Terror at 35,000 feet

Topic: Pets Airlines Animal rights

Despite lurid reports from animal activists of mass death of pets transported by air, it seems that few such incidents actually occur. A couple of those caught my eye:

A second pet, an unnamed rat, apparently died of natural causes on a flight between Houston and McAllen, Texas.

Was this a very elderly, infirm rat? If so, why was it being taken on a stressful trip? If not, just what were these "natural causes"? If we're going to be a "culture of life", I think we should demand answers, and possibly get Congress to pass a special law.

And then there's this:

Tango, an Abyssinian cat, was attacked and killed in the cargo hold by a dog that escaped from his kennel. Alaska Airlines found that the dog was placed in a kennel not strong enough to hold him. The dog's owner was taken into police custody and banned from the airline for a year. The dog was banned permanently.

Remember this when you fly your pet, and put it in a cage strong enough to keep out the bloodthirsty dogs roaming the cargo hold.