May 2018 Airline Pet Travel Report

American Airlines had an injury this month on a flight traveling between Charlotte and Ft. Myers where a Mixed Terrier 5 year old dog had blood dripping from its tail upon opening the kennel but no signs of duress. Cause is unknown.

Delta Airlines had a death this month on a flight from San Francisco to Atlanta where a German Shepherd dog was able to chew through its kennel and found loose in the aircraft compartment upon arrival. The dog was then moved to a new kennel without issue and transported to cargo. Atlanta operations made the decision to transport the dog from cargo to veterinary services for evaluation and the dog passed while in transport to veterinary care. According to the University of Georgia Veterinary Laboratories the dog had a pre-existing large mass on his spleen that ruptured resulting in death.

SkyWest had an injury this month with a cat that clawed at the kennel and matting inside which resulted in broken nails and nails missing. The cause was the cat attempting to escape from the carrier causing the trauma. The cat was taken to the vet and cleared to travel remaining flights.