Coronavirus: Pet travel a dog’s breakfast

Some Australians have spent months trying to get home during COVID-19 but for man’s best friend it has been dog years.

AeroPets’ Brianna Fenton, 19, plays with a stranded Zeena. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Some Australians have spent months trying to get home during COVID-19 but for man’s best friend, also battling flight short­ages and border restrictions, it has been dog years.

The Yu family returned to Sydney from China in early 2020 but are still waiting to welcome home the youngest member of the family, 23-month-old doberman Felix.

Felix had been scheduled to fly home last March but disruptions to Air China flights to Singapore led to months in a ­kennel in Beijing before a flight to Singapore via Taipei in September. Owner Le Yu said a further complication emerged in trying to get Felix a spot in quarantine in Australia, with the Melbourne quarantine facility booked out until February 18.

“We understand it’s a difficult time for everyone, but pets are not humans,” Mr Yu said.

“Dobermans can easily get depressed … it pains me to see him alone wondering if his owner has abandoned him.”

Flight cancellations and restrictions also impacted domestic pet transfers, with pet transport company AeroPets experiencing a surge in business as Australians sought out four-legged companionship during isolation.

Operations manager Karla Lacey said people were buying puppies from breeders in different states but airlines had reduced flight availability. “People were desperate, people were panicking,” she said. “Between Brisbane and Melbourne, it could be up to six weeks without a flight.”

She said the company ended up adding a freight road transport route that was allowed to enter states in lockdown.

“It’s like we’re in the flower business because when we’re delivering, everyone’s happy,” Ms Lacey said.

Pet Carriers general manager Steven Gendle said the business was dead for the first two months of COVID but then received five times the normal inquiries about bringing animals into Australia.

He said the situation was complicated by restricted number of flights, some airlines restricting the type of pet breeds they take or being bumped for cargo, and fewer staff at quarantine centres, requiring bookings up to eight weeks in advance. “I’m not sure the airlines are being quite as flexible with the arrangement for animals,” he said.