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Courtesy Karen Pascoe
Jack the cat has been missing at JFK airport since Aug. 25, shortly after owner Karen Pascoe checked him in with American Airlines.
(UPDATED Sept. 1, 7:20 p.m. ET): Karen Pascoe has accepted American Airlines' offer to fly her back to New York's Kennedy airport to look for her missing cat.
“I'm working with AA to get out there by Friday a.m.,” said Pascoe, who added that there have been no Jack sightings as of Wednesday.
Pascoe plans to enlist the help of a pet recovery specialist and a rescue dog. In a statement released Thursday, the airline said it will include Pascoe in the search effort and retain the services of the "pet detective" she requested.
American is reviewing closed-circuit TV footage to see if it can figure out how Jack escaped.
Jack the cat has been on the loose in the American Airlines baggage center at the airport since Aug. 25, shortly before Hurricane Irene barreled through town. The airport was shut down for most of the weekend, but reopened Monday.
Pascoe was flying with her two adopted cats, Jack and Barry, to San Francisco last Thursday to start a new job in California.
The cats, too big to fit comfortably in one under-the-seat cat carrier, were flying in separate carriers as cargo. But shortly after the cats were checked in, Jack went missing.
“I said goodbye to cats and then went to get dinner,” said Pascoe. “And then I got a call from American letting me know Jack was out of the kennel.”
The cat didn’t appear when Pascoe went to the baggage area to call out to Jack. Pascoe had to leave without finding him because the other cat and the rest of her luggage were on the last flight to San Francisco. “That’s a giant baggage area, and he was nowhere to be found. At best I knew he was hiding somewhere,” said Pascoe.
Pascoe was assured the airline would keep looking for Jack and that she’d get a call with an update the next day. But no one called, and when Pascoe tried calling the baggage area on the weekend, no one answered the phone.
“I respect the fact that a hurricane was coming and things were a bit challenging,” said Pascoe, “but I didn’t hear from American until about 60 hours later.”
American's silence prompted Pascoe’s sister to set up the “Jack the Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK” Facebook page over the weekend, which now has more than 8,000 fans. Pascoe also set up a Twitter account about the search for Jack.
Many pet lovers also posted notes on American Airlines’ Facebook page urging them to find Jack, prompting the airline to post responses about its efforts to locate the missing cat.
“Our JFK employees are using a variety of methods to try to find Jack, including setting cans of cat food by his kennel," American Airlines spokesman Ed Martelle told msnbc.com. "Additionally, we are working with the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City to assist in providing humane animal traps … We offer our sincere regrets for this incident and are doing everything possible to locate him.”
Pascoe credits Facebook and Twitter, and other animal lovers, with getting the airline to finally pay attention. She said she finally got a call from someone at American Airlines on Sunday and on Monday spoke with an assigned contact person in the airline’s central baggage claim department four times.
“I can’t help but feel a little frustrated that they didn’t have a better procedure in place,” said Pascoe, “but they’re finally stepping up and are on their game to help me.”
Find more by Harriet Baskas on Stuck at The Airport.com and follow her on Twitter.
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Leave a Comment:
I used to work luggage and cargo at Dulles airport. After what I saw, I'd never check a pet with an airline.
I'd NEVER check my pet as cargo for several reasons and I didn't see what you saw. I am afraid to ask what it was...but perhaps the truth needs to come out to discourge other pet owners from checking their pets as cargo.
Until the day comes when there are pet friendly options for travel, it will be a rent-a-car or drive my own car or no travel for me just so I know my pet is traveling safely.
Wakehead, agreed. They don't mention how a latched kennel got opened to begin with. The conveyers and luggage movers remind me of Ace Ventura playing the UPS guy, kicking boxes around until they're bursting. Poor animals that have to get kenneled :(
I have to ask - what did you see?
