In October of 1997, the Calk family flew on American Airlines from Newark, NJ, to Los Angeles, CA. Upon arrival, Mr. Calk went to pick up Jed, the family's golden retriever, but was told that Jed was" not ready yet." When Mr. Calk went back 20 minutes later to retrieve him, Jed was not breathing and was covered in urine, feces and vomit. Jed died on the way to the emergency vet. An autopsy revealed that he had died of suffocation due to lack of oxygen. I

The plight of pets on air carriers became a national news item in the late nineties, when a series of tragedies like Jed's made headlines across the country. For a loving pet owner, air travel is perhaps the paradigmatic situation of helplessness-aside from the veterinarian (who is, at least, a trained medical professional with an intimate knowledge of animals)-few individuals can wield as complete, and potentially devastating, control over a pet as a baggage handler. And in no other situation is the discrepancy in human valuation of animals quite so dramatic: to the Calks, for example, Jed was a family member; to American Airlines he was-as a matter of official policy-a piece of luggage, and valued as such. Yet as heartbreaking as the deaths of pets are, they are merely the tip of the iceberg of animal suffering throughout the arteries of transportation in America.