A beautiful, black-spotted guinea pig named Oriole was traveling on a Delta flight from North Carolina to Oregon with his owner last June. But Oriole would never make his destination – his dead body was discovered during the connecting flight in Atlanta. A necropsy was immediately performed by veterinarians at the nearby University of Georgia, where it was determined that Oriole had died from pneumonia brought on by a combination of flight stress and a pre-existing inflammatory condition in the lungs.

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Believe it or not, the U.S Department of Transportation keeps very detailed records of all animal fatalities, injuries, and losses that result from travel on our nation’s airplanes.  The 2014 report was recently released, and the statistics show that we have significant room for improvement.  With 26 cases of animal injury, 17 cases of death, and 2 incidents of lost pets, most of the cases involve the transporting of dogs and cats.

5 Airlines are involved.

United Airlines reports the highest numbers with 5 pet fatalities and 13 cases of animal injuries. Alaska Airlines followed closely behind with 3 deaths and 11 injuries, while Skywest, Hawaiian, and Delta airlines were responsible for the remaining cases.  

According to the DOT, many of the incidents involved pets attempting to escape from their cages either before, during, or after the flight.  Some managed to successfully escape only to be hit by vehicular traffic at the airport afterward.  Others were bloodied or hurt during the flight, perhaps due to the fear and stress of flying in a confined space and without their masters.

While each of these airlines is committed to reviewing their current policies regarding animal travel, pet owners must remain aware of the difficulties that face dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and other companion animals.  While over 99 percent of airline pet transports result in completely safe transfers, some pets are simply more susceptible to injury or death than others.  A visit with your local veterinarian might provide some invaluable insights along with some beneficial travel tips that might reduce these health risks substantially.