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Alaska Airlines
Passenger Wenty The Cat Has Been Found Reunited With Owner By Shane Nolan |
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December 17, 2011 - A four-legged Alaska Airlines
passenger who had escaped his pet carrier was found
recently safe, sound and a little bit greasy after a
two-day search at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Wenty, a grey and white male cat, was traveling with its
owner on Friday, December 2, from Tucson, Ariz., to
Seattle, but when his owner claimed the pet carrier, the
cat was not in it.
No
one saw Wenty escape, according to Michelle King, Alaska
Airlines' manager on duty at Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport. The pet carrier's rear clips
appeared loose so the cat likely went out the back. The
door was secured shut with tape.
King and Alaska Airlines' supervisors Ben Brennan and
Marisol De Los Santos searched the bagwell, ramp, the
aircraft and baggage carts, put up posters in the
airport, and contacted Rhonda Talbot Lohr, Alaska
Airlines' customer service supervisor in Tucson, who did
the same. "There were so many employees involved in the search," King said. "Many employees even stayed after their shifts to keep looking." Alaska Airlines Duty Manager Jason Schwab and airline Supervisors Mitchell Anderson, Mike Chalich, Steven Boedigheimer, Meranda Richardson, Dean Potter and Clint Gauthier joined the hunt for Wenty. |
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With
no luck 24 hours later, Alaska employees reached out to
Federal Way, Wash.-based Missing Pet Partnership (MPP), a
nonprofit organization specializing in locating lost pets.
MPP arrived Sunday with a search dog, noise amplification
devices, wildlife cameras and humane traps, and Alaska
employees escorted them onto the ramp to hunt for Wenty.
"The support of Alaska Airlines was
incredible," said Kat Albrecht, a former police officer and
founder of Missing Pet Partnership."They bent over backwards to
help, giving our volunteers and our search dog access to every
inch that needed to be searched. When I asked one of the
employees [De Los Santos] if we could get into the plane that
Wenty escaped from, I fully expected that the answer would be
?no.' I was shocked and amazed that she immediately got on her
cell phone and worked to make that happen."
It was just after midnight, Chet Kobashigawa,
a ramp lead with Alaska Airlines' partner vendor Menzies
Aviation, spotted Wenty's white paws under a baggage carousel
after seeing the posters. He called in CSAs Carolee Benson and
Lana Litzner, who had to call in Port of Seattle maintenance to
help remove part of the carousel to free the terrified tabby
from his hiding place. |