WTF Stories of the Week

[Frikitiki]

living in Hawaii, we are very fearful of creatures and critters coming into the state. We have no snakes and rabies. Taking a turtle from one part of the country to another might not be a smart thing especially where kids get tired of them and let them go in the wild.

While it probably could have been handled better at a customer service level, there are possible repercussions.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Frikitiki

We have no snakes and rabies.

Is this a typo that should have read "snakes and rabbits"? Otherwise, I am not sure why you lumped snakes and rabies together as snakes (nor any reptile) can get rabies.

[Frikitiki]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Is this a typo that should have read "snakes and rabbits"? Otherwise, I am not sure why you lumped snakes and rabies together as snakes (nor any reptile) can get rabies.

No, I meant rabies...you know, the disease that caused Old Yeller to be put down.

We are supposed to have strict agricultural rules. The reason I put the two in the same sentence is that they current to do not reside in Hawaii (at least that is known about). If you turn in an illegal animal like a snake, hissing cockroach, Madagascar gecko among a small list, you gain amnesty. But, if they catch you it can be up to $25,000 fine and a year in jail. Dogs and cats which can carry rabies used to spend 120 days in quarantine, but now if your animal was immunized 30 days before arrival, then you can take the animal right from the airport.

[Morrigoon]

Originally Posted by Frikitiki

Dogs and cats which can carry rabies used to spend 120 days in quarantine, but now if your animal was immunized 30 days before arrival, then you can take the animal right from the airport.

REALLY?!? Wow, I didn't know they'd changed that rule so drastically.

[Frikitiki]

They changed the rule 2-3 years ago, but they are really strict on the timing. if you go a day + or - outside the allowed range, quarantine it is! Lots of people, esp military didn't have the roughly $1500 to put the animal in for the 120 days. When my cousin moved to Hawaii from Las Vegas I would go up weekly to the quarantine station to check on Kuma since they were living on the Big Island and the only quarantine station was on Oahu.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Frikitiki

While it probably could have been handled better at a customer service level, there are possible repercussions.

It could have been handled on a more humane level.

Rebecca Helm called their father, and he began driving back to the airport. She asked an AirTran employee to make arrangements with her father to look after the pet until he could get there, but the employee refused.
<snip>
"We don't have the personnel or the facilities to care for people's pets," White said.

Rebecca asked if throwing the pet away would allow for them to get back on the flight, White said. The gate agent did not tell the sisters what to do but said they could not get on the plane with the turtle, White said.

"At no time did any AirTran Airways crew member order or suggest that they put the turtle in the trash," he said.

Ugh, what automaton bull****. Just put the cage behind your desk until the father gets back to the airport. It's small, contained, quiet, and you don't have to do ANYTHING for it. To say you didn't tell her to throw it away is semantics crap - she had a whole flight waiting on her, wtf was she going to do??

I understand toeing the line but this is just a stupid case.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

It could have been handled on a more humane level.
Ugh, what automaton bull****. Just put the cage behind your desk until the father gets back to the airport. It's small, contained, quiet, and you don't have to do ANYTHING for it.

Says the sister of someone who's been fired because he broke a technical corporate rule that hurt no one, but still got him fired. If a stranger came up to you and said, "Hey, I'm in a pickle because I've broke some of your employers' rules [i.e., sneaking the turtle through security in the first place]. Do you mind risking your family's income to cover for my rule-breaking? Thanks!" how much sympathy would you feel for them?

To say you didn't tell her to throw it away is semantics crap - she had a whole flight waiting on her, wtf was she going to do??

Take the offer to wait 2 hours for their dad to arrive and take the later flight at no charge?

These girls were trying to do something they weren't allowed to do, got caught, were given an out and refused it. I don't see how the airline employees are to blame here.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

It could have been handled on a more humane level.

Ugh, what automaton bull****. Just put the cage behind your desk until the father gets back to the airport. It's small, contained, quiet, and you don't have to do ANYTHING for it. To say you didn't tell her to throw it away is semantics crap - she had a whole flight waiting on her, wtf was she going to do??

I understand toeing the line but this is just a stupid case.

GD said pretty much what I would have said, but I would add that this isn't just any every-day company we're talking about, this is an airline. Airlines are under a LOT of scrutiny about the smallest details. While on the outside, one could argue that a tiny little turtle isn't a security threat, ANYTHING out of the ordinary is suspicious.

I am on the side of the actions of the airline employees on this - they did not wrong in my eyes.