Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

traveling with unvaccinated puppies

bpivo
Explorer C

I belong to a dog rescue and am considering flying from Maryland to Georgia to pickup 2, 9 week old puppies.  They are too young for vaccines.  Would they then be denied if I have paperwork from a vet saying they are healthy and have had an exam by him the day before?

4 REPLIES 4

Re: traveling with unvaccinated puppies

dfwskier
Aviator A

You'll be fine. Just be sure they are in a carrier that will fit under the seat.

 

First time away from their mom? They are likely to cry a lot, which might annoy other passengers. You could be proactive by putting a ticking clock in the carrier (reminds of mom's heart beat) or maybe a hot water bottle you could fill with hot water after you clear security.

Re: traveling with unvaccinated puppies

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Maybe I'm just not seeing it, but I do not think Southwest's pet policy requires pets to be vaccinated.  They do need to be at least 8 weeks old.  You can read the whole policy here: https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/traveling-with-animals/pets/index-pol.html

 

I'm guessing the requirement that pets stay in a carrier for the entire trip does allow them to not require vaccinations.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: traveling with unvaccinated puppies

bpivo
Explorer C

The first sentence of that policy says "small vaccinated" which is what lead me to question whether they will allow them to be brought on at all.

Re: traveling with unvaccinated puppies

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Oh yeah, I guess it does say that, lol. I don't see a requirement for paperwork or documentation so use your best judgment. 

 

--TheMiddleSeat