When moving back from Canada to the Netherlands we took our dogs that we had acquired while in Canada back with us. Sarah, a three year old Irish wolfhound and Lisa, a 2 year old labrador / husky mix.
They went by plane, in crates specifically designed for the purpose.
On arrival the wolfhound had completely lost it, didn't recognize any of us and was totally out of it for at least two weeks, after which she slowly recovered. That was just 8 hours in a crate, not even close to the 'pit of despair' shown in the article, and anybody that willfully places an animal in such conditions just to see what damage will occur ought to be shot.
If I had had any idea something like that could have happened I would have gladly taken a boat with her, no matter how much longer that would have taken. It was incredibly sad to see her in that state, eventually she completely recovered though.
The other dog didn't show anything strange at all and took the whole thing in stride.