night-Mare at 31,0000 feet
We have all seen it at the airport, the “service” animals and the “emotional support” animals. Don’t they look darling and aren’t you impressed that someone has a very special snake or alligator that really loves them and completes their life. If that makes them feel better, we are glad they have found a solution. Ask any airline employee and they will tell you that after drunks and crying babies the animals make their jobs most interesting. A flight was forced to return to its airport of origin in New York after a horse got loose in the cargo hold and started to run amok. In this particular case, it seems the proper steps were taken, but somehow a traveling horse broke out of its assigned stall and started to wander around the cargo bay. You can imagine how the horse felt being locked in a big metal can the bangs, clanks and roars, but then constantly seems to be moving up, down and sideways. The horse was in a standard stall made to be taken in and out of the cargo bay. A few minutes out of New York the horse got out and started wandering around, but the biggest danger was that the horse would be injured by the slippery floor and the banks and turns the plane makes as it gets up to altitude and as it would cope with any heavy weather or complicators when landing.
The Boeing 747 had ascended to 31,000 feet over Boston when the horse broke free from its container. The crew on the plane and the tower crew handled the incident professionally and patiently as they waited their turn to land back at the original airport. To return to base, the pilots had to dump 20 tons of fuel to avoid losing horsepower. Upon arrival, the flyboys requested the aid of a veterinarian as their horse was “in difficulty.” The horse was taken off this flight and checked by vets as the plane refueled and left a second time for Belgium.
We’ve crossed a line, folks. You don’t have to read all those viral stories about entitled pet owners getting kicked off flights or abandoning their dogs at the airport to know the situation is so out of control. Planes are torture chambers for animals, especially small animals that are confined to carriers. Being confined to a kennel for hours, enduring engine noise and air pressure changes, stresses out your fur babies. Passengers are also affected. Just board a flight with an allergy or try to get a little sleep on a plane with a barking dog under the seat next to you, and you’ll know what I mean. Dave Dzurick has been there. On a recent flight from Boston to Phoenix, he and his wife had to endure a howling cat trapped in a carrying case under a passenger’s seat. “Many people complained to the flight attendants,” said Dzurick. “But there was little they could do.” But in the meantime, Dzurick’s wife found a temporary solution: She removed her hearing aid. You might be OK with taking your fur baby on a weekend driving vacation, but please – no planes. Pets are not people. I have never heard a dog or cat ask to fly, and I’m betting neither have you. In fact, if your dog could talk, he’d probably ask to stay home.
Horsing around
They’re saying I will never make it as a horse whisperer.
But hey, there are always naysayers.
What’s the hardest thing about learning to ride a horse?
The ground!
A man’s horse sense deserts him when he is feeling his oats.
Got a new job at Gatwick Airport. I patrol the runways on a horse and shoot down any illegal flying devices in the area.
I’ll be known as The Drone Ranger.
November 15th Birthdays
1992 – Shailene Weedley, 1932 – Petula Clark, 1945 – Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 1984 – Sophia DeMartino
1978 – Sean Murray, 1975 – Chad Kroeger, 1972 – Johnny Lee Miller, 1948 – Jimmy Shoo