Who We Are - Igna Traub

Igna joined Animal Land after teaching Special Education for a couple of years. She moved from South Africa nine years ago and now lives in Atlanta with her husband, Ben. They have two rescued dogs, Willis and Takeo, and a kitty, Milo. Igna is an International Personal Move Counselor and is fluent in Afrikaans.

We are incredibly lucky to have Igna and love getting emails like this:

My husband and I lived in North Carolina for the past few years with our Basset Hound, Hefner. In July of this year we decided to take new jobs in Grenada in the Caribbean and one of biggest concerns was how Hefner was going to get there (with only a few flights for humans a day and the intense heat I thought it might be impossible!). From accepting the jobs and arriving in Grenada we only had two months to organize our lives and get down there, so we didn’t really have the time to research Hefners travel arrangements. In addition we were going to leave Hefner in NC for a few weeks with a friend whilst we found somewhere to live in Grenada.

After finding the Pet Movers website I sent them an email and was called straight back. They sounded very professional and within a few days I had a reasonable quote. What impressed me so much was that they took care of everything from all the documents to picking Hefner up at my friend’s door. Hefner’s personal move counselor, Igna Traub, was fantastic and never complained about my endless questions and worries! His flights were organized in no time (RDU-Houston-Miami-Trinidad-Grenada) and Igna emailed whenever we had to do anything (such as rabies vaccination and getting his health certificate). She was also constantly on the phone to Grenadian authorities (who work at the typical Carribean pace!) making sure all our documents were in order.

When it came to the day of travel he was picked up in the early hours of the morning in NC and flown to Houston where he was met, fed, watered and walked before getting on his next flight to Miami. Once in Miami he was checked into the Amerijet flight for the next day and put into boarding kennels overnight (Amerijet has an unusual policy of not confirming flights will actually take place but thankfully Igna had organized a back-up plan if the flight did not go ahead). Thankfully, he left Miami on time and arrived in Grenada on the minute he was supposed to, looking a bit dazed and confused but very happy to see us. What was wonderful was that every step of his journey Igna emailed me to say he had arrived safely and was doing well – thus keeping me from any unneccessary worry. As you can see this was not a simple journey and I do not know what we would have done without Pet Movers. I have nothing but the highest recommendations for this company and if we are to move again I know who we will be contacting!!

Thank you so much Igna and your team

Who We Are - Amy Christy

AMY CHRISTY - International Personal Move Counselor

Any organization is only as good as the people who work there. Animal Land is truly lucky to have Amy Christy. Amy is a licensed CPA and an avid animal lover who has owned pets all of her life. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters, Amy lives in the country with her husband, Philip, two wire hair dachshunds, Trixie and Bella, and her beautiful rescue dog, Nettie (aka "White Thing," or just plain old W.T. for short!)

It is always difficult to come up with the superlatives to describe Amy, so I am fortunate that one of our clients summed it up nicely:

I recently had the pleasure of being helped by Amy Christy with the relocation of my 2 Maine Coon cats - Pete and Pepe (my boys!) from Baltimore, MD to Malaga, Spain at the end of May. I must say, I have never dealt with anyone as truly incredible as Amy. She is gifted, sharp, on point, professional, funny and charming. It is completely obvious that she loves what she does and is incredibly good at it. I am sure that I probably gave her heart burn on a few occasions, but she handled herself with grace and charm and worked this move like a military maneuver. My only concern was knowing that my boys would arrive safe and sound with as little stress as possible. Amy went above and beyond at every opportunity to ensure that the never ending paper work was completed correctly and on schedule. She followed up with me at every opportunity and in record time. I also really appreciate the fact that every time I called her - and I made multiple calls - she always answered the phone! I could not have asked for a better Pet Consultant. If there was ever a move that would be a classic example of perfection, this would be the one!

Thank you Amy.

International Pet Travel - KLM Animal Hotel

By Dana Siler, Animal Land's Senior International Personal Move Counselor

One of the most important services we provide is choosing the correct airline. For international pet shipping, KLM is one of the best.

They have a dedicated Animal Hotel where all pets are held during transit. Here are some excerpts from their website:

KLM Cargo Animal Hotel – a home away from home
Dogs and cats deserve the comfort and attention we give to our passengers. The cargo compartments in our aircraft are temperature controlled and pressurised, ensuring that your pet travels under the best possible climate conditions.

When in transfer at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, your pet will visit the KLM Cargo Animal Hotel. Although you cannot visit your pet at the Animal Hotel, you can rest assured it will always benefit from that KLM trademark – dedicated care and attention.

At the Animal Hotel, our own specially trained Animal Attendants will look after your pet as if it were their own. They’ll temporarily house your cat or dog in a larger kennel and give it food and water. They’ll even provide KLM Cargo’s dog-walking service – a service that’s unique in the airline business.

KLM Cargo’s Animal Hotel meets and even exceeds the high European standards in quality and hygiene. Before travelling onward, the kennel will be thoroughly cleaned. Both your pet and its facilities will be fresh and ready to travel on.

