11/02/2026
My most stressful flight with a dog ❗️
Four years ago, I was moving abroad for the first time with my dog to Israel. And this is exactly the kind of flight experience I would never recommend ❌
I had prepared all the documents in advance and obtained the import permit. But 24 hours before the flight, when we were already on the train (it was a 20-hour ride to the airport we needed), I received a message saying that Ashley could only enter the country as CARGO. That means transporting a dog as unaccompanied flight. In this case, you have to register the dog as cargo two weeks before the flight, go through export and import customs clearance, and arrange for a clearance company on the arrival side to receive the dog. And all of that had to be solved in just ONE day 🙂
Of course, it was incredibly stressful. I went straight from the train to the airport, ran from office to office, wrote messages and made calls. Everywhere I was told the same thing: “Leave the dog, she’ll be delivered to you in a week.” At the very last moment, when I was already crying on the phone, the person on the other end finally took pity on me and told me to send whatever documents I had.
We did everything humanly possible on our side. By pure coincidence, the one person who was authorized to sign those papers was flying that very day to the exact airport we were departing from. Six hours before the flight we received approval from Israel for Ashley’s entry and just one minute before that I had been told there was still no response and we wouldn’t be able to fly the next day. The emotional roller coaster was unreal.
