|
Pets get lost at SA airports
25/03/2008 10:18 - (SA)
Liela Magnus, Beeld
Johannesburg - Pets getting lost at airports in South Africa, especially at OR Tambo Airport and Cape Town International, were nothing out of the ordinary.
Wynter Worsthome, who is known for communicating with animals, said she had been overwhelmed by calls since Die Burger reported on Monday that Coco, a five-month-old cat had got lost at OR Tambo.
Deon Nel, owner of the lost cat, said on Monday he had heard nothing from SAA yet.
Robyn Chalmer, corporate communications chief of SAA, said they had launched a search for Nel's cat.
Nel sent a photo of Coco to the airline on Monday. Chalmer said they had assured Nel they would do everything in their power to find the cat and that they were concerned about the incident.
"They said they would look at CCTV recordings to determine how Coco escaped, but I have heard nothing so far. Every time I ask them about it, they change the subject," said Nel.
He will return to Gauteng on Friday and will then try to look at the CCTV tapes.
"I'll put up posters in the area, but I don't know if I should continue to hope," he said.
His other cat Tiger remained inside the box the cats were travelling in for 12 hours without food or water. Tiger is currently staying at a cat hotel while Nel is looking for a permanent residence.
"He keeps looking for his brother (Coco) and hasn't stop miaowing. I've been wondering if I shouldn't get him a friend," said Nel.
Worsthorne said she investigated the handling of animals at airports after her cat got lost.
"The boxes were handled like the suitcases and were thrown or shifted around without any empathy for the animal inside," she said.
While she was trying to find her own cat at Cape Town International, she found somebody else's cat that had been lost for three months.
- Beeld
|
News
