I am an American who did not get my work visa extended in London and needed to fly to Boston with my 2 year old Siberian Husky, leaving behind my home, long term Irish partner and friends. This was a very difficult time for all parties involved so we (me and my partner) decided to hire a pet carrier service to save us from having to deal with all the details. As we were nervous to miss something important (our first time flying a pet) or not have the paperwork handled right due to only having 4 weeks to pack, clean and close accounts.

We decided to go with Airpets Oceanic based by London Heathrow (Willowslea Kennels) due to their location and the fact their quote fell mid-range to others - it wasn ' t over the top but it wasn't low enough to make me question the service. Testimonials were good too - as they were flying all over the world and positive feedback is what i wanted. We then started speaking with them and received an official quote to fly us on a Sunday, 5 April 2009 to Boston direct. We were pleased to know it went as far as them taking payment and felt relieved to have things in order for our darling pup.

However, just 10 before we were due to fly they phones us on a Friday afternoon (like 2pm) and says that they cannot fly your pup on Sunday into boston after all and that we must fly her on the Monday. So the nervousness came to know they took paymetn and gave us a quote without actually knowing they could carry out the service. Additionally, I had been advised by my vet to make sure my pup was on my flight and that there were not stop overs if at all possible (to minimize death, escape and uncomfortable layovers). So once hearing this, all of a sudden she starts rambling options off to me instead of actually calling with a clear/practical plan to fix this. Because to me the clear plan forward would be to just change my flight!!!! So when i said this, she came back after being on the computer a moment and she said 'we have another flight option for you leaving at like 10am that Monday, call BA and change your flight' when of course i am crying at this point due to stress and so I call BA, get a rep and only to be told 'sorry ma'am but we do not even have a flight under that number, who are you dealing with??' so at this point my partner calls back and tells them we want this figured out so we can make arrangements and notify my family in Boston of the change before the weekend because this means they have to be off work and all of that. Do you think she called us before close of business Friday or even Saturday?? NOPE! It was actually my partner calling Monday afternoon/Tuesday morning and i just was so disappointed but in a bind because we were flying in 6 days! So by Wednesday, we changed the flights and got that taken care of so we were ready to go. And you must trust WE had asked questions about when i get to the other side and communicated my anxiety for flying along with a 60lb dog and wanting to make sure i could take her immediately and didn ' t have to do anything extra to deal with or pay They confirmed everything else should go smoothly and she would be waiting for me in Bos.

On the day of flight, 6th April someone was there to greet us and very friendly with our pup and ourselves at the kennel. And i must be honest here that the crate looked durable, certainly big enough/comfortable and in a van ready to carry her over to the airport. I was happy to know she would be comfortable and they were nice enough to let me put in an article of clothing, a blanket and her bed. Once getting her loaded into the van, I explained again I did not have 35 years pet flying experience and wanted to know the procedure when I got to the other side. I was told again to report to my baggage carousel in Bos Logan and she would be there on a cart for me with a rep within reasonable time, who would help me wheel her through to my father and sister on the other side. I was even told a few times to make sure she stayed in her crate because the airport security would be angry with me. Fine. That ' s the least of my worries right?

I will get to the point here, I got to Bos Logan and waited over an hour and a half for her to come out where Airpets Oceanic told me she would be coming. I was a mess after an hour, let alone the next 30 minutes, without a cell phone having just been living in London and unable to contact father or sister. Finally a BA rep comes over and says basically 'our cargo, even cargo flying with a passenger, does not come here but is transported to our South Boston office where you pick her up." And you know i actually argued with the rep at this point and she said it had been 10 years since BA Cargo had been cleared at the airport. I couldnt believe it. so i rushed through customs which still took another 25 mins and got out to see my father and sister to tell them the news. British Airways is the one carrier who transports cargo, animal or not to south boston. Not only did we have to get directions, but thankfully my sister had a gps system. Not sure if you have driven in Boston but i would rather drive in NYC or London and couldnt believe this nightmare! So to give you a time frame, i landed at 1:30 pm EST and in teh end did not see my pup until just after 4pm. It was a nightmare and caused a huge amount of stress for all involved, including my partner who was in London - waiting for me to confirm i had our pup.

Logically, what Airpets should have done, is picked up the phone and found out directly from BA what would happen when i landed in Bos and then notified me of post flight procedures in that i would have to go to South Boston and find BA Cargo office and pay an additional $35.00 to get my dog and go thru customs there. Had I known this, I would have gotten right out of terminal, had directions to the facility where customs was and not had the worry that something was wrong with her! Because when i called the customs office once with my dad and sister, i was told i had to report to them with all the paper work before the close of business hours (leaving me an hour to find it!) and until I proved who i was they were unable to comment on the health/status of my dog. Now I don ' t know if you reading this love/need your dog like i do but to make that flight, deal with the stress of customs and then hear this, well when i heard this i just was so disappointed and upset i had put my father and sister through the stress of seeing me try to sort this out. As this was our second communication failure and both of them HUGE mis-communications.

In the end my pup was safe (thank you for the safe crate and B.A.) and things were in order for the paperwork. so i can say i was pleased with the crate, friendly service upon dropping my pup off and then the paperwork on the other side. However, the lack of communication or individual attention to which airport i was flying into really disappointed me to the point of ruining my whole experience with them. So you know there was attempted follow up and 3 weeks of waiting for a response, i emailed them, 48 hours after being back here stateside and explained what had happened with my pup being transported to south boston and never got a reply or apology. Again, I have given them now 3 weeks (including time for me to assess the situation now being settled and calmed now) and still nothing has been communicated. So actually there could be 3 COMMUNICATION FAILURES in the end, so at this time I feel its fair/necessary to tell you my experience so you are not fearing or worrying or misled when dealing with the stress of relocating and considering your pet(s). I would never fly them again and in fact would handle everything myself directly thru the airline to ensure all aspects of the trip are discussed and there are no surprises.

I highly recommend. British Airways because the rep in the airport was friendly/helpful as much as she could be and the men at the British Airways Cargo office were chatty/helpful/patient and direct with what i needed to do before and while I dealt with customs. Through all this, they removed her from the crate (i gave permission) and walked her, gave her water etc. so it was one less thing I had to do. So I cant say enough about British Airways on the Boston side. Really nice/friendly people.

I sincerely regret putting my dog in Willowslea Kennels. Firstly the kennels operate a policy that all animals must be collected by 5. On the day I returned from holiday I rang the kennels to say that I probably would be there on time but could be about 15 minutes late due to traffic. I was told that the gates are timed to shut at 5 and that I would not be allowed in. When I explained that I would be at work for the rest of the week and would not be free for several days, their attitude was 'not my problem'. The manager is one of the rudest men around and I would not like to deal with him again.

However this was not what has made me so angry. When I went to collect my dog I found her cowering in the back of the kennel, she was trembling like a leaf, was breathing very heavily, and obviously hadn't been brushed as she had clumps of fur sticking out of her. To make matters worse when I got her home, I noticed a complete change in her attitude. I left a happy and extremely confident dog there for 4 days and got one back who flinches when I go to stroke her and is reluctant to come to me when I call her. I have no idea what happened when she was there and couldn't prove anything but I do know that I now have a very unhappy dog at home.