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Hi! My husband and I are moving from Alabama to San Pedro in August. We are having major troubles finding a way to move our pet (dog) with us. Airlines coming into Belize say it can't be over 85 degrees or they won't accept the dog in cargo. He is too big to fit under the seat in the airplane. Has anyone moved with their pet to Belize and how did they ship him/her? Any help would be appreciated.

A lot of us have moved here with pets but unfortunately the airlines have recently been making it harder and harder to fly with pets internationally so our experience may not be of help to you. My former airline-of-choice for flying with my dog and sending rescues back to the US and Canada was Delta but as of March 2016 they are changing their policies so dogs can only go in cabin (if small enough) or by freight. No more flying dogs as luggage. Flying freight means a host of hassles and expenses including increased fees, no guarantees of your dog flying when you do, mandatory kennel fees, required use of customs brokers, customs fees, etc. Also, Delta does not fly freight out of Belize so that takes them out of the game altogether.

At this point your best bet may be to try American Airlines. But for the dogs safety, they may not fly it on a day that is too hot, even if they are going as luggage. Also once the combined weight of dog + kennel equals more than 100 pounds you will need to do freight with them as well.

Some people have hired private pilots to bring their dogs down or you can drive. You can also check with airlines that fly in to Cancun and then drive your dog down from there but keep in mind that if you do that you need to follow pet importation procedures in to both Mexico and Belize.

Good luck!

I believe it is also possible to send them as cargo with Amerijet from Miami on the cargo only flight. I have talked to a few people who have done that with very large dogs and seemed satisfied with the service. Here's a link to their page on shipping animals. https://www.amerijet.com/live-animals.html

Thank you Nicole!! I have not thought of the private pilot.

I came down with my pet on Delta a few weeks ago well aware of the fact that policies would change on March 1st. Although they couldn't give me details at the time I fully expect to be able to fly him back on Delta in March. There is a service at BZE that handles cargo for all of the air lines and I expect they will for Delta also. I used to use them when I flew Continental and then United.

Cargo is a little more expensive and on this end (Belize) you have to pay customs on the cost of shipping where as baggage there is no fee. Other than that nothing is much different as far as clearing in. On the other end (in the States) you may have to pick him up at cargo. If cargo is closed then in the past for me they have had him at the baggage pickup counter and that is what they said they would do on this coming trip.

The airlines understand they are dealing with a live pet and not just cargo. If I was bringing my pet I would stick to the regular methods.

Flying into Mexico or on private instead of BZE, well I don't know about but I expect it is much more involved than flying cargo. There are certain dates that you cannot fly cargo. (hot weather months) You should check the airline to get the particulars on that. Sometimes even during the allowed months there maybe days that they will not allow if the temps are too high.

I will let everyone know how I make out in March but I really don't expect a problem. Also I have had no problem telling them that he must fly on the same plane as I'm on and they tell you when he is boarded. Sometimes I have to ask but Delta especially has been very good about it in the past.

August is going to be the problem. Much too hot to fly a pet but United will fly him I believe because they have special services for taking care of him.

Another thought that may help you. United flies from Houston, TX so I don't know if you can make a connection with them but you could rent a car if nothing else and drive from Alabama to Houston. Call United "Pet Safe" or Pet services, it is a separate number and talk to them.

Your dog will love it here. Mine has been coming here for winters for 7 or 8 years and he is in heaven while here. He runs and gets in his kennel when I get it out. The other thing is that on the Belize end if you are coming out to San Pedro make arrangements with Tropic Ferry because it is the least stressful way to get out here with a pet. Good luck and if you need more help just pm or ask on the message board.

Understand that the reason they don't fly pets in hot temps is because they care ......

Of course they care. (law suits and bad publicity) The problem for them is not the plane ride as far as I know. I believe the temperature is controlled on the plane. It is the handling of the pet before the plane leaves and after it lands. With Continental then United the pet would come out to the plane in an air conditioned truck and then also they loaded the pet last just before the plane leaves. When the plane lands the pet is the first off and placed in a air conditioned area. Other airline to the best of my knowledge do not do this and that is why they will not fly a pet above or below certain temps. They have a date range that they block out because of the likelihood of high temps.

With Delta I've seen my pet out on the tarmac for a half hour or more a few times. That of course would not do during warm months. United does not do this. Of course you pay for this service. Also United has a kennel in Houston with people trained to take care of pets and board them overnight if necessary. Now I stopped using United because they made several mistakes which caused me a lot of inconvenience but never endangered my pet. One time they sent me to Cargo on a day it was closed. Then they compounded the error by telling me just to bring the pet the next morning and that they had made arrangements for him to fly as military baggage. I told them that would not work but they insisted so I got the person's name and number and sure enough the next morning when the supervisor for the ticket counter said he couldn't process the dog I called the person and handed the phone to the supervisor. They talked then then booked me on a flight later that day. I had to stay at the airport all day, then take a cab over to the cargo section check in my dog and return back for the flight. In Houston I had to stay overnight and my dog was put in their kennel. the return trip several months later wasn't much better. All of that upset me a little you might say and that ended my flying my pet with United. Still if I had to I would use them again but only if I had to.

One time I researched going through Mexico with my dog and if I remember right there is a quarantine and other problems which immediately ruled that out. Maybe that has changed but I doubt it. Mexico is much worse to deal with than Belize which is really pretty good with pets. In the circumstances described I would contact United Pet Services, I think they called it "Pet Safe."

Thank you Jim! I did contact United and I can fly him out of Atlanta to Belize. Thank you so much for that tip!

Do you understand BAHA and how that works? If not pm me your email and I'll send you the info and forms. Glad I could help.