we are not at all prepared for).
The bottom of the bag is a detachable metal plate, which stabilizes the overall bag. The metal plate adds about 1kg to the weight of the bag. So for obvious reasons, we removed this plate before putting Gina in the bag and before putting the whole bag together with Gina on the luggage scale. So the 9kg shown by the scale are actually about 500g bag + 8.5kg Gina. That's actually too heavy for what is allowed in the cabin according to Lufthansa regulations. But at that point in time it seems as if we were okay. (Problem: because we removed the metal plate the overall bag is kinda instable. Admittedly Gina does not look too happy with her home being soft-ish instead of being a proper rigid home.)
All of sudden a guy shows up from behind yelling at us. He yells, that we will not be allowed to take Gina into the cabin. She is too big. The bag is to small. She is too heavy anyway. Not according to the regulations of Lufthansa. He then introduces himself as the flight supervisor. In the calmest way possible I try to explain to him, that
- the dog has been sleeping in this very bag for at least 4 months
- it adopted the bag as her home
- she is in no way too big for this bag and
- she has been staying inside the bag deliberately as much as she could over the past months. She actually used every opportunity to stay inside the bag, because it is her personal protected space, her safe place.
Again I try to explain, that no harm is done to the dog. The bag is the favorite place of this dog. But there is no point in discussing with the guy. As suddenly as he appeared he exits the scene yelling that he has to inform his supervisor.
Enter Ms. M. Apparently Ms. M. is the flight supervisor's supervisor. She tells me in a calmer voice that we will not be allowed to take Gina into the cabin. She (i.e. Gina) is too big. The bag is to small. She is too heavy anyway. Not according to the regulations of Lufthansa. All hell breaks loose. P. is crying, near collapse. I try to negotiate with Ms. M... in vain. They are forcing us to either leave the dog behind (which is impossible) or transport the dog to Europe as part of the plane's cargo (which we are not at all prepared for).
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