Up, up and away for flying with pets

Travel much with your pets? I mean, really travel, where you have to take a plane or a train?

Not surprisingly, it's getting more expensive to fly with your pet.

This article from the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel said the prices are climbing skyward.

The round-trip costs of traveling with a pet now are almost as much as some low-fare tickets. In an economic recession, the expense is tough for most pet owners to justify, said George Hobica, founder of the airfare deal Web site airfarewatchdog.com.

It's one thing to take a small dog with you in the cabin of a plane, but I can't imagine crating a dog and having it fly in the belly of the plane. What fear the animal must be experiencing.

I feel for the woman who shows goldens and has to fly with them, but for the average person, with costs so much higher, the real alternative is boarding or pet-sitting.