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It's not a joke. And Pet Airways' newest commercial has Jay Leno, comedian and host of "The Tonight Show," wondering whether our furry friends must also pass through security.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
Most cats we know would not allow such a humiliating experience.
But, as anyone who follows the sometimes wacky world of travel news, Pet Airways is legit. The all-pet airline lifted off about two years ago.
The carrier recently announced it is expanding service into Texas (Houston, Dallas and Austin), St. Louis and Orlando, Fla. The airline currently serves Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Los Angeles, New York, Omaha, Neb. and Phoenix.
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- Fictitious airline exec to Conan O'Brien: 'Screw it, we're rich!'
Joe Myxter has been running msnbc.com's Travel section since 2006. Follow him on Twitter at @joemyxter.
Leave a Comment:
I live in Austin, and my golden retriever would LOVE a pat down. (Well, maybe not checking his ears, but he'd get over it.) I've never used this service, but I'm glad to read that it exists.
This happened to my cat Muffin! We were flying from Miami to Panama about 6 years ago, and the agent asked me to take her out of her carrier - then I had to hold her up by her arms while she was patted down. I couldn't believe it - and at one point I seriously thought maybe it was all a joke. But the agent was very serious about it and fortunately Muffin was a very mellow cat so she didn't mind - but it was so weird!
This is funny. Next, I'll bet someone will sue on behalf of animal sexual abuse. LOL I'll come back later and guarantee that someone will be on here saying some rediculous BS about how the TSA people are trying to feel up their cat and now their pet is traumatized.
Well my cat didn't make it through scanner because of her ID chip so she was patted down. The TSA in told me she would need to assume the "spread eagle" position. She's a cat, how is she going to do an eagle? After that argument, the TSA agent tried to feel up my cat by lifting her tail and....well I won't go into detail. Let's say there was a lot howling (by my cat and the TSA agent) and now I have to take my cat two times a week (Tues & Thus) to an animal psychologist because she was traumatized. Now I'm looking to sue!
Sorry Kayer, I couldn't let it go. :-) But I do agree with your comment
So, it would seem that traveling on the airlines is actually no worse than being in a dog show.
They make you take the animal out of the carrier. My friend flew to the east coast to pick up a tiny bird she was buying and even though they could look into the carrier, they wanted her to take it out. She insisted they go into an enclosed office because, of course, the bird escaped when the crate door was opened.
I would have loved to see someone try to pat down my cat Gift. One of his vets said they had see more mellow feral cats. It took three people to hold him down for a simple vet visit.
Why not pat them down? I think most would enjoy it. Esp. if you scratch behind the ears of the dogs :-) I found a new site to discuss travel experiences like this and others at airlineslodgingetc.com
So when are the happy happy folks who hate us going to transport pets with internal IEDs on US Airlines?
My 160 lb black GSD loves people hands - for a snack! Search him all you want