Meet Michael Foley: Agent to the Animals
by Judy Jacobs /Although officially a freight forwarder, in many ways Global Animal Transport is a travel agency—of sorts.
Whether dealing with rhinos, rare birds, dolphins or dogs, it handles some of the types of tasks an agent might deal with – and much more.
And with the Ark, the new first-of-its-kind $48 million airline terminal dedicated solely to animals expected to open at JFK International next year, animals are becoming a more important part of the travel and transportation business.
Working with animals
Long before the Ark was even imagined, Michael Foley, president of the Canyon Country, Calif.-based company, was busy creating a business focused on transporting animals. And like many in the industry, that business happened somewhat serendipitously.
“I’ve been working with animals since I was a kid and planned to go to veterinary school,” Foley said.
“But when I was told it might be up to six years to get into the school, I decided to go into freight forwarding instead.”
Foley began to work in that business in 1979, not long before the ostrich craze of the 1980s, when the company he was working for decided to ship the birds from Israel and Egypt to ranches in southern Texas.
Ostrich farming soon became a fad that faded and Foley turned to bringing greyhounds from England and Ireland to Midwestern racetracks.
That, in turn, led to transporting four rhinos from U.S. zoos to Australia for a breeding program.
Travel for animals
After two decades of arranging animal travel for other companies, Foley and his wife Susan decided to go off on their own in 1999. And they haven’t looked back.
Foley’s company handles animals for zoos, aquariums, animal rescue organizations, and travel agents whose clients want to ship their pets throughout the world.
“It’s everything you can think of. We just brought in four falcons for a client of ours in Washington State from the UAE,” Foley said.
“We brought in 98% of the sea life for the Georgia Aquarium,” he added. “It took four years. As part of it I flew to Anchorage to make the arrangements to bring in six whale sharks from Taiwan.”
Last month Foley also handled the transport for what’s been said to be the largest golden retriever rescue operation in the world. Thirty-six golden retrievers were brought from the streets of Istanbul to adoptive families in the U.S. by Adopt a Golden Atlanta.
Foley is currently involved in one of the latest animal crazes – pygmy goats—and is shipping them to Kuwait and the UAE where they’ve become popular pets.
“If it’s here on the earth, we’ve shipped it or will ship it,” he said. His company has even dealt with animals as small as spiders for zoos.
Cats and dogs
Although the exotics make for an interesting story, 75% of Foley’s business is household pets, from dogs and cats to venomous reptiles.
Foley does everything from picking up the animals and taking them to the vet for their papers before delivering them to the airport to be tendered to the airline.
If a family is relocating abroad, he’ll even arrange for an agent in a foreign country to handle things on the other end and deliver the pet to the family’s new home.
It’s not an easy business, and Foley is hands-on to the extreme.
He has trained to be a licensed groom and occasionally accompanies the animals on their journey, if requested. If he doesn’t go, he makes sure that a veterinarian or animal handler makes the journey if necessary.
Global Animal Transport is licensed through the TSA and responsible for everything that goes on the airplanes. Foley does background checks on zoos, for example, and needs to examine the crate and the animal to ensure they meet TSA criteria.