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05-01-2006, 09:29 PM | #1 |
Follower of Yorkietology Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cali-fo-nee-ya
Posts: 1,325
| Petition for Safe Air Travel for Pets Bunjee and I met a very sad owner recently who is out to spread the word on airline policy on the safe transportation of live animals, such as our beloved pets. Willie, a 2 year old English bulldog died on his trip from NY to SF while traveling on American Airlines. In a nutshell, upon arrival in SF, Willie was found to be very sick. Instead of providing medical care to him, American Airline's baggage manager denied the owner access to Willie pending approval from his supervisers. Meanwhile, Willie was left alone and dying in his travel crate. It was 5 hours before the owner could get animal paramedics he's contacted, access to Willie, but by that, it was too late. Willie was gone. The animal paramedic onsite believed Willie could have survived if he was given medical care earlier. The owner, Terrance is now in litigation with American Airlines because of this. ( www.lclark.edu/org/ncal/willie.html ) and he has set up an online petition hoping it would force American Airlines to stop transporting live animals if they cannot provide proper veterinary care in the event of such an emergency. ( www.ipetitions.com/petition/willie ) We're lucky most of our yorkies are small enough to fly in cabin with us. But it's disgusting that some airlines treat our furbabies as if they're a piece of luggage and deny necessary medical care. And until changes are made, it think it's important for those of us who do travel with our pets, think twice about flying AA. |
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05-01-2006, 09:39 PM | #2 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North eastern Illinois Suburbs
Posts: 1,669
| Just remember... It's not just AA that we all should be wary of. It's the public transit system all together, by either boat; plane or train. You must look at it from there point of view too. How do they know that this dog isn't reacting to something else and not just the temperatures or stress? In their eyes, no doubt, there potentially was something more dangerous going on w/ the dog that could effect people too. In either case, this is terrible that it happened, but we shouldn't be so one sided to say what they should or should have not done. WE all can assume it was from the temperatures that this English Bulldog was suffering from, but we weren't there. I'm sorry for the owners, to know their dog is right around the corner and cannot help him. This is terrible, but I'm sure the airlines too did not want a dead dog on their hands. They did what they thought was right and unfortunantely a life was lost because of it. Policies are what assist in keeping us safe and they were just following it no doubt. They aren't vets themselves and common sense "can" be a dangerous thing in those situations. RIP little guy. |
05-01-2006, 10:08 PM | #3 |
Follower of Yorkietology Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cali-fo-nee-ya
Posts: 1,325
| personally i don't see what's "right" about the airlines not calling an animal professional for some assistance. instead, the staff waited for a manager to advise what should be done. the manager waited for his superior to advise what should be done. all the while, the owner was not allowed to take his pet to a vet for care. and it was only after hours of the owner, a newcomer to the area, searching for the appropriate pet medical care in a city he was not familiar with, finally found pet paramedics to help his pet, which was too little too late. i'm sure if i had a medical emergency while on the flight, the gate attendent wouldn't wait to talk it over to his supervisor and his supervisor's supervisor before calling 9-1-1. but because pets are considered "luggage", the don't get at least minimum consideration and care due to another living creature. imho, if an airline can't do it right, then they shouldn't transport animals. and if they can't treat live animals better than a piece of inanimate luggage, they shouldn't charge me an extra $100+ one way for the "service". |
05-01-2006, 10:22 PM | #4 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North eastern Illinois Suburbs
Posts: 1,669
| Unfortunantely our animals can't "speak" english. I absolutely agree w/ you. If it were my pet I can GUARANTEE you that I'd be leaving in handcuffs because I would be going and getting my pet ONE WAY OR ANOTHER if I knew where he was and was in distress!!! On the flip side, however I can see the airlines policy. Our loved pets ARE luggage to them and therefore are to be treated as such within certain peramiters. I know for a fact that depending on length of flight and lay over and so on, that dogs/cats are let out of their crates for a potty brake and can be offered minimal food and water prior to travel by attendants on the termac. That being said, they are responsible for that animals well being and safety. It's a risky thing to fly an animal and no one is hiding that fact. I have done so at least a hundred times (no exaggeration) and will continue to do so. I know that if something happens to my pet, that there is a chain of command and that my pet will receive that urgent care only if authorized. I still feel bad for the loss. I agree that it could've gone down differently. If the person in charge to make the call to release the animal wasn't present, then someone there at the scene should've been able to make the call. THAT is what I have a problem w/. Not that they have a warped policy in place to begin w/. |
05-01-2006, 10:44 PM | #5 |
Follower of Yorkietology Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cali-fo-nee-ya
Posts: 1,325
| our pets can't speak english, but neither can some foreigners and babies and i doubt any human being would be denied care, regardless of the individual's ability to communicate it. and i think the overall problem was that the airline had no proper chain of command to handle pet emergencies even tho it's pretty obvious that flying an animal is risky business. each person just shrugged, say i dunno what to do, and then passed the buck to the next person. the dog wasn't human, it wasn't important enough to warrant immediate attention and immediate assistance. the last time i flew with bunjee, i had him in cabin with me. for the amount of money they charged me, i think bunjee deserved his own seat! not just the space under the seat in front of me. but i was much more comfortable about having him with me than having him with the luggage. now knowing what could happen, i'm glad i did. |
05-01-2006, 10:56 PM | #6 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North eastern Illinois Suburbs
Posts: 1,669
| Hands down! If you have the option to take your dog into the cabin w/ you, DO! My new Yorkie is flying in from Budapest, Hungary to Chicago and I'm not worried about her one bit. I've flown, like I said before, a hundred or more dogs (I train and show...that is my business) around this globe w/ great success. More dogs get misplaced on wrong flights than die. I know it happens, I've seen it. I will still continue to fly knowing the risks. Further, I don't know that it is AA's policy to "deny" care to an animal in obvious distress. I think this is an isolated case and those directly responsible should be punished. Someone should've had the cajones to fess up and allow the dog to leave their care if the owners could verify it was their dog. That's all. |
05-02-2006, 06:30 AM | #7 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 223
| My latest furbaby flew to me via Continental Airlines. The breeder only uses Continental because she feels they are the best at animal transport. She even gave me thier website which i don't have to post unfortunately. I read their policies and to me they sounded top notch. Hopefully they follow through on what they say in their website. According to them they set the standard! She came to me happy and healthy so I guess they did fine. |
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