@Christina-819922 I'm a travel agent and I can attest that you likely do NOT want to know what our freinds in baggage check see that makes them not want to check a pet. You'd probably never check anything again without saying goodbye to it first. Airlines treat baggage as cargo, sometimes it gets lost, sometimes it gets destroyed, but it's only cargo. Insurable, and not worth losing sleep over. That's fine for stuff, but not for heirlooms, or precious cargo like pets. You can't insure that kind of loss and you should never trust an airline to handle ANYTHING that can not be insured sufficiently to make you feel fine about losing it forever.
The woman was MOVING from NY to San Fran. I'd give my cat away before I'd rent a car and drive 3000 miles.
My cat is family. We moved 1200 miles away and could have flown - but chose to drive with our cat in tow and he was the perfect passenger. Give him away? NEVER!!!
I would only check my pets if I have to... As in, moving cross country like this lady was doing. She wasn't on vacation, she was moving. Maybe she couldnt afford the time or expense to drive that far?
I would never fly with my animals - would people trust their kids to be flying in their cargo area? No! What makes them think it's safe for their pets? How many more animals have to get lost and/or die before pet owners wake up and restrain from shipping them?
I really hope that Jack will be found soon!
We're getting ready to move from Kentucky to Scotland. We have no choice but to check our cats as cargo, as driving obviously isn't an option. The UK requires all incoming animals to be flown as cargo, so putting them under our seat isn't possible either. Those getting all righteous should realize flying your pets is a necessity , and the airlines should be held accountable for not treating animals safely and securely. I sincerely hope they can find Jack safe and sound.
I've owned cats my entire life and would bet you a months salary that your cat does not feel the same way about you. In fact if you could ask a cat whether he wanted to move with you or stay right where he was, most cats would choose to stay.
OMG!! What a horrible, horrible person you are. Obviously you should cancel your plans to move until your cat has passed on from natural causes. Anything less would be cruel. <end sarcasm>
What happened to this cat symptamatic of the total CRAP service we get from our SOUTHERN based airlines - American is based in texass, and the scumsucking bastards at delta are in georgia. Hell, I lost one bag with those worthless southern scumbags at delta and the phone jerk admitted to me that they CANNOT track my bag's location from the moment it is checked until I PICK IT UP AT MY DESTINATION. Folks, their employees good grab your bag and stuff it in their car and drive off with it, and you and the airline would never know, and this phone jerk from delta admitted this to me.
These worthless scumbags down south have never HEARD of responsible service or care in my opinion. I have yet to fly with either airline without them either losing damaging or misplacing some of my luggage.
The law needs to be changed so that if these scumbags screw up ANY luggage, they owe that passenger 200% of the value of that bag, with PRIOTY given to the passeger's valuation of the luggage. Make 'em bleed gouts of green blood and maybe they will change.
If you want ANYTHING to get to your destination and in one piece, send it fedex or UPS ahead of time.
Please come home Jack! Your human mommy misses you and wants you to come home now.
You realize Jack can't read and even if he can, I doubt he has found a laptop and internet connection. Plus how would he type in the webpage?
Sheila raises several excellent points.
Jack does not need to type the web page. Cats love to play with a mouse.
I really feel for this lady and her cat.I hope she can find him.I can imagine how sad and frustrated she must be.That poor cat also, wondering around in a big lonely airport.
I'm also wondering if the cat wasn't stolen.What horrible feeling.
I bet he was stolen....how would he get out of his crate unless someone let him out.....
Crate can get broken during handling or the door might pop open. Have you ever seen how your luggage is handled? They need to set out Have a heart traps with canned food for Jack!
It's upsetting that had the Facebook page not been set up, American would have STILL remained silent and no efforts to help find Jack would have been made, although coming from AA, it doesn't surprise me.
You know what they say about assumptions don't you? Seriously, you have made a huge assumption based on no information whatsoever. A common fault of your ilk...
No chris. What do they say about assumptions? Let me guess. Without assumptions we wouldn't have wheels, engines, motors, flight, sailing, ships, fire, tools, weapons, books, films, digital anything, clothing or anything else that makes civilization or even life for that matter, possible.
