Comments on: Is Taking Your Pet on an Airplane Worth the Risk?

By: Jack Tyler (Missing Cat Pet Detective)

Jack Tyler (Missing Cat Pet Detective) — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:37:25 +0000

If your traveling cat did get loose in an airport, you would need them to be wearing a Cat Flasher Robot Locator Tag to be found. If it’s a large airport, that locator would probably be their only hope because of the limited access given to searchers. Only works for cats, though.

By: Virginia

Virginia — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:37:16 +0000

Last month my husband and I left New England to start a new life in the Pacific Northwest, and we brought our 3 cats with us in their 3 separate kennels. We not only looked for a direct flight to lessen the possibility of anything horrible happening to the cats, we read everything we could about flying with pets. It turned out that Alaska Air was not only the one airline that had a direct flight, but also touted its pet travel program.

At the airport we walked immediately to the check in counter and after paying for their flight($100 each)the cats,still in their separate kennels, were put on a cart and we were all escorted to a small room where TSA people were to check them out.

Inside, they asked me to remove two of the cats from their kennels, and did not demand that the one I said was really freaked out be removed, but rather opened the door and felt around inside with their hands. Everything was done quietly, patiently, and gently. We were told that everything was fine, and we could go to the boarding area.

We did not see the cats again until we went to the baggage claim where all 3 kennels had been lined up waiting for us. All 3 seemed as calm as they could be given the circumstances. A big sigh of relief, and praise for Alaska Air!

By: Tom Kirshbaum

Tom Kirshbaum — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:25:51 +0000

Alastair,

By all means let’s call it a kilometer and be friends.

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:16:59 +0000

It’s tough to tell how much of a problem this is. Scientifically we would need to know the “control”–i.e. how many of these pets may have died at home or at their kennel during the same times. It seems unlikely with a supposedly healthy 3-year-old dog, but possible. I’ve definitely heard a number of stories of pets who die while their owners are on vacation, and it would be rather difficult to blame that on the airlines.

By: Kathryn K

Kathryn K — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:35:03 +0000

What this article doesn’t mention is that traveling in the cabin is also hazardous for pets — or, rather, the juggling required of owners bringing pets through the security checkpoint is. The TSA currently requires all animals coming on board as carry-on to be removed from their kennels and carried through the metal detector so the kennels can be scanned. That means hauling a terrified cat out of its kennel and trying to hang onto it and then stuff it back inside. I have a pair of parakeets, and I can pretty much guarantee that one or both would escape if I tried to carry them through airport security in that fashion, and I would never see them alive again.

By: Scott Kreidler

Scott Kreidler — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:49:24 +0000

Having owned and shown American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers for many years, I can unequivocally state that well-bred APBTs and ASTs are *not* brachycephalic, despite the airlines’ misconceptions. (This makes travel with our easy-breathing dogs & more difficult than it would otherwise be.)

By: Alastair Bland

Alastair Bland — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 02:21:10 +0000

Tom, you make a great point and I read you loud and clear. Yes, Nature might never create a creature like a snub-nosed dog unless humans had a hand in the job. However, insofar as brachycephaly is written into such an animal’s genetic code, it may not be a great stretch to call it “natural.” Can we say I missed the mark by a kilometer?

By: Tom Kirshbaum

Tom Kirshbaum — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:19:58 +0000

To call Brachycephaly “a natural variation” misses the mark by a mile. Brachycephalic dogs are designed and bred to be that way to suit human tastes. These poor creatures may struggle to breathe their entire lives and often die young. Many are so compromised that they will never be able to run and play normally. It would be a cruel Mother Nature indeed who would allow dogs to evolve “naturally” to suffer in this way.

By: Mi Lau

Mi Lau — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:48:48 +0000

To RNB,
What many people don’t know that DOT only reports the incidents that happen to those pets traveling with people. If the pet is being shipped from breeder to owner, or owner to someone else, and something happens to them, they are not reported. The actual incident numbers are staggeringly higher than what this article quotes. That is the unfortunate truth. See NBCs investigation on the topic here: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/Pet-Owners-Pressure-Airlines-to-Stop-Treating-Animals-As-Cargo–199945321.html

By: Mary Beth Melchior

Mary Beth Melchior — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:48:54 +0000

In August of 2011, Jack – a cat that American Airlines said was too big to fly under the seat – was lost by the airline before he even boarded the plane. Jack was lost within JFK airport (NYC) for 61 days. He then fell through the ceiling in the Customs & Border Patrol office, was treated in veterinary ICU for 12 days, and ultimately had to be euthanized because the he could not recover from his wounds, which were exacerbated by being without food and water for 2 months.

During this ordeal I started a Facebook page in the hopes of finding someone with access to the airport who could help us search for Jack. That page, “Jack the Cat Is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK”, remains active with over 24,000 fans. In addition, we have begun a non-profit organization, Where Is Jack? Inc., which maintains the website http://www.WhereIsJack.org – providing information to pet parents about the hazards of flying with pets, and steps they can take to minimize the risks if flying with a pet is absolutely unavoidable.

What we have learned is that animals are in danger at every step on the flight process – both on the ground and in the air. Jack was lost when his crate fell and came open because it had been stacked on top of another crate. This is in violation of USDA animal transport regulations. (Ironically, it looks like the picture at the top of this article may be showing one crate stacked on another as well.)

We hope all pet guardians will review the information we provide on our website and will think very carefully about other options before flying with their pet – especially if they will have to be separated for any time at all. We will continue to work hard to expose the full range of hazards in the current system, and to create options that will make it safe for pets and their people to fly together.