Post by dee517 on May 14, 2009 16:47:44 GMT -5
Fernando is a little, brown, furry ferret. On a flight from St. Louis to Denver, he was traveling with his owner in a soft-sided pet carrier that fit neatly under the seat.
Danna Ureke was the only flight attendant on what became a turbulent flight. Shortly after takeoff, at about 10,000 feet, she was summoned by a call button to one of the passengers. The passenger simply held up his pet carrier and showed her a neat little hole that had been chewed through one side, and it was sans Fernando!
Ureke quickly inquired, "Where's your ferret?" She feared she already knew the answer.
The answer was "I don't know!"
"What's your ferret's name? Does he bite?"
Before the passenger could reply, a piercing scream was heard throughout the aircraft from a man in the fifth row. He sounded like a little girl who had just seen a spider.
Everyone one the plane heard the scream. Ureke trotted up to the intercom and quickly announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Fernando the ferret has escaped his owner's carrier and is loose in the cabin. I will be capturing Fernando alone since it is too turbulent to allow his daddy to get up and help me. Please, forgive me as I crawl around under your ankles searching for him, and please, do not touch him. He does bite."
Ureke knew that animals like ferrets or mice could be trouble on an aircraft, because they can chew cables and wires as well as pet carriers! It was imperative that she quickly corral the little escapee.
Passengers in the back then alerted her to Fernando's presence in the aisle. By the time she reached the rear of the aircraft, she realized that a darting ferret was much faster than a flight attendant in heels, teetering down the aisle on a turbulent flight.
Fernando loved playing "hide and seek." He darted in and out of the aisle in different portions of the cabin. She would be alerted to Fernando's presence by a scream or a laugh, depending on how a passenger felt about a ferret leaping across his lap or under his feet. Ureke felt as if she had lost control in the chaotic cabin. The captain called Ureke to the intercom, inquiring, "Danna, what are you doing to the passengers?"
"Ben, you need to fly the plane and leave me alone. I'm really busy!" She hung up as she spotted Fernando sitting in the middle of the aisle.
Crouching low, Ureke approached Fernando. He leaped across a passenger's lap up onto the seatback and then from seatback to seatback for about 10 rows, much to the horror and screams of the passengers on that side, and the delight and laughter of the passengers on the other side. Then he bounded down the aisle and disappeared.
Ureke was about to give up and headed toward the cockpit to explain the situation to the captain. Then a passenger pressed her call button. She whirled around and hurried to the passenger, who simply glared at her and said, "You get this thing out of my purse right now!"
Fernando apparently was pooped out and had curled up in the passenger's purse for a little nap. Not being fearful of this little pest, Ureke reached into the purse, scruffed Fernando and lifted him gently out. All eyes were on Fernando. There was a booming applause. Ureke thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to throw him into the cockpit?" She wisely thought better of it, and returned Fernando to the carrier, which by now had been repaired with duct tape by another passenger, neatly covering the hole. They made it safely to Denver.
Ureke, on my flight to Atlanta the past week, told me her story about Fernando. She also said that on a different flight, she had a parrot in the cabin, which, on takeoff, screamed, "Oh my God! Oh my God!," much to the chagrin of the passengers on that flight!
Perhaps this should be a lesson to all of us. If you are traveling with a pet, check with the airlines for their requirements ahead of time. Acquire a health certificate from your veterinarian. Also, ensure that the carrier is appropriate and will contain your pet in his enclosure.
Perhaps there are good reasons that some airlines allow only small dogs and cats to travel with their owners in the cabin.
Danna Ureke was the only flight attendant on what became a turbulent flight. Shortly after takeoff, at about 10,000 feet, she was summoned by a call button to one of the passengers. The passenger simply held up his pet carrier and showed her a neat little hole that had been chewed through one side, and it was sans Fernando!
Ureke quickly inquired, "Where's your ferret?" She feared she already knew the answer.
The answer was "I don't know!"
"What's your ferret's name? Does he bite?"
Before the passenger could reply, a piercing scream was heard throughout the aircraft from a man in the fifth row. He sounded like a little girl who had just seen a spider.
Everyone one the plane heard the scream. Ureke trotted up to the intercom and quickly announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Fernando the ferret has escaped his owner's carrier and is loose in the cabin. I will be capturing Fernando alone since it is too turbulent to allow his daddy to get up and help me. Please, forgive me as I crawl around under your ankles searching for him, and please, do not touch him. He does bite."
Ureke knew that animals like ferrets or mice could be trouble on an aircraft, because they can chew cables and wires as well as pet carriers! It was imperative that she quickly corral the little escapee.
Passengers in the back then alerted her to Fernando's presence in the aisle. By the time she reached the rear of the aircraft, she realized that a darting ferret was much faster than a flight attendant in heels, teetering down the aisle on a turbulent flight.
Fernando loved playing "hide and seek." He darted in and out of the aisle in different portions of the cabin. She would be alerted to Fernando's presence by a scream or a laugh, depending on how a passenger felt about a ferret leaping across his lap or under his feet. Ureke felt as if she had lost control in the chaotic cabin. The captain called Ureke to the intercom, inquiring, "Danna, what are you doing to the passengers?"
"Ben, you need to fly the plane and leave me alone. I'm really busy!" She hung up as she spotted Fernando sitting in the middle of the aisle.
Crouching low, Ureke approached Fernando. He leaped across a passenger's lap up onto the seatback and then from seatback to seatback for about 10 rows, much to the horror and screams of the passengers on that side, and the delight and laughter of the passengers on the other side. Then he bounded down the aisle and disappeared.
Ureke was about to give up and headed toward the cockpit to explain the situation to the captain. Then a passenger pressed her call button. She whirled around and hurried to the passenger, who simply glared at her and said, "You get this thing out of my purse right now!"
Fernando apparently was pooped out and had curled up in the passenger's purse for a little nap. Not being fearful of this little pest, Ureke reached into the purse, scruffed Fernando and lifted him gently out. All eyes were on Fernando. There was a booming applause. Ureke thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to throw him into the cockpit?" She wisely thought better of it, and returned Fernando to the carrier, which by now had been repaired with duct tape by another passenger, neatly covering the hole. They made it safely to Denver.
Ureke, on my flight to Atlanta the past week, told me her story about Fernando. She also said that on a different flight, she had a parrot in the cabin, which, on takeoff, screamed, "Oh my God! Oh my God!," much to the chagrin of the passengers on that flight!
Perhaps this should be a lesson to all of us. If you are traveling with a pet, check with the airlines for their requirements ahead of time. Acquire a health certificate from your veterinarian. Also, ensure that the carrier is appropriate and will contain your pet in his enclosure.
Perhaps there are good reasons that some airlines allow only small dogs and cats to travel with their owners in the cabin.
