y rust-coated Miniature Pinscher, Vin Vin the Min Pin (I call him Vinny), has traveled with me on airplanes four times—but only once in the cabin. During that first and only experience, Vinny silently chewed through his carrier, under the seat in front of mine. When the flight attendant—not me—noticed his head peeping out, she told me I must keep him down there. We both knew that Vinny was unlikely to comply.

“Fine,” she sighed, “hold him in his carrier on your lap.” The flight attendant ignored me for the rest of the flight. In my arms, Vinny relaxed. Later, walking in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, struggling with my carry-ons and a dog held close to my torso in a carrier, I got looks of surprise. Mostly, people laughed at us.

Before Vinny, I had flown between Anchorage and Seattle with my silver Weimaraner, Clyde. On this flight when Vinny pulled his escape stunt, Clyde was in the plane’s baggage hold. Unlike Vinny, Clyde was calm while flying, curling up in his kennel when I delivered him to the loading area. My cat, Millie, behaved similarly.

Vinny, Millie, and Moses, my honey-colored sled dog rescue, have caused me to learn more than I ever anticipated about traveling with pets.

It can be challenging, but one way to mitigate the stress is to connect with the right resources long before a trip begins.

“Part of why I got my veterinarian degree is because it’s transportable,” says Dr. Ginny Kunch. “Once you have it, you can practice wherever you want.”

Until Kunch moved to Alaska, she was practicing in the United Kingdom, where she is a member of the Royal College. She returned stateside in 1997 and was accredited with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sign travel certificates.

“For Category I animals,” Kunch clarifies. “I’m only certified to do dogs and cats.”

Category II animal certificates cover all other animals. She calls them “exotic and pocket pets,” which range from hamsters to large zoo animals. “I have no idea what qualifies as ‘healthy and set to travel’ for an iguana or goat,” she says. People or organizations transporting those animals must seek different veterinarians.

Those certificates can be hard to obtain because of a labor shortage in the veterinary profession, which can lead to difficulties in setting a timely appointment to secure a travel certificate before leaving the state. According to Kunch, one reason is that, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has seen a 90 percent increase in pet owners. The last four years have not, however, seen a corresponding growth in people pursuing veterinary medicine.

Kunch recalls talking to colleagues in 2022 about how many pet owners were unable to secure travel certificates because of how busy the state’s veterinarians were.

Their comments got her thinking. She wondered if a business that specialized in dog and cat travel certificates had enough of a local market. It didn’t take her long to realize that the demand was ample.

While Kunch signs travel certificates as part of her main job at Anchorage Veterinary Clinic, most of her dealings in that area stem from her side business, Alaska Pet Travel Certificates (APTC).

“One thing about pets’ travel certificates is that, after they get signed, they have to be filed with the right states,” Kunch says, “which can be very tedious and repetitive.” With no hint of sarcasm, she adds, “That alone appealed to me.”

This administrative component often discourages vets from offering this useful service. Kunch realized that she had the temperament to provide it for Alaskans’ pets. She could do it anytime, day or night. Plus, appointments would only require about ten minutes.

“All I have to do is a hands-on exam to make sure the animal is free of rabies and infectious diseases and has its up-to-date vaccinations,” Kunch says. She asks pet owners a couple questions related to travel, too.

Most customers have done this process “a million times” and simply need the signed and dated paper certificate. “You two are headed to Florida?” she says, mimicking a typical interaction. “You know about the fleas and ticks there? Okay, your cat looks great. Here you go.”

People find APTC through referrals from friends and veterinarians or online searches. “I do 45 to 50 certificates a month in off-season and 150 to 200 during the summers,” Kunch says, emphasizing that she doesn’t even advertise.

Appointments are available on Sundays, Thursdays, or “whenever we need to.” The only way to reach APTC is by email or online booking, which forwards the request to APTC’s email inbox.

APTC operates in a small rental space in Midtown Anchorage. The shop is unequivocally not a clinic. “Please reiterate that I only do travel certificates,” Kunch insists. “When someone says, ‘Fido has an ear infection…’ I tell them, ‘Nope, I don’t do that.’”

Kunch used to think everyone traveling with pets was going on holiday. “The truth is,” she shares, “there are all kinds of reasons people travel with pets.” Those include bereavement, military and professional reassignments, seasonal work, pet reunification, and even domestic violence.

Kunch has some advice to make the process more painless. “The best thing you can do is plan ahead and get them used to their kennel,” she says. “The more you plan and the more they practice, the better.”

