How much cabin noise can the animals take?

[Jon]

Bill,

I think animals may be more sensitive to noise, and the best one to answer the question is Michelle, the expert on this question.

However, as a practical matter I'm fairly certain that the pups I have carried will much prefer a couple of hours of cabin noise to the alternative, which in almost evey case was euthanasia.

[DDalland]

Bill-

Posted this response on the Rescuer's page too. Empirical answer, but my experience.


"Not sure on the noise tolerance but my Irish Setter rode in my 68 Mooney with us for 10 yrs (probably 50 hrs/yr) and her hearing was fine until we lost her at 15 yrs old. Now I'm flying my wife's two irish setters (ok they're mine too) to various dog shows in a 68 Baron. Em is 7 and Lola 5 and their hearing is very good, they can hear a key in a door lock from the second story of my shop.

A vet may provide a definitive answer, but my dogs have spent a lot of time in my noisy airplanes without any issues. I doubt a few hours on a rescue ride would cause any serious damage."

Regards

Don

[glassman]

We were invovled in what will ultimately be a 5-leg relay to transport 4 kittens from Georgia to Massachusetts today. Our leg was Roanoke, VA to Westminster, MD. My fiance sat in the back seat with the kittens, who sat in their 2 carriers. We had fed them kitten chow before loading them onboard, and let them use a makeshift litter box at the FBO that we made out of a shirt box and a zip-lock back of kittie litter. They also drank an enormous amount of water at the FBO -- remember it gets really dry up there -- there's a reason pilots' lips are always chapped. The kittens slept for almost the entire flight. One insisted on watching out the window whenever he was awake, but otherwise, he slept along with the other 3 who slept almost the entire flight. (in a Diamond DA-42). I think feeding them was part of the secret, but they were completely unaffected by either the noise, or the climbs and descents. They only got a little annoyed when we hit a few bumps during climbout, but other than that, they were perfect little travellers.

[N7655W]

I truly believe from my experience that a one time rescue in one of our noisy birds is not dangerous to their hearing. I usually have the crates open during transport giving our furry friends the choice of being in or out during flight. Most of them curl up and go to sleep. Some look out the window. Never noticed any discomfort. However, my dog, a regular passenger, always has his set of Mutt Muffs on. You have to look out for the possibility of long term hearing loss.

Jeff
N7655W