The only ass that assuming makes is the one who thinks assumptions are a bad thing.
Jack, look up the word assumption as you have zero idea of the definition. You really shouldn't comment when you don't even understand the difference between research and assumption. Shees, they must be right when they critique American's communications skills
What "ilk" is that, Chris? Almost seems like you're making an assumption of your own.
chris-335678, the inane hypocrisy of calling someone on making baseless assumptions and then closing by making a baseless assumption about what "ilk" the person comes from and the faults they all bear. I'm having a hard time believing the whole post wasn't a joke but if not.... you are a fool.
This is all Bush's fault. He did not like cats.
And i bet a democrat opened the kennel/cage door!@!!!!!
Years ago we had a beautifull kitty colorpoint siamese. She was a great little traveler. she even had frequent flyer miles. The minute we brought out her kennel she got in it. She travelled all over the US with us. Under the seat in front of us and never let out a sound. I miss her very much.
In 2006 I moved from Florida to Oregon, and I don't think anyone would have done what I did. I made one trip across country with my parrot. Then I returned to Florida to get my beagle. I couldn't travel in the car with the two of them, one screeching and one baying. But I love my pets and got them both there safe and sound. It's a good thing I enjoy driving.
You definitely get the pet owner of the decade award!
Come on.....let's get real people. It's a cat. they take better care of themselves than we do! Let the airlines do their work without worrying about a cat.
Oh let`s let american airlines do their job , like overcharging us ,treating us like crap, loosing our luggage, stealing our belongings ,loosing our beloved animals (of course God forbid if this applies to daninihio, he will be so annoyed ) yes of course, don`t bother the greedy airlines with our simple problems!!
Hope you don't have any pets of your own. They are never replaceable like you get a new phone or something. They are all unique and people consider them family. The airline lost the kitty...they should do their best to find him.
Let the airlines do their work?
Yes - in this case part of their work was to take care of this cat and get it safely to its destination...which they DID NOT DO!
I can only imagine what this poor woman is going thru worrying about her poor cat. God knows what's happened to it.
There job was to worry about that cat... If the job was done properly from the start, they wouldnt have to worry about the cat now.
Come on AA, find Jack, and get him back to his owner! No cat can get out of a properly secured airline approved pet carrier by themself.
I bet he parachuted out of the plane with a sack of catnip from the cargo hold
You ever looked for a cat that doesn't want to be found? My daughter looked for 2 days for a cat in her dinky little apartment. It had hidden up under a piece of furniture in an area you would have never imagined to look. This cat will either get outside to be lost, get caught in machinery and killed, or will come out when it is ready. Very, very unlikely anyone will find it in an operational baggage handling area. That's cats....
I would NEVER under ANY circumstances, trust one of my furry friends with an airline, train, bus, ship or any other commercial carrier. NEVER. They don't care anywhere near as much as you do. Instead I would rent a car and drive the entire distance no matter how far with them in the car with me. The only person you can really trust is yourself.
Under no circumstances would I consider checking my cats in cargo. I would drive.
What a beautiful cat. I hope they find him soon. :(
So get a new cat.....there are millions of them in shelters just waiting for you.
Oh, hush! I agree about the "millions in shelters" part, but for some of us, our cats are like children, and "get a new cat" comes across as awfully callous.
That uncaring kind of attitude is why there are so many pets in shelters.
Losing a furry friend is losing a family member. No cold assessments apply. Yes, we can get new babies at a shelter, and we should, but the grief when losing one of our babies is heartfelt, real and should not be belittled. One shouldn't do that with our human family members, and our animal family members are equal in most loving human hearts.
I love how they call them her adopted cats. As opposed to the cats she gave birth to?
No, as opposed to the cats that are bought and sold everyday from breeders when there are thousands of them waiting to be adopted. Duh!
@MsnHa ---> Very funny. Thanks you made me laugh out loud.
Shut down JFK until Jack is found. Rumor has it a Chinese restaurant is running low on food..