While the USDA Category I certification is required for every dog or cat traveling outside its state of residence, every state has its own regulations. Pet owners should check expectations for their destination.

International travel has more complexities. Kunch advises that traveling with a pet to another country entails a longer lead time at APTC because regulations and timelines vary.

“People ask me about airlines’ requirements,” Kunch says. “I don’t want to throw my clients under the bus, so I urge them to work directly with the airline.” Airline rules go beyond what the federal and state governments require. While jumping through these hoops may seem ridiculous, people comply because they want to use that airline and bring their pets.

“The airlines want to work with their passengers, and I can say confidently they tend to take great care of the animals,” Kunch adds. “Like Alaska Airlines, they have stickers so when you’re sitting in seat 14B, they give it to you and confirm Fluffy is safely stowed.”

Of course, people and their pets face setbacks sometimes. For instance, a passenger thinks an under-seat carrier is an acceptable size for an airline cabin, but it’s denied as too large. Snags like that can ruin an entire trip.

“I had a client call me from check-in,” Kunch recalls. “I’d signed and dated their travel certificate on a Sunday, but the customer service agent didn’t believe that could be completed on a weekend.” In this case, the vet vouched for her client.

To avoid problems in the future, she says, “Now, I tell everyone, ‘Try to get the most documentation you can before you start your trip.’”

Even when a travel certificate isn’t required, it never hurts to have one for backup. Another good option is going to the airport or ferry terminal in person with the pet and kennel while preparing for a trip. Staff can observe them and confirm whether the kennel is acceptable. Then, document everything in writing, including the names of people who helped and day the conversation occurred. Printing the travel companies’ rules or loading the document on a phone may help, too, in a pinch.

Kunch recommends making sure pets receive vaccines several days before travel to ensure they don’t have reactions, whether the dog or cat is being transported by plane, boat, or car. “The last thing any of us want is for the animal to have a drop in their blood pressure or become otherwise unstable,” Kunch says. The same applies for new medications.

APTC’s clients may need to see their regular vet before seeing Kunch. Her business doesn’t provide any shots and won’t prescribe anything new within two days of travel, including sedatives. “I flew my dog from Oregon to Alaska once,” she recounts, “and said to the flight attendant he was calm because he had a little ‘something,’” The crew member put her hands over her ears and sang, “La, la, la, la…I didn’t hear that.” Kunch had been unaware that airlines prohibit sedation.

“Besides,” the vet continues, “It might not seem like it, but it’s better for your pet to be anxious, panting, and barking than asleep.”

Recently, I took my dog Moses on a trip, flying among many states over the course of several months. In the middle of our adventure, one morning before my plane departed, I was shocked to discover the airline refused to accept my 24-hour online check-in because I was travelling with a pet.

“I called the 800-number and was told the weather predicted the high temperature for the day, expected to peak around 1 p.m. the next afternoon, to be 1 degree above their cut-off for animal transport,” I relayed to Kunch. “The airline could not be persuaded to allow Moses, even though my itinerary had us checking into the airport around 3:30 a.m. when it would still be about 15 degrees below their cut-off.”

“That definitely can happen,” she told me. “In those circumstances, there seems to be no consistency.” For that reason, Kunch gives customers hardcopies of temperature acclimation certificates with APTC’s logo, verifying a specific animal is cleared to sit on a runway anywhere between 0°F and 85°F.

“Even still, one client called me and said the airport wouldn’t accept it,” she relates. The person’s cat got to board the plane since it was traveling in the cabin, but their dog had to fly on a different plane.

Once at their destinations, travelers and pets can both breathe sighs of relief and stretch their legs. “Most dogs and cats won’t eat or drink on flights unless they’re experienced. So they might be jittery, but it won’t last long,” Kunch says.

“I mean, even I’m a little stressed and traumatized after traveling,” she adds with a chuckle. “If it takes me a while to get rested and feel like I’m back to myself, then it’s fair to assume the same for our pets.” Overall, though, animals are adaptable, Kunch emphasizes. While pet owners might overly worry about their comfort, the pets likely have moved on and forgotten any displeasures before we do.

Dogs’ and cats’ resilience and loyalty suit human needs as much as it does the animals’ themselves—or, at least, that’s how it seems to me. This fact likely underscores why, no matter how wonderful a greeting at a terminal is after a long trip, nothing quite compares to having your “fur baby” prance around and lick your face when you reunite. Which is why, I, for one, bring my pets along.