Fly a puppy in cargo?

Hi Dr Marie.

We live in Halifax and are buying a pup from a breeder in Winnipeg. I can't find a good answer about shipping the pup. The breeder does it often, and I do trust the breeder; we have a friend here in Halifax who got 2 dogs from her, and had them flown to Halifax. My worry is that we are getting the pup in mid-November. Westjet has one direct flight, so the pup would leave Wpg at 3:00 (local time) and get in Halifax at 11 pm (local time). I think the pup needs to be dropped off a couple hours early, so best case scenario is 8-9 hours from breeder's arms to home. The flight has a stopover in Toronto, for about 40 minutes. Havanese are toys, and the pup will be 9-10 weeks old. If the weather's good, I think I can live with that, but it's November, and it's Canada. Our other option is for me to fly out and bring the pup home in a carry-on so the pup is with me, and in the cabin instead of the cargo hold. Not to be taken lightly, as it's a large additional expense, but we want the puppy to be safe and healthy. What would you advise?

Thanks so much, I feel better! The breeder already talked to Westjet (as did I but I didn't know what to ask!), so it should be ok. But it's our first dog and I'm a nervous mom-to-be I guess! Westjet actually uses bigger planes, Air Canada's planes between here and there are smaller.

Thanks again for your help.

JoAnne