I’ll probably piss some people off with this post, but I feel I have to say something. A friend of mine found herself on a flight to Houston yesterday with both a dog and a cat in the cabin. Set aside for a moment the potential for chaos if either of them got loose mid-flight because one or both owners decided that their precious little snookums needed a break from their cagey-wagey and is such a well-behaved snookums that they’d never be a problem. There’s a bigger issue here.
I had asthma as a kid, and took allergy shots for four years to control it. My asthma wasn’t severe, but I was sensitive enough to feathers that I had an attack more than three years after my last shot just by putting my face (accidentally) near a feather pillow, and there are few feelings worse than the inability to breathe. So it’s easy for me to imagine a person on a flight suddenly being overwhelmed by dander by another passenger’s pet, and going into a full-on panic as a result.
Don’t get me wrong. I love animals. Amy and I have four cats in our home and we feed and care for 5 strays from our neighborhood. But I would never think about bringing one of them into the passenger compartment of a plane with me. Planes are cramped quarters in the best of times, and it’s beyond inconsiderate to make an already difficult situation worse. Your pet is not special to anyone but you, and it could cause great distress to others. Give it a tranquilizer, put it in a carrier, and let it travel in the cargo hold.
7 responses
“Your pet is not special to anyone but you.” Perfect! I give this phrase 5 out of 5 stars.
I’m as good as google!
Many breeds (smaller, short haired) can’t survive the low temperatures of the cargo area and airlines hold very strict regulations regarding a ticket for the pet, requiring the carrier to be stowed underneath the seat in front of you at all times, and not allowing the carrier to be opened at any time (I’ve been strongly reprimanded for sliding a finger through the carrier’s zipper to check on my dog during a cross-country flight). Allergies are a huge issue, and I agree that having pets on a flight poses a risk for passengers with allergies, but your “snookums” and “cagey-wagey” related concerns are a bit unfounded, as is (in some cases) the suggestion to check an animal like baggage. That’s all. Not pissed off, just wanted to clarify.
Sorry for the confusion, Brian. I was offering my thoughts on the phrase you wrote, not you as a person. I’ll be reviewing you eventually though.
You obviously don’t know about airline regulations regarding pets and flying. Small animals must fit underneath your seat and remain crated the entire time. Large animals must go in the cargo hold. I know personally as I have moved twice and needed to bring my cat both times, and both airlines required that she go beneath my seat. The airline reps also both informed me that using the cargo hold for a cat was not an option.
Call the waaahhhmbulance.
Pet owners would prefer a safe option besides the cabin, believe me. Many airlines currently don’t offer them for smaller animals. (And a minor point, but sedatives are actually pretty dangerous for a pet when they fly in cargo.)
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