My Pet Moving Experience - Sunni Chernega

Sunni is a Member of Animal Land's Sales Team

When I accepted a job at Animal Land, I was thrilled to get the chance to work with loving pet owners and a pet crazy staff! But, having recently relocated to Atlanta, I was missing my Jacka-wa-wa (Jack Russell/Chihuahua), Veto, who stayed behind in Ohio until I could find a suitable place to live.

Once I located the perfect place for Veto and I to call home, the decision to move him to Atlanta was made. The dilemma...How would I get him there? The idea of flying a pet had always scared me and Veto is a rescued pet with high anxiety which only increased my fears. But, the more I learned about moving pets and the more I got to know our caring staff, the better I felt about the idea. I decided to let our domestic pet move counselor, Ann Patsell, handle the move for me. Ann booked the flight for Veto and lined up an agent in Ohio to pick him up and take him to the airport. In no time Ann had the move set up and I started getting excited about being reunited with my little buddy!

My dear friend (and NOW one of our international pet move counselors), Amy Christy, was keeping Veto for me in Ohio. Amy called to let me know that our agent had picked him up and that Veto was on his way to the airport. Amy was very impressed by our agent and how he handled Veto. It wasn't long after that that Amy made the decision to join the Animal Land team as well!!

I arrived at the cargo facility in Atlanta about an hour early (just couldn't wait!). The gentleman behind the desk was very nice and let me wait inside, he even let me have the remote to the T.V.! But, surely enough, thoughts of how Veto might be traumatized by his adventure started racing through my head. Would he be scared? Would act differently after this? Was this the right decision for such a fragile little dog? My questions were answered when he finally arrived...his tail was wagging so hard when he saw me, it brought tears to my eyes. I could hardly wait to get him home! He was the same little man he had always been!

Since that day, I have had the privilege of working with so many of our wonderful clients and their precious pets. I often tell them about my own experience with our company and what a satisfied customer I once was. There is no feeling like locking eyes with your pet after he safely arrives at your new home!

The Importance of Companion Animals or Why People Ship Their Pets

Anyone who has ever owned a pet has experienced the emotional benefits which come from forming a special bond with another. Some are better at expressing it than others, but most agree it exists.

The July, 2008 American Journal of Critical Care contains an excellent article titled “The Healing Power of the Human-Animal Connection”. This article is a review of scientific studies that document the effects of animal-assisted therapy and animal companions on humans. It is yet another study which shows significant health benefits in many situations.

There are some truly remarkable findings, including:

• Among human cardiac patients, having a pet is correlated with increased likelihood of one-year survival.
• Interacting with pets helps improve blood flow patterns in humans with heart failure.
• Pet visits in a hospital setting cause patients to report less pain.
• Hospitalized children report that animal-assisted therapy motivates them to get better.

Even more remarkable is that such positive perceptions were not limited to patients and families. The study reports "Nurses believed the presence of animals made the work environment happier and more interesting, with no negative impact on space or work flow."

The paper goes on to point out that not only do the presence of pets aid in healing, but owning a pet may make it less likely that a person will end up in the hospital in the first place.

People who own companion animals report a highly significant reduction in minor health problems and significant improvements in psychological well-being in the first month after acquiring an animal. Households with dogs also showed an increase of 400% to 500% in walking.

Truly remarkable.

Who We Are At Petmovers.com - Ann Patsell

Before becoming the Senior Domestic Move Counselor, Ann spent many years tending to the special needs of the elderly. She now resides at Smith Mountain Lake, VA. With her husband and 2 yr old Jack Russell names "Tripp."

She is one of the very best in our industry and it always is great to get letters!!


"Ann,

I wanted to let you know how happy we were with Pet Movers. I know to some people it sounds crazy, but for people that love their pets and want to minimize their stress level, Pet Movers is the way to go.

The day you moved Riley from NJ to GA it was wonderful to get the continuous updates. Even though Riley's flight was slightly delayed, you kept me informed of what was happening.

Thanks for making this a stress-free event for myself and my cat."

Pet Travel - Who We Are at Petmovers.com

Dana Siler - Senior International Personal Move Counselor

Customer Service is paramount at Petmovers.com and we are fortunate to have the best Personal Move Counselors in the industry. Our focus is treating every pet as if it were our own. It is always great to get letters like the following:

"Dana Siler has been wonderful to work with for the move of our dog Manzi. She has been efficient and professional as well as showing how much she cares for the animals she is moving. We have been in constant communication and everything has gone extremely smoothly. Moving a dog from Kansas to Sydney Australia is fairly complex, especially as we could not be in the country to ship him as we had already had to leave the US. Dana coordinated the entire operation between the boarding kennels in Lawrence, my neighbor and the vet's office. Once Manzi was in Sydney she arranged for him to be delivered to our house as we had timing issues with being able to pick him up from quarantine on his release day. The timeline we all worked to went well with regard to the blood tests Manzi was required to have and enabled a smooth move from one hemisphere to another. With all the stress that arises with an international move it was a great relief to that the organization and care of Manzi was in good hands. We would like to thank Dana for all her effort and we feel she goes well beyond what is expected of her. We look forward to our next move with her. Thank You!"

Christine