Pets and air travel can be a lethal combination

When the cargo bin of the Continental Airlines plane was opened July 10, Joey, a 6-year-old mixed-breed dog, was found lying on his side, loose inside the hold. Joey had chewed and pushed his way out of his metal and plastic crate.

Despite being rushed to a veterinarian, Joey died several hours later, one of 45 animals that died during or shortly after flights in the U.S. over the past 16 months, according to the federal government.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, airports were teeming with dogs and cats as thousands accompanied their families in pet carriers. With the next big holiday travel season approaching, more families will be facing decisions about whether to fly with their pets.

Until recently, there was no way of knowing how many pets were killed, injured or lost while traveling by air. But last year the U.S. Department of Transportation started requiring airlines to file monthly reports on incidents involving pets.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of the first 16 months showed the 45 deaths, as well as 23 injuries and 11 lost pets. That's a fraction of 1 percent of the roughly 1 million companion animals estimated to fly each year, and airlines say they strive to assure pet safety.

"If you think in terms of how many animals are shipped industrywide, it is really incredible," said Tim Smith, spokesman for American Airlines, which flies about 200,000 pets a year. "Of course we would rather it were zero, but still, it's a very low number."

Who's more nervous?

But statistics aren't much comfort to those who lose a pet.

"It's too risky," veterinarian Melinda Merck said of cargo transport. "Even if it's statistically marginal, it should be a simple, low-risk thing."

Sometimes, as in Joey's case, the causes can be hard to determine. Other times, it's more clear cut. Here are excerpts from a few reports:

"We are unclear how the cat got out of the kennel while en route to the aircraft. The cat jumped from the cart and was struck by a tractor traveling in the opposite direction." -- From a United Airlines report on the death of Ginxie on April 24.

"Necropsy results reveal the dog died of a pre-existing heart condition. The stress of flying caused the dog to hyperventilate and triggered a cardiac episode." -- From an American Airlines report on the death of Baxter, a Boston terrier.

Kelly Connolly of the Humane Society of the United States, which campaigned for the reporting law, said the stress of flying can be hard on even a young, healthy animal. And the stress is especially dangerous to dogs and cats with short snouts, such as English bulldogs, pugs, boxers and Persian cats, which often have difficulty breathing under normal conditions. Seventeen of the animals that died were snub-nosed.

Cargo vs. cabin

Of the 11 airlines that reported pet deaths through September, Continental Airlines had 16 deaths and three dogs listed as injured that later died. Second was American Airlines, with seven deaths and no injuries.

The Continental deaths came despite a PetSafe program to oversee the safety of shipped animals. Company spokeswoman Susannah Thurston said the program improves monitoring of pets and includes specially trained cargo agents.

Continental expects to ship 110,000 pets as cargo and 55,000 in-cabin, Thurston said. United Airlines flies about 150,000 pets a year in cargo and in-cabin, spokesman Jeff Kovick said.

Tad Hutcheson of AirTran Airways said his company decided years ago to allow pets only in the cabin. "It's not good for the pet to fly in cargo," he said.

Veterinarian Mike Younker, president of the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association, said flying pets in the cabin is safe, but otherwise people should leave pets at home with a sitter.

To see the Airline Animal Incident Reports, go to airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports.

Reach Sandra Eckstein at seckstein@ajc.com.

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