traveling with my dog

Question
Ok, here's the situation. We need to get our dog from Las Vegas to Ohio for Christmas. Unfortunetely, she's a little too big to fit in a carry-on, so she needs to fly in cargo. The airline told us that if the temperature drops below 45 degrees (which it will) that she could not go in cargo without a note from her doctor saying she is aclimated to cold weather. And she is, she's covered in 3 inch black fur and lived in Ohio most of her life and lives for playing in the snow. So when we go to the vet, he gives us this piece of paper saying she can't go in cargo if it's less than 45 degrees, and dissappears before we notice. When we ask about it he hides in the back, and relays to us through his vet tech that he can not legally write a note for any dog to go in cargo if it's less than 45 degrees. So someone is lieing. Either every single airline we called is lieing about being able to get a note from the vet that says she can fly in cold weather, or the vet is lieing about not being able to legally write said note.

My first question is, who's right? Is the vet lieing or are the airlines feeding me bs? Has anyone taken their dog on the airline during the winter? Are there any vets out there that know the law on this? Should we find another vet that can help us?

My second question is, if we can't take the dog on the plane, how the heck are we going to get her to Ohio?

Please help! We've only got a week to figure this out and I can't afforn to eat the money I already spent on plane tickets.

Answer
There are many dogs who live outside and can tolerate freezing conditions.  For example, my dad's 5 hunting beagles are outdoors 24/7 and do just fine (obviously they are in kennels with shelter) and it gets below 45 outside most days in the winter.

Yes many people fly their pets in the winter.  I really do not know what the temperature of the cargo area is, but if you have your dog in a crate with blankets and put a doggie coat on her, she should be fine.  You could even purchase one of those self heating liners to stick in her kennel.   Plus the flight will only be a few hours.

Personally, I think airlines do not like to fly pets as there are A LOT that refuse animals all together and they make things difficult on purpose (my opinion) to discourage folks from taking their pets.

I would ask your vet to re-write the note and tell him you will assume any liability if that is what he is concerned about.   Or if he won't, ask another vet to do it.