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Pilots N Paws Rescue Flight

Jerry Carter

Well Known Member
Inspired by Pete Howell's recent post, I hooked up with this group to take a little dog from Tupelo to Columbia, S.C. If you want to create some smiles and give a little boost to the public perception of general aviation this is one way to do it. For the full story you can see my blog.

http://jerry-julietcharlie.blogspot.com/


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Amen, Sid..

Thanks Jerry. I've owned several Shih Tzu's and they never seem to meet a stranger. The Shih Tzu book calls them the "ambassadors" for the breed.

Regards,
 
Is the plane too loud?

I will be flying to RYY just north of Atlanta to fly my daughter home to Florida for Christmas and she will be bringing her dog along. Is it too loud in the plane for the dog? She is buying her dog a pair of Mutt-Muffs for ear protection.
 
re: complainers

Hey Jerry:
I bet you never had any of your passengers critique your piloting skills or landings, huh.:D

Marshall Alexander
 
I will be flying to RYY just north of Atlanta to fly my daughter home to Florida for Christmas and she will be bringing her dog along. Is it too loud in the plane for the dog? She is buying her dog a pair of Mutt-Muffs for ear protection.

Certainly it's loud. If the dog will wear ear protection, then that would be best. From what I have seen and read, the dogs don't seem to be uncomfortable or in pain even though their hearing is much more acute than human hearing. Benjamin just went to sleep, and I think that's what usually happens with the drone of the engine. I guess one would have to be concerned about the long-term effects on hearing. However, I think the effect of loud noise on hearing is cumulative, and one or two flights would probably not be that harmful. Just my guess, and I am not an audiologist.
 
Certainly it's loud. If the dog will wear ear protection, then that would be best. From what I have seen and read, the dogs don't seem to be uncomfortable or in pain even though their hearing is much more acute than human hearing. Benjamin just went to sleep, and I think that's what usually happens with the drone of the engine. I guess one would have to be concerned about the long-term effects on hearing. However, I think the effect of loud noise on hearing is cumulative, and one or two flights would probably not be that harmful. Just my guess, and I am not an audiologist.

I would sure like to hear more on this topic. Holiday logistics are such that we are thinking about taking Watson (beagle, our only child) with us in the plane for the first time. Our limiting concern is hearing damage.
 
Hearing Protection For the Mutt

We have a West Highland Terror...err, Terrier that has logged many hours in our RV and Pacer. We tried a pair of Mutt Muffs on him and were concerned that they did not seal properly around his pointy head. So, we went for a much more basic solution. The roll up foam ear plugs. We found that they fit very well in the ear canal (not sure if they would work on a larger dog, ours is 20+/- lb). Roll them up tight and stick them well into the ear canal, then hold the head to preclude shaking until the plug expands. Once they are inserted, he does not seem to mind, and we are sure that he is getting good noise attenuation.
FYI....We used the plugs with the lanyard and just cut the lanyard down to about 2" from each plug for easy removal.
One last comment. Our vet said that there is no issues with the pressure changes during descent, but I think it is very wise to plan slow descents to preclude any issues.
Our Westie does not really go for the whole flying gig, and became quite anxious during the initial part of the flight. Our vet prescribed Acaproizine (sp?) and that really helps. He now just lays on his shelf, looking like he ate a loaded brownie! However, upon arrival he seems to show no lethargy, and is ready to go.
 
Flying Dog

Thanks for the input. My daughter bought a pair of Mutt Muffs and is planning on giving her (the dog, not my daughter) some benadryl prior to takeoff. Thanks for the tip regarding a slower descent.
 
We took Dody (25lb poodle/bijon) for his first flight last weekend. We did a short taxi and run-up test on one day and he did fine. So last weekend we when up for about 25 minutes and he did great.

We had mutt muffs on him but I don't think they were on tight enough because he had them off after just few minutes. If the weather co-operates, we're going to take him with us to Pensacola next week.

Foam plugs with a lanyard seems like a good option also.
 
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