Before my recent trip to Kauai, I was browsing the Alaska Airlines Flyertalk forum and came across a post asking for volunteers to help transport pets from the Kauai Humane Society to one of the non-stop destinations Alaska Airlines serves from Lihue. I love supporting shelter animals in any way possible so I emailed the shelter manager and agreed to transport some puppies on my return flight on September 11th.
According to the shelter’s website, the Alaska Airlines Pet Transfer program has sent over 400 animals from Kauai to the mainland, where they get adopted much more quickly. If the dogs are accompanied by a passenger, the cost of the transfer is free. The volunteer only needs to meet a representative from the Kauai Humane Society at the Lihue airport and hand off the dogs to a volunteer on arrival at the mainland.
On my return flight, my husband and I helped transport 4 adorable puppies to the Seattle Humane Society in Bellevue, WA. The dogs generated a lot of attention from fellow passengers and I think a couple of them wanted to adopt the puppies right there. On arrival at Seattle, we met up with a volunteer from the Seattle Humane Society who took the puppies home before delivering them to the shelter the next morning.
If you’re flying to Kauai via Alaska Airlines, I highly recommend contacting the Kauai Humane Society to see if you can help transport some Kauai pets to the mainland.
Thank you for helping these adorable puppies! I am a Flight Attendant with Alaska Airlines and was so happy to hear about this program! Thank you also for sharing your experience, I’m sure you’ve inspired others to do the same!