New TSA Travel with Pets Policy -- Another hassle!
 

I often travel with my small pet parrot in a carrier in the cabin with me. At checkpoints, I take him out of the carrier, his carrier goes through x-ray and I walk through the metal detector with him perched on my hand. Usually the TSA people don't hassle me. Except this time. I walk through the metal detector and before I can put the bird back in his cage, I'm approached by a TSA agent with a cloth pad in his hand. He tells me there's a new policy: if you carry a pet through a metal detector, they insist on swabbing your hands and running the swab through their machine. Seems they believe you could be hiding something underneath your pet! Now this parrot weighs maybe two pounds and stands about 8 inches high. His legs give a clear space of about an inch between his body and my hand. No place to hide anything. But policy is policy....

What could you be hiding under your pet, even if it was a sheepdog that wouldn't set off the metal detector? :confused:

Can your parrot talk? I can think of a few amusing phrases to teach it for such an occasion . . . (after all, they can hardly charge the bird with interfering with the screening process . . . )

I wonder if this is related to what I saw today.

A woman went through the WTMD (no scanners at this CP) and had a cute little dog. She was selected for additional screening of her carry on. As my bag was also selected, I had to wait while hers was finished to have mine done. Mine is not unusual because of the electronics, so that part did not surprise me.

At no time did I see that she had alarmed or that any of her stuff had. The initial swab may have hit a "positive," but we know how that is. None of them I saw did.

This woman's bag was searched in the most detailed manner that I have ever seen. They did multiple swabs. They emptied the entire bag. Cosmetic cases within the bag were emptied and swabbed. All of her personal belongings were handled and swabbed. Her stuff was spread out over the whole table. By the time the screener was finished, this woman had no secrets remaining in her bag. The stuff from her bag was unceremoniously stuffed back into the bag and handed to her. I was embarrassed for her. To her credit, I could see that she was seething, but she quietly watched as this process was carried out.

I looked to see if she was in my waiting area so I could speak to her and maybe commensurate a bit, but I did not see her, or the little dog, again.

Yes, the parrot can talk. I recall that the parrot is really like me lots. I don't see any problem at all. I can hold my 2 hands. I remember that I saw the lady on the streets. She carry the 2 or 3 parrots. That was 4 years ago.

On the bright side, do pets exempt owners from full body scans?

What happens if the pet bites a TSA employee?

They have to first get checked out for a series of possible infections. Generally, it is nothing serious as vets do that all of the time when pets become exposed to potential infections and diseases.

The pet needs to be checked immediately for possible infections from the TSO they bit ;)

My parrot does talk! I'm hoping he loudly lets out one his favorite phrases when we travel again later this week and are stopped by the hand swabbers. With any luck, everyone in the screening area will hear him ask "What's your problem?"

It's clearly only a matter of time before pets have to groped.

Pistole's probably gotten some 'chatter' that informs him pets are the newest threat vector, while the shoes of kids under 12 and folks over 75 are not. :rolleyes:

Heaven help the pet (and owner) that tests positive on a swab. And can a pet be assigned to the NoS? Wonder how they do a 'resolution' grope if there are any anomalies?

Yes, because they obviously would be unable to assume the "surrender" position long enough to get a clear scan.

Explosives.

Yep. It's new because he just made it up.