Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Total 6388
Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors; Procedure
Two medium to large dogs were loaded in my rear pit. When I went to check on my pets before departure there was only one dog in the pit. I noticed that the dog did not have a bowl of water; he had a gerbil drip bottle attached to the outside of his large wooden kennel. If a dog has not been trained to drink out of this type of water dispenser; they will not drink out of it. The dispenser was also dripping water on the floor of the kennel. Our flight was a long one (four plus hours) with possible delays because of high winds. I went to operations and asked them to change out the bottle and give the dog a bowl of water instead. They did that. I was unable to recheck the kennel and dog before we left but the ground lead said that it was done. I always wait with the dogs on the ramp after landing until they are picked up. I called operations and asked them to notify the Animal Transport department that a dog is waiting. I have waited between 15 minutes and an hour and 15 minutes for dogs to be picked up. When I went down to wait with the dog there were two dogs. The departure ramp crew put another dog on before we pushed that I didn't know about. This second dog had the same gerbil drip water dispenser. The first dog that was given a bowl did not get a real bowl. He got a very small; black rectangular dish about one inch deep with a divider in it. It looked like it was for a puppy to be fed dry food in. It couldn't hold very much water and if it were turbulent; the water would easily splash out. This Dog was scheduled to fly to Europe that night after landing. That bowl would never have held enough water for a pretty large dog that was going on a very long second flight of probably 8 hours or more.I was concerned about both dogs getting any water in either kennel on the next leg of their journey. When I was leaving the terminal to go home I stopped by the Animal Transport department to tell them my concerns. I asked to speak to a Supervisor. What happened next was a big disappointment for me. The woman that was out front said there was no Supervisor. Then someone; another male employee rudely said there were three businesses here; which one did I want? He knew I was there for the two dogs I brought. He was standing there when I told the woman. This man said he would get someone. A few minutes later; another man who claimed to be a supervisor came out with three other employees who all surrounded me. This man; who was about 6 feet 4 inches tall came right up to me and got uncomfortably close and peered down at me. The three other employees all stood around never saying anything; but were clearly there because they were asked to be there by this man. The tall man never asked me what I wanted; he just started saying; 'we don't give our dogs water; we give them ice'. I tried to say something and he cut me off. In fact; he cut me off every time I tried to say anything. He said things like 'don't tell us how to do our jobs'. He even said to me several times 'don't raise your voice to me' when in fact I never even got a chance to say anything and he was the one that was raising his voice. I; in fact; never actually told him what my concern was with the water for the dogs. I just turned around and left. There are lots of pilots that actually care about their pet passengers; and try to take care of them. I personally feel that I am as responsible for them as I am my people passengers. When we see things that are questionable about their handling and we try to alert the Animal Transport department of a problem or concern; I feel they should be happy to have the input. After all; we know a lot of dogs die in the care of the company. With the help of this valuable feedback; we can change that trend and strive for no animal deaths at our airline.Just to say a few of the things I have seen on the ramp: Dogs placed in the exhaust of the APU before or after boarding. Dogs left sitting in the sun on extremely hot days while waitingto be picked up. Dogs waiting way too long to be picked up; up to an hour; sometimes longer. Puppies left on the ramp in the very bitter cold weather; like what we have been having lately; with no protection. No water or too shallow of a bowl of water that has spilled in the kennels in frigid temperatures. Dogs being put in the pit on hot days; the cargo door being closed and then taking a delay on the ground; or just while waiting to push back. This has the same result as leaving your dog in a grocery store parking lot on a hot day with the windows closed; maybe worse. I could go on but; to sum it up; the biggest problems are HEAT; COLD and WATER. There are days that our air-conditioning is just not good enough to be safe for the transportation of animals.
An air carrier Captain reported pets being transported by the carrier are routinely mistreated by ground personnel.