Bring a pit bull from New York to Mexico?

j0equ1nn

Sean Smith
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I have a 5 year old red nosed pit bull named Sam. I took him in about 3 years ago as a rescue. I currently live in NY and for career purposes I need to relocate to Mexico City for 2 years, starting this coming August. I had been assuming I would just bring Sam with me, but now that I'm looking into the details it seems problematic.

In addition to restrictions due to Sam's breed and his size (75 pounds), Sam tends to be nervous and is dog aggressive. When I say dog aggressive, I mean that if given the chance he will try to kill other dogs and has seriously injured dogs twice before. On the other hand he is very obedient and friendly, has never bitten a human, and is amazingly well behaved in the house. There is a long thread about my process of training him on this site titled "Fostering rescued pit bull with mysterious past," and he has come a long way, but will probably never be able to socialize with other dogs.

I am aware that Sam can't ride in the cabin (obviously). It is unclear whether he would be allowed to ride in cargo area of a plane, and if he could whether he should. Apparently there is a crate called the CR82 that can be used to transport dogs like Sam but I'm not finding sufficient info about it regarding the specific airlines I'll be using. The airlines that generally make the flight I need are Delta, Jet Blue and United Airlines. Has anyone researched this, or done or attempted it?

As much as I don't want to subject Sam to the trauma of being put in a box and shipped on a plane like that, the other options seem worse.

There are more international pet relocation services that look good but it looks like they would cost at least $4,000 and I just don't have that kind of money.

I could forget about flying and drive. Sam is good in the car (though probably not for 2 weeks). But obviously that brings up a whole bunch of other issues, from safety to car paperwork, to cost of gas and hotels, to Sam not being allowed in hotels, etc. Add in the fact that it would be my first time driving in Mexico and I'd need to traverse most of the county. Doesn't sound like a good idea.

Lastly, I could find someone to foster Sam until I get back. This seems the most favorable option, but assumes that I can find somebody who is 1) willing to take Sam in for 2 years and 2) qualified to deal with Sam's nervousness and dog aggression issues. I have tried to find fosters for Sam in the past and it's just impossible. If there were 1 person willing to do it for every 10 who said they knew somebody, we'd be in way better shape.

Thanks in advance for any advice on my situation. Here's a cute pic of me and Sam hanging out.
sam15.jpeg
 

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