Miss-Delectable
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When pigs don't fly: Blind, deaf guinea pig denied seat on flight to Vancouver
Casper, a deaf and blind guinea pig who has been waiting a year to return home to Vancouver from Western Australia may finally get her chance to fly.
Her owner, Jenn Ladd, said she may finally have found a solution to getting her pet home after being tangled up in red tape with airlines and the Australian Civil Aviation Authority.
The issue isn’t whether Casper is allowed to fly but where she can sit in the cabin. Air Canada allows small pets to ride in the airline cabin as long as they can fit in their carrier under the seat, but Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority insists she must be placed in the cargo hold.
On its website, CASA says if an animal, such as a guide dog, is allowed in the cabin, considerations must be given to possible allergies, phobias, excreta and access to emergency exits. But Ladd said putting Casper in the hold puts her in a tight spot, noting guinea pigs have a digestive system similar to rabbits and must be fed regularly.
Casper, a year-and-a-half-old 'lethal white' guinea pig, has dental problems is usually fed a pellet mush four times a day through a syringe, and her vegetables are cut up in thin narrow strips so she can slurp them up. But this can’t happen if she’s stuck in the hold for 17 hours, Ladd said. She noted Casper relies on greens and grass for her liquids.
“If she was allowed in the cabin with me, with veggies identical to the salad I’d be eating in flight, this would be the ideal way to transport my pet,” Ladd said.
There may yet be hope. Ladd, who is travelling through the U.S. to break up the flight, contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Hawaii this week to see if it’s possible for Casper to be placed in the cargo hold with veggies, fruits, grass and hay. She claims she was told that would work as the U.S. would dump out the crate — and food — on arrival.
Ladd said she is waiting for a letter from the USDA to show Qantas management, who she hopes will approve the flight arrangements. A veterinarian with the USDA confirmed Ladd was in touch and the department is looking at what can be done but said no timeline has been set.
Casper, a deaf and blind guinea pig who has been waiting a year to return home to Vancouver from Western Australia may finally get her chance to fly.
Her owner, Jenn Ladd, said she may finally have found a solution to getting her pet home after being tangled up in red tape with airlines and the Australian Civil Aviation Authority.
The issue isn’t whether Casper is allowed to fly but where she can sit in the cabin. Air Canada allows small pets to ride in the airline cabin as long as they can fit in their carrier under the seat, but Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority insists she must be placed in the cargo hold.
On its website, CASA says if an animal, such as a guide dog, is allowed in the cabin, considerations must be given to possible allergies, phobias, excreta and access to emergency exits. But Ladd said putting Casper in the hold puts her in a tight spot, noting guinea pigs have a digestive system similar to rabbits and must be fed regularly.
Casper, a year-and-a-half-old 'lethal white' guinea pig, has dental problems is usually fed a pellet mush four times a day through a syringe, and her vegetables are cut up in thin narrow strips so she can slurp them up. But this can’t happen if she’s stuck in the hold for 17 hours, Ladd said. She noted Casper relies on greens and grass for her liquids.
“If she was allowed in the cabin with me, with veggies identical to the salad I’d be eating in flight, this would be the ideal way to transport my pet,” Ladd said.
There may yet be hope. Ladd, who is travelling through the U.S. to break up the flight, contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Hawaii this week to see if it’s possible for Casper to be placed in the cargo hold with veggies, fruits, grass and hay. She claims she was told that would work as the U.S. would dump out the crate — and food — on arrival.
Ladd said she is waiting for a letter from the USDA to show Qantas management, who she hopes will approve the flight arrangements. A veterinarian with the USDA confirmed Ladd was in touch and the department is looking at what can be done but said no timeline has been set.