April 2012 Airline Pet Travel Report

Alaska Airlines reports the injury of a dog that arrived in Seattle, WA from San Diego, CA. The dog appeared to have a self-inflected wound to its gum and was bleeding. Alaska indicates that there is no evidence that their handling contributed to the injury.

Alaska also reports the injury of a seven month old Yellow Lab on a flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Seattle, WA. Upon arrival the dog was found to be limping. Alaska Airlines suggested the dog be taken to a veterinarian to ensure that no injury was present. After an X-ray, MRI and exam, the dog will go to physical therapy for 2 to 3 weeks, for left hind limb monoparesis (slight paralysis to a single body part usually from nerve damage).

Delta Airlines reports the death of two Chinchillas on a flight from Anchorage, AK to Minneapolis, MN. The Chinchillas were mistakenly loaded into a bin that contained dry ice. While the necropsies did not identify a cause of death, it did indicate that the animals were subject to some sort of cardio-vascular insufficiency. The report states that the carbon dioxide from the dry ice could be a plausible explanation for the cardio-vascular insufficiency and may have caused or contributed to the deaths.

Load Supervisors in Anchorage were counseled on this incident over and above their annual training covering the system wide ban against loading live animals with shipments containing any amounts of dry ice. In addition new local procedures have been instituted at the origin station to include a review by the Operations Office to verify shipments with dry ice are not mixed with live animals before approving the dispatch of the aircraft.