Letter from a Flight Escort:

Have you ever wondered what it means to be a flight chaperone for a rescue dog?

“What is actually required of me?” you might ask, in terms of time, effort, or money.  Well, I recently returned from a trip to Greece on behalf of Cause 4 Paws and I would like to share some information, my thoughts, and experience, in hopes of encouraging other dog-loving travelers to consider doing the same.

The flight from Toronto to Athens was booked and paid for in full by C4P.  Usually, you can even choose your travel dates and the length of stay to do any touring around you may want.   Now, if you already happen to be traveling to any of the countries where C4P has partner organizations (like Greece, Russia, Ukraine, or Bahrain) who have dogs that are ready to fly to Canada that is ideal and obviously saves C4P a large expense.

At the Toronto Airport for departure, a volunteer met me at the departures entrance with 2 large crates to take to Athens with me.  Crates are prohibitively expensive in other parts of the world which is why bringing some with us allows our partner organizations to reuse them multiple times.  The baggage fee for the crates was $100 out of pocket which I chose to consider a donation. 

For 6 days, I had the most marvelous time touring around Greece.  The weather was perfect for walking around at about 22°C and I had a very packed itinerary full of sightseeing, tours, shopping, and delicious food!  Additionally, as a solo female foreigner, I never felt unsafe.  It was only a short time, but Greece was as beautiful and fascinating as I had dreamed.

On my final day back in Athens I set some time aside to visit the Friends of Animals shelter in Athens which was home to one of the lucky dogs I would be escorting to Toronto.  There I toured the outdoor facility, met the organizers, saw the volunteers in action, and was lucky enough to interact with many of the furry residents.  Over the course of the afternoon, I had so many questions and engaged in heartbreaking discussions about the realities of operating one of the very few shelters in Athens.  The shelter is FULL, and they simply cannot intake more dogs until homes are found for the ones they have. It is common that dogs are literally thrown over the fence of the shelter in the middle of the night.  Animal overpopulation and abandonment are major issues in Greece, and the organization uses its human and financial (100% private donations) resources to do their best to feed, protect, and provide veterinarian services for the animals, as well as advocate for greater support, and provide education and outreach in schools and the community.  I have so much admiration and respect for the very difficult emotional and physical work undertaken by all of the managers and volunteers at Friends of Animals.  I most certainly left a piece of my heart at their shelter in Athens.

The dogs that C4P rescues from other countries are chosen based on a number of factors including urgency, special needs, friendliness, and health.  All dogs that are imported to Canada must be at least 8 months old, have their rabies shot, be microchipped, and be up to date on vaccinations.  C4P and the partner rescue organizations take care of all of this paperwork in preparation for the dogs to travel.

On the morning of my return to Toronto, I met 2 of the organizers from Friends of Animals who brought their dog to the airport, and a representative from another shelter in Patras, a city 2.5 hours outside of Athens, who transported and prepared the other 3 dogs who would be making the journey.  The three large dogs would be traveling in the cargo of the plane, and a sweet little dog got to travel in the cabin with me in an animal carrier bag.  And what a lovely little companion she was!  At the check-in counter at the airport, the agent reviewed all of the dogs’ paperwork – essentially their passports which contain proof of vaccinations, rabies shot, and microchip.  From there, the volunteers from the shelters transported the 3 dogs traveling in cargo to the loading area and the little one and I headed to our gate.  She did not make a peep the entire flight.  She would stir a bit any time we took off, landed, or when there was turbulence, but I would inconspicuously unzip the bag enough to give her pets and kisses of reassurance, and she would quietly look around or rest her little head on the top of my foot.

I was well prepared for what to expect going through customs in Canada.  C4P was always available for any last-minute questions, issues, or instructions.  Before claiming the 3 larger dogs from the oversize baggage areas, I completed the primary Canadian Border Service Agency questions at the kiosks, declaring “yes” to the import of animals.  The CBSA agent asked us the typical questions you would expect upon returning to Canada and waived us through.

Instructions were to solicit help from a porter to claim and help transport the dogs from the oversized luggage area to the secondary customs check.  I don’t think we waited more than 5 or 10 minutes.  The dogs were unloaded before my own luggage.  Most of the porters have experience helping people returning with rescue animals so once we had the crates loaded on the carts, I followed him to the secondary customs check. There the CBSA agent began the paperwork for the import of the rescue dogs.  He asked if we had a customs broker.  When I answered yes he began faxing paperwork to the broker.   Another agent inspected the dogs.   I paid the inspection fee of $51 which I was reimbursed for and C4P also paid the porter for their services in cash once we met up with them and the families outside and unloaded the dogs.  It was hectic but everyone was so grateful to see their new dogs for the first time.

Being but a very small part of the dog rescue process is incredibly rewarding.  I literally was a part of their freedom flight to a new life in Canada and witnessed the moment 4 beautiful dogs united with their foster/forever families.  I am so grateful to everyone that is involved from start to finish.  Dog rescue takes an incredible amount of effort, time, money.  To be a travel chaperone, however, takes almost nothing besides the time at the airport that you would normally spend when you are traveling. It truly requires hardly any additional effort on your part.  Not only are you saving the lives of the dogs you transport, but in turn, space and resources are freed up to save more from the streets in countries with very little resources and way too many homeless dogs.

If you have any questions about volunteering as a flight chaperone, please reach out to C4P.  I am so grateful that I took this incredible journey.