Canada-wide transport
Compassionate, safe, ethical pet shipping
We fly puppies from Edmonton to British Columbia and across Canada in climate-controlled animal cargo — on direct flights only, in a crate the puppy already sleeps in, with one of us at the terminal until the aircraft is off the ground.
Shipping a puppy is the part of this business people are rightly uneasy about, and a lot of that unease is earned. Animals do get put on three-leg itineraries, handed to brokers nobody has met, and flown in weather they should not be flown in. None of that is necessary, and none of it is how we do it.
What follows is the whole process, including what it costs and the circumstances in which we will refuse to fly. If any of it does not sit right with you, drive out and collect in person instead — we would genuinely rather that than have you uncomfortable about the first day of your dog’s life with you.
Our rules
Four things that do not change, whatever the booking looks like
The crate is familiar before the airport is
Every puppy that flies sleeps in its travel crate at our house for at least a week beforehand, with meals fed inside it. By the time it reaches a terminal the crate is the safe place it already knows, not a box it has just been shut into.
Direct flights only. Never a connection.
A connection means a second handling, a second tarmac and an unknown wait. We do not do it. If there is no direct flight to you on a workable day, we wait for one or we look at driving. That has cost us bookings and we are fine with it.
No flying in a temperature embargo
Airlines set heat and cold embargoes for animal cargo, and we treat them as a floor rather than a target. If the forecast at either end is marginal on the day, the flight moves. That decision is ours to make and it is not negotiable.
Somebody stays until the aircraft is gone
We drive the puppy to the terminal, do the check-in in person, confirm the crate has gone into the hold, and stay until the aircraft has pushed back. You get a message from us at each step, including a photo before the crate goes.
Flight day
What actually happens, hour by hour
The week before
The puppy sleeps in the travel crate nightly and is fed in it. We confirm the booking, the waybill and the weather, and send you the flight details and the cargo counter address.
Morning of
A light breakfast early, not just before departure, then a long play and toilet session so the puppy travels tired and empty. Water is frozen into the crate dish so it does not spill in transit and thaws to drink.
At the terminal
We check in around three hours before departure. Absorbent bedding, a worn t-shirt that smells like the litter, live-animal labelling, and your details fixed to the crate. We photograph the crate and send it to you.
In the air
Animals travel in a pressurised, temperature-controlled hold on the same aircraft as the passengers. Alberta to BC is a short hop — most of our routes are under two hours in the air.
On arrival
Cargo processes the shipment and the puppy is usually available about ninety minutes after landing. You collect at the cargo counter, not the passenger terminal. Bring photo ID and the waybill number.
That evening
Straight home, straight to the toilet spot, then quiet. No visitors, no welcome party, no bath. Let the puppy sleep. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.
Booking and cost
Two ways to arrange it. Both are fine with us.
The only real difference is whose card the airline charge goes on. Everything we do at our end — the crate work, the drive, the check-in, the monitoring — is identical either way.
Option one
We coordinate everything
We book the cargo space, source the crate, handle the puppy at the airport, check it in, monitor it through the process and confirm a successful departure. You reimburse the airline and crate costs by e-transfer, at cost, with the receipts.
Most families choose this. It is one less thing to organise from another province.
Option two
You book it directly
The airline will deal with you directly. You book the cargo space and pay them, then send us the booking confirmation. We still do all the handling, the crate conditioning, the drive and the check-in at our end.
Worth it if you would rather the charge went on your own credit card.
What it typically costs
- Airline cargo for a puppy of this size on a western Canadian route has typically run in the four-to-five-hundred-dollar range. It varies by route, weight and season.
- An airline-approved crate is usually somewhere around one to one-and-a-half hundred dollars. We can order it for you, but it needs doing early.
- Our coordination fee is a flat amount per dog, covering the crate conditioning, the transport, the airport check-in and the monitoring. Ask us for the current figure.
Airline and crate pricing is set by them, not by us, and it moves. Treat the figures above as the shape of it rather than a quote — we confirm real numbers with the airline for your specific dates before anyone commits to anything.
The limits
What we will not do, for any amount of money
Every one of these has come up at some point, usually from a family who badly wanted a particular date to work. We understand the disappointment. The answer is still no, and the reason is always the same — the puppy has no say in the decision, so somebody has to make it on its behalf.
- Fly a puppy younger than eight weeks, regardless of what the airline would accept.
- Put a puppy on a connecting itinerary to make a date work.
- Fly inside an airline heat or cold embargo, or when the forecast at either end is marginal.
- Sedate a puppy for travel. Sedation at altitude is a genuine risk and every vet we have asked says the same thing.
- Hand a puppy to a third-party shipper we have never met.
- Ship a puppy to a family we have not actually spoken with.
Paperwork, and who holds it
Domestic flights inside Canada are simple: a health certificate from our vet dated close to travel, the airline waybill, and the live-animal labelling on the crate. No rabies import documents, no quarantine. Both of us receive copies of everything before the puppy travels, along with the vaccination record, the deworming schedule and the written health guarantee — the same paperwork you would get collecting in person.
Questions about flying a puppy
Is flying safe for a puppy?
On a short direct flight, with a crate the puppy already knows and no connection to make, it is genuinely low-stress — most arrive asleep. The risks in animal air transport come from long itineraries, connections, extreme temperatures and unfamiliar crates, and every one of those is avoidable. That is why our rules are what they are.
What does shipping a puppy to BC cost?
Airline cargo for a puppy of this size on a western Canadian route has typically run in the four-to-five-hundred-dollar range, and an airline-approved crate is usually somewhere around one to one-and-a-half hundred. Both are set by the airline and the supplier rather than by us, both change, and we quote them fresh at booking. On top of that we charge a flat coordination fee per dog for the crate conditioning, the drive, the check-in and the monitoring. Ask us for the current figure.
Who books the flight — you or us?
Either. Most families have us coordinate the whole thing and reimburse us by e-transfer afterwards. Some prefer to book directly with the airline so the charge goes on their own credit card, and then send us the booking confirmation. Both work exactly the same way at our end and we have no preference.
How far ahead do we need to book?
Sooner than feels necessary. Aircraft carry a small number of animal spots — often only two or three on a given flight — and they go quickly. Long weekends and statutory holidays frequently have no animal capacity at all, which catches people out more than weather does.
What paperwork is involved?
Within Canada it is straightforward: a health certificate from our vet dated close to travel, the airline waybill, and the crate labelling. There is no rabies import paperwork and no quarantine for a domestic flight. Both of us get copies of everything before the puppy travels.
What happens if the flight is cancelled or delayed?
The puppy comes home with us and we rebook. It is never left at a cargo facility waiting for a later aircraft and it is never rerouted through a connection to save the date. If we are not comfortable with the conditions on the day, we pull the flight and tell you why.
Can we just come and collect the puppy ourselves?
Yes, and we like it when families do. You meet the mother, see where the litter was raised, and the puppy travels in a car with you instead of in cargo. Plenty of BC families fly into Edmonton, collect in person and carry the puppy home in the cabin — some airlines allow a small puppy under the seat, which is worth asking about.
Where in Canada will you ship to?
Anywhere we can reach on a direct flight from Edmonton on a day the weather allows. In practice that is most of the country — Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Abbotsford when it is running, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa are all straightforward. Ask about anywhere else and we will look at it honestly rather than promising it.
Work out the match first, the flight second
There is no point booking cargo for a puppy that was never right for your household. Start with the Blueprint, let us tell you which temperament suits the way you actually live, and we will sort the travel once there is a puppy worth travelling.