Oh the cat's in the kettle at the Peking Moon
The place I eat every day at noon
They can feed you cat and you'll never know
Once they wrap it up in dough, boy
They fry it real crisp in dough
Stop and Ed are definitely not animal people...too bad...they can make up for all the @ssh!les in the world...
Does this cat have his own twitter account yet, like that escaped snake at the Bronx zoo?
Good thing the cat's not black, it never would have made the news!
LMAO! That comment had me bursting with laughter!
This is the reason I would never have my pets fly in cargo. They are either with me and I will pay for someone else to travel with my other animals or there are now pet airlines, yes pricey but their lives are so worth it. Otherwise I would drive; even if it was cross country. I hope they find Jack! My thoughts and prayers to him that he gets home safely.
American Airlines once was my favorite air carrier. Not so anymore!! They lost me when they started charging for only one checked bag. Don't travelers need to take a change of clothes, or two? Also, their service has gone straight to you know where! They couldn't care less if you fly with them or not. Delta is my carrier of choice these days. They act like they appreciate my business.
Only Southwest for me! 2 bags per person with no charge, and they treat you like a human being!
OMG...the airlines treat people like dirt. Imagine how they mistreat a cat. I would sooner pay for a first class ticket for my beloved cat Rusty than think about putting him in cargo. Lesson to be learned here...DO NOT TRUST AIRLINES with valuables be it a cat or luggage. Carry it on or leave it home. I will say a prayer for Jack the Cat and Barry the cat too. Barry must be lonely without his buddy Jack. Also say a prayer for poor cat mom Karen. She must be frantic with her furry child missing. God Bless and keep the faith. Miracles do happen !!!
Has anyone checked the Chinese Gardens restaurant?
haha yeah i was thinking the same thing.
They might even have a deal going with the baggage people "1 dorra per cat"
akiceman, sorta racist but it made me chuckle. You wanna flied lice with dat cat?
This sort of material is what makes the first page these days? I could write a story about my left toe and its adventures in the past 24 hours that would be more interesting and relevant to society.
I hope 'Jack the Cat' is found and promptly returned to its owner. I will be rigorously checking back on this story, as I will not be able to get any sleep until this cat is located!
Anyways... Karen needs to focus about her new job in California, rather than worrying about an adopted cat... but hey, that's just one persons opinion.
Also, as for the person who is complaining about how American Airlines should make finding this cat a priority and should treat customers better... simmer down.
You are partaking in FLIGHT! You are seated 30,000 feet in the sky going 500 mph. This is an amazing feat that is still hard to fathom! And you're angry because of a 30 minute delay, or your seat isn't spacious enough, or they didn't treat you like the perfect human being that you are? Goooooood looooord.
Markut is annoyed that the haven`t posted more gossip of the kardashians this probably is more relevant to him.
You couldn't be more right jp this is what a run-on sentence looks like when you don't use punctuation in the proper places.
She's not mad because they ran out of peanuts- she's rightfully angry because she trusted them with her pet and they'll put more effort into finding a lost suitcase than a sentient being. If you don't care about the story, why did you read it and comment on it?
I couldn't cast proper judgement on the article until I had read it. Afterwards, I realized I could not pass up the opportunity to comment on this piece of comedic gold.
I will take my luggage and go now... Have a great night Lucy!
P.S. You shouldn't trust someone who is simultaneously handling hundreds and even thousands of suitcases a day, let alone something you truly care about (in this instance, Jack the Cat).
Well, lets hope Jack is found before too many meals are missed. Of course if this was a human, nobody would give a crap and we would just wait for the body to come out with the luggage sometime in the future.
Hope they find Jack. His owner must be worried sick as well as pissed off. I sure would be. Cats are pretty savvy. As long as no one stole him, I bet he found a really out of the way hiding place and stayed put.
Why doesn't AA just pony up the money to hire a tracking dog? That poor cat is scared to death and won't come out of hiding. AA you area a bunch of morons losing someone's pet that way. Shame on you.