Here is an ingenious way to help relocate dogs and cats still stranded on Maui following the Lahaina fire to the mainland. The program is courtesy of the Maui Humane Society and a unique partnership with Alaska Airlines.
Normally the cost to ship a dog or cat alone is significant and requires significant coordination. But with this program, when the free Hawaii flight (for the pet) is connected to a paying passenger, the price first plummets to $150, then becomes free when this program from Maui Humane Society kicks in.
A foundation picks up that lower shipping charge, a Maui to mainland passenger agrees to have the dog or cat connected to their Alaska Air reservation, and animal groups coordinate everything at the Maui departure and mainland arrival airports? The details are below.
Wings of Aloha: Alaska Angels Teams with Maui Humane Society.
This program allows shelter animals to travel from Maui to the mainland via Alaska Airlines in collaboration with the Maui Humane Society. You can be the invaluable human connection by registering your return flight to the mainland with Wings of Aloha. A coordinator will call you if the flight aligns with an animal’s travel plans.
To participate, you’ll arrive three hours before departure and meet the Maui Humane Society team, who will handle all arrangements and stay with you and the dog or cat through check-in. At the arrival airport, an animal transfer partner will meet you 30 minutes after arrival at baggage claim.
Wings of Aloha partners with mainland animal welfare organizations that can provide assistance that Maui can’t for pet overpopulation and a lack of pet adopters. The program ensures the health and safety of shelter pets through the highest standard of care provided throughout the transfer process.
“Maui Humane Society is excited to announce a new partnership with Alaska Airlines, Wings of Aloha: Alaska Angels! This program saves the lives of shelter animals, and we need your help to do it. If you are flying out of Maui to a West Coast destination on Alaska Airlines, you can become an “Alaska Angel” by adding a pet to your ticket and chaperoning them to their new home on the continent. Pets will travel securely in Alaska Airlines’ climate-controlled cargo hold, and our transfer partner or adopter will pick them up directly from the airport. Best of all, helping is free and requires little time commitment. We are fortunate enough to have committed transfer partners on the continent who have guaranteed adoption pathways for our animals… we just need your help getting them there!”
Maui Humane Society
Is there any cost at all to participate? No!
All you need to do is fly from Hawaii on Alaska Airlines departing Maui. Otherwise, “Participation is free! Thanks to the support of the Maui Humane Society and Alaska Airlines, the cost of the flight is covered. The Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation covers all other costs, including the pet’s health certificate, travel kennel, transport to the airport, etc.”
Hat tip: Beat of Hawaii friend Cindy L., thank you for mentioning Wings of Aloha to us.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Wonderful! We have been blessed to be able to help out the Maui Humane Society during each of our (39) trips over to the island. We regularly give donations to help out with these poor little souls. We received an email about Wings of Aloha and signed up for this year’s return. In addition we will be volunteering to give a helping hand to the overtasked staff, while we are on island next month. We also put out a collection jar to encourage our patients to add to our donation…it is going to be a joy to give the money when we arrive.❤️🐕 We have two good used beagles and encouraged others to consider doing the same. Our girls are living their best life, at 7 and 2 they fill our home and hearts with unconditional love.❤️🐕
This isn’t a new program it’s been going on for years and should be stopped.
In California, Oregon and Washington 10’s of thousands of abandon unwanted pets, mostly cats and dogs are euthanized annually, yet for some reason shipping pets over from Hawaii is a good idea.
Our shelters on the west coast are brimming with adoptable pets, they have limited resources house and feed these animals.
Please visit your local shelter before adopting a Hawaiian cat or dog.
Hawaii needs to quit dumping their pet over population issue on others.
Let’s be real… The problem is not The islands dumping to the mainland. The problem is puppy mills and uncontrolled overbreeding. Please spay and new to your pets and support spay and neuter clinics. Mahalo
My friends and I hosted 9 cats from Kauai Humane Society a few years ago on Alaska similar to this. It was so easy for us on both ends of the trip. We were thrilled to find out that in a week all the cats found homes in the Portland area.
What a fantastic program to help Maui’s homeless animals. According to the Maui Humane Society website they are still caring for over 200 rescued cats from Lahaina! I hope many people flying out of Maui will take advantage of this provision to help these pets find loving homes.
Good for Alaska!!
I expect the kind of folks who will volunteer their time to bring an adoptable pet to the mainland will probably ultimately fall in love with the dog or cat, and give them the home they deserve.
“I went to Hawaii and came home with this cat!” Win-Win.
Can you adopt one of the dogs?
Hi Beth.
You can give them a call to check, but that sounds wonderful.
Aloha.
wonderful story and wonderful activity! Mahalo to everyone involved in helping these animals!
Thank you for taking care of these pets. They are ohana too. I pray they find good homes.