Delta Loses Beloved Family Pet on Tarmac
Jesse Tabit August 10, 2015
Delta Air Lines is working to find a 5-year-old cat that went missing at San Diego International Airport (SAN) shortly after a couple dropped it off at the airline’s cargo office Friday night. The cat was scheduled to be transported aboard a flight to Baltimore, where it was to be reunited with its owner, the couple’s 12-year-old niece.
The couple claims they received a call from Delta about an hour after dropping the cat off, notifying them that the family pet — “Mickey” — had escaped from his cage and fled onto the tarmac.
“My heart dropped, I just said ‘where is my cat, what happened?’ ‘He opened the cage,’ that’s what [Delta] said, he opened the cage,” said Lucinda Armean.
At the time of reporting, Mickey had yet to be recovered. Traps have been set up around SAN in hope of catching him, and the family has passed out flyers notifying airport staff of the situation.
For more information on this story, visit KGTV San Diego.
[Photo: KGTV]
Argh, these make me angry. Let me start by saying, I don't work for Delta, I don't fly Delta, I have no vested interest in Delta. The closest I've ever come is the 1-2 flights taken years ago and working flights for NW and Compass years ago. Can we start with changing the wording on these stories? DELTA LOSES BELOVED FAMILY PET. Is so much more defamatory than "Cat gets loose on tarmac". Yet they both explain the exact same situation. As a former ground handler let me explain the situation. The animal is brought (usually via car) to the airport, be it the baggage check-in or the cargo warehouse. It's then checked in and tagged, prepped for departure etc etc. There's no magical handling here. While I don't want to always blame the customers, you might be amazed at the disrepair some kennels arrive in. Many of the animals are also in a great deal of distress, not so much with cats, but I've seen more than a few dogs shake the kennel right over on to it's side. At a given time it's transported on to the ramp, where it'll physically get loaded into the aircraft. More than once I've picked up a kennel by the handle and the handle just broke off. Many people don't read what the kennels are rated for. I've also seen a kennel get picked up and the entire bottom fall right off. Cage doors broken by the animal or simply opened as well. In 6 years working at YVR I probably witnessed these types of incidents once a year, heard about them 1-2 more per year. You really hope it doesn't happen on a flight you are working because it makes you look terrible even though there's usually nothing that's been done wrong. Some pets react very calmly and can be easily coaxed back into their kennel, others who have broken out are obviously more standoffish. Cats especially are prone to hiding. They are shy animals when around loud noises and open spaces so they usually immediately bolt for the nearest hiding spot and by then, you've basically lost them. The point is, can we stop the attacks here? I'm not placing blame 100% on the passenger, but I'd say 99.9% of ground handlers won't touch your pet, they won't take it out of the cage, because that's reckless. Frankly when I was asked by a passenger on a long layover "Can you take my dog out so he can walk around a bit". I simple said "absolutely not, there is no way I'm taking responsibility for what this dog does, or what happens". So I delivered the dog to the fragile slide and the passenger was free to take him out after that. So odds are here the kennel broke, or the animal perhaps opened the door, I can't say I've ever seen a cat break the door (dogs yes). Make no mistake these pets DO NOT want to travel. You can sedate them, some of them look calm, but it's very noisy and potentially hot/cold/wet/dry on the ramp, then it's freezing cold while in the air, many of them end up pooping or peeing in the cage out of either necessity or fright. It's not a pleasant experience in the slightest. But, if you must, read, MUST take your pet on whatever journey, there are some things to do. 1) Get a big kennel. Check with the airline you're travelling on first, as the door to a 737 isn't big, so there's a size limit, whereas an airbus can accommodate much bigger. But the point is, don't stuff your cat into a tiny box. Don't go nuts, but the animal should have room to turn around in the kennel without knocking it over. 2) Don't put food on the top in a taped baggy. I WILL NOT feed your dog. There are too many risks for ME and my company rather than you just leaving some food in a small dish in the cage. 3) Book sensible travel. Pay extra for the direct flight. The more connections you make the more times the pet has to be handled. That's not good. Short connections means the pet might miss the flight, long connections means it might be subject to the elements for too long. Also, if you think you're uncomfortable for 12 hours in coach from YVR-TPE, how do you think your pet feels in the cold dark aircraft hold? 4) Don't cheap out on a kennel. It doesn't need to be Burberry or anything but stress test it a bit. If it pops open at the slightest twist, it won't work. When the dog is inside depending on the size and stability 1 or 2 people have to pick it up. Assume they'll pick it up by the handle, if that handle is crap, maybe don't buy it. 5) Lastly, ZAP STRAPS/ZIP TIES people! Some airlines MAY have rules against them, but there's nothing better. Put zip ties in every connection point and on the door. If the kennel fails and the connections break, at the VERY least it'll be held together by the ties. The break MAY cause me to drop the kennel, but the ties will keep the animal inside and from running away.