如何顺利带狗狗坐飞机？

Nothing bad has happened directly, personally to me because of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Except for being quarantined in a comfortable apartment, life goes on as usual. I've certainly done nothing heroic like the medical workers who have willingly risked their lives to help people in Hubei and around the country.

疫情发生以来，我除了待在舒服的公寓里自我隔离，日常生活照旧。我没有像医护人员那样做出英雄事迹，也没经历什么坏事。

Even so, like most people I think, I've been a bit anxious — especially about my dog, Feifei. I have not been sick at all, but I have worried about what would happen to her if I got a fever and was quarantined.

我只是有些紧张宠物狗飞飞。我没发烧，但如果我被隔离，它怎么办。

A little background: My wife and I usually take Feifei by plane to Yuxi, Yunnan (my wife's hometown) for the Chinese New Year holiday. The weather there is great and the hiking in the local mountains is fantastic.  

我们夫妻俩经常带着飞飞坐飞机回我妻子的老家云南玉溪过春节。那里气候舒适，适于爬山。

We flew from Beijing to Kunming early in the morning of Jan 23. People knew about the virus and people on the plane wore masks, but it was not yet seen as too serious. Then, that afternoon, the quarantine of Wuhan was announced.

我们在1月23日清晨从北京飞往昆明。乘客们知道疫情也戴着口罩，情况看上去还没那么严峻，然而当天下午武汉市就封城了。

For about a week, nothing much changed in Yuxi. But, villages in the mountains were starting to block roads and prevent outsiders from entering. After a few more days, entry and exit from apartment compounds was controlled. The dog was not allowed to exit at all.

接下来的一周，玉溪市没有大变化，但山里的村庄开始封路禁止外来人口。又过了几天，居民出入小区受限，宠物狗不允许出门。

Usually, it's a relatively simple matter to arrange air transport for a dog. You just need to get a health certificate from a local government near the departure airport, then book a flight a day or two later. In normal times, there are many companies that will act as agents to make all the arrangements.

过去带狗狗坐飞机并不难，只需要获得地方政府的健康证明即可。很多中介公司都可以搞定所有手续。

But, during the virus, the agents were not working, so it took us almost two weeks to arrange to fly the dog back to Beijing.  

但疫情期间，中介公司都歇业了，我们夫妻俩只好花了两周时间办完回北京的手续。

Kindness from workers at both the Kunming Changshui and Beijing Capital airports made my trip home a lot easier. The service provided at both airports was the best I've ever seen and the workers at these airports deserve many thanks for their energy and kind customer service.

不过昆明和北京机场工作人员的热情服务让过程变得简单许多。他们提供了我见过的最好的服务，他们的精力和善意值得感激。

In Kunming, a young woman, Zhou Yan, working at the oversized luggage departure gate walked me through the multiple step process of getting Feifei ready for loading on the plane. In China, many workers are very nice and go beyond the call of duty to help customers. Ms Zhou was exceptional.

昆明机场超大行李提取部门的周燕女士帮助我完成了狗狗登机前的准备。中国很多工作者都非常好，会额外帮助顾客，周女士就是其中的佼佼者。

I found that I had forgotten to get a nylon net that must be wrapped around the dog's box before loading on the plane. Without this, I would have to go back to Yuxi to start the whole process of getting a dog health certificate, airline permission for the dog to fly, and tickets again. Fortunately, my wife found a company in Kunming that could rush a net to the airport. Ms Zhou waited with me until the net arrived, even though her work shift had ended. Without her help, it would have been very hard for me to work through the process.

我忘记带套在狗屋外的尼龙网，没有它，我就要回到玉溪重新办理一遍申请手续。幸运的是，我妻子找到昆明一家公司，愿意把尼龙网送到机场。周女士下班后，依然陪我在机场等候。没有她的帮助，我很难完成这些过程。

Every pet owner has a bit of worry when loading an animal on a plane. The dog disappears like luggage and there is no way to be sure that she is properly loaded. Every year, more than 30 dogs die on US airlines, mostly due to some negligence or mistake by the airline.  

带宠物坐飞机的人都会担心宠物的安全，它们可能会像行李一样丢失，我们也无法确认它们是否被正确安置。美国每年都有30只狗因乘机死亡，多是由航班人员的玩忽职守和错误造成。

In Kunming, while getting seated on the plane, I received a Wechat message from Lu Chunli. She told me she worked in the baggage department and had loaded the dog on the plane. She gave me her phone number and asked me to call if there were any issues. I've carried dogs on planes in the US and Europe. But, I've never had anyone do this before. This was so reassuring — the best customer service I've ever seen.  

我在昆明登机后收到卢春丽的微信，她说自己在行李托运部门工作，已经将我的狗狗安置在飞机上。她留下了电话号码，让我有任何问题就找她。我曾经在美国和欧洲都带着狗狗上飞机，但从未遇到这种情况。这是我见过的最好的乘客服务。

After I arrived in Beijing, I was waiting at the oversized luggage arrival desk for Feifei to arrive. A young man working there, whose name I unfortunately did not get, was very welcoming and brought out a chair so I could sit while waiting.

飞机抵达北京后，我在超大行李托运处等待狗狗。一位小伙子很客气，拿了把椅子让我坐着等。

These acts of kindness may seem simple, but they made my trip much less nerve-wracking. Kind people like Zhou Yan, Lu Chunli, and the young man in Beijing make the world a better place.

这些工作人员人员的举动可能很简单，但却让我的旅程轻松很多。这三位善良的人让世界变得更好。

Like everyone else in China, I can't wait for the danger of the virus to pass. We are seeing how precious the simple things of life are — I'd love to take Feifei for her daily walk in the park.

我和大家一样迫不及待希望疫情结束，见证生活中珍贵的小事，比如每天可以遛狗。

The quarantine has kept most of us safe. We should greatly thank all the doctors, nurses, transport workers, and others who face danger to make this possible and pray for all the people facing the disease.

隔离确保了大家的安全。我们应该感谢医护人员、交通系统员工和所有面对危险依然确保一切正常运转的人，也为面对疾病的人祈祷、