the chihuahua diaries

If you haven't already heard about the recent decision by Air Canada to BAN all pets from the cabin of their aircraft, then I am here to tell you about it! As of September 18/06, Air Canada will no longer allow cute small furries (like ME) to travel in the cabins of their airplanes. This will mean that I will no longer be able to go to visit Grandma J in Thunder Bay or Grandma S in Winnipeg via Air Canada. Flying in the cargo bin would be too traumatic for me and overall just plain cruel.

It is already very difficult for mom & dad to travel; they either have to take me with them or fly a caring relative (who understands all of my special needs) into town to stay with me and give me love (and my medicine). When they went to Vancouver for Uncle C's wedding, they had to fly Grandma J to Toronto to care for me (as a side note: mom & dad flew to Vancouver via Air Canada and Grandma J flew to Toronto via Air Canada). Well, no more. From this day forward, mom & dad will only fly with Westjet and they encourage you to do the same.

This is not a matter of security...it is a matter of a few passengers who complained about their allergies when pets were onboard their flights.

I understand that people do suffer from allergies. I myself have allergies that cause severe debilitation and require me to take medication twice a day; overall, I think that there are possible alternative solutions other than an outright pet ban. For example, Air Canada could post an alert that a pet was aboard the flight and people could then make a choice about whether they would book a flight on that aircraft or not. Maybe Air Canada could have created one flight per day where a pet or two would be allowed on the aircraft.

Please alert all of the small furry critters that you know (and their parents) about Air Canada's lack of critical evaluation and creative problem solving about this issue. Please join me in writing letters to Air Canada showing your disproval and letters of congratulations to Westjet for their continued in-cabin pet flight services. Please join us in flying Westjet exclusively to show your support.

Let me know your thoughts -Love Nikka