Airport Attrocities
I've just witnessed a most surreal and annoying situation, and I need to blog it in real time...
I'm sitting in the Columbus International Airport, waiting for my flight to National, and as I'm typing away on my laptop, a woman sits in the same row of uncomfortable faux-leather chairs (beyond my one-seat buffer) with an intermediate size (I would say mid-size, but we all know that's a totally different category) dog and very small pink dog carrier bag. Now, I start looking for the much smaller dog that she must have hidden somewhere because the dog I see has no hope of fitting in this bag. There is, however, no other dog in sight. The woman sits down, arranges her bags so that she also has a one-seat buffer on her other side, and then proceeds to try to stuff the dog she has into this smaller bag. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, she is STUFFING A DOG INTO A BAG. The dog doth protest...severely. It takes five minutes of the her grabbing the dog by the snout and trying to force it into the bag, with the dog resisting (understandably) and much as it could. Finally, the dog tires, and she is able to shove it in the pink bag of torture. Hearing that zipper close was almost as painful for me as it probably was for the dog.
The dog now begins to whimper and whine, attempting to scratch at the small mesh window that the bag provides, giving the dog some view of the freedom it could have. Having felt satisfied with her accomplishment, Ms. Dog Abuser decides she needs a latte, and asks the older couple on the other side of her one-seat buffer if they could watch the dog (suffer) while she runs off for her beverage. The older couple is happy to oblige, but can't stand seeing the dog in this state. They unzip the bag slightly to pet the dog's head for some comfort, and the oppressed canine escapes into the airport!
A passer-by foils the escape attempt and returns the dog to the seating area, as Ms. Abuser returns. She's distraught that now she has to shove the dog back into the bag. Meanwhile, a woman searching for a seat in the gate area walks by our row and comments to Ms. Abuser, "They let dogs fly now?" "Do you have to by an extra ticket?" The answer to both is yes, and the newcomer appears annoyed. It's at this point where her husband follows her with a stroller containing a screaming child. She comments to her husband, "...knew this would happen. Yeah, I asked them at the desk. I'm allergic. What am I supposed to do? This wasn't supposed to happen." This is all whispered to her husband in that annoying, suburban white woman I'm-not-going-to-confront-the-problem-directly-but-whisper-loud-enough-so-everyone-knows-I'm-pissed voice. She then proceeds to sit RIGHT NEXT TO THE DOG when there are plenty of other seats available in the seating area. On top of it all, Ms. Abuser's husband is trying to violate my one-seat buffer but touching my bags with his ass as he searches for a seat.
Childeren are screaming, dogs are being abused, the allergic woman is still complaining, and I'm about to loose my mind. The worst part of this whole thing for me was deciding whether or not to do something about the dog abuse. I know that animals don't enjoy the same comforts we do, nor should they. While the shoving did appear cruel and quite unusual, it might be deemed acceptable by the others in the airport. If I spoke up, made a scene, and called for backup from the airport people, they would likely just tell me it was normal for a dog to fit into a bag that size and that "it doesn't hurt the dog." I think the dog would suggest otherwise, if the fight it put up was any indication.
People who try to treat their pets like companions one minute and luggage the next shouldn't be pet owners. Bitchy women that are allergic to dogs and don't think they can fly next to a dog should say so and get reseated. Lastly, someone like me who sees what could be animal abuse should have the balls to say so. Which one of us is worse?
I'm sitting in the Columbus International Airport, waiting for my flight to National, and as I'm typing away on my laptop, a woman sits in the same row of uncomfortable faux-leather chairs (beyond my one-seat buffer) with an intermediate size (I would say mid-size, but we all know that's a totally different category) dog and very small pink dog carrier bag. Now, I start looking for the much smaller dog that she must have hidden somewhere because the dog I see has no hope of fitting in this bag. There is, however, no other dog in sight. The woman sits down, arranges her bags so that she also has a one-seat buffer on her other side, and then proceeds to try to stuff the dog she has into this smaller bag. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, she is STUFFING A DOG INTO A BAG. The dog doth protest...severely. It takes five minutes of the her grabbing the dog by the snout and trying to force it into the bag, with the dog resisting (understandably) and much as it could. Finally, the dog tires, and she is able to shove it in the pink bag of torture. Hearing that zipper close was almost as painful for me as it probably was for the dog.
The dog now begins to whimper and whine, attempting to scratch at the small mesh window that the bag provides, giving the dog some view of the freedom it could have. Having felt satisfied with her accomplishment, Ms. Dog Abuser decides she needs a latte, and asks the older couple on the other side of her one-seat buffer if they could watch the dog (suffer) while she runs off for her beverage. The older couple is happy to oblige, but can't stand seeing the dog in this state. They unzip the bag slightly to pet the dog's head for some comfort, and the oppressed canine escapes into the airport!
A passer-by foils the escape attempt and returns the dog to the seating area, as Ms. Abuser returns. She's distraught that now she has to shove the dog back into the bag. Meanwhile, a woman searching for a seat in the gate area walks by our row and comments to Ms. Abuser, "They let dogs fly now?" "Do you have to by an extra ticket?" The answer to both is yes, and the newcomer appears annoyed. It's at this point where her husband follows her with a stroller containing a screaming child. She comments to her husband, "...knew this would happen. Yeah, I asked them at the desk. I'm allergic. What am I supposed to do? This wasn't supposed to happen." This is all whispered to her husband in that annoying, suburban white woman I'm-not-going-to-confront-the-problem-directly-but-whisper-loud-enough-so-everyone-knows-I'm-pissed voice. She then proceeds to sit RIGHT NEXT TO THE DOG when there are plenty of other seats available in the seating area. On top of it all, Ms. Abuser's husband is trying to violate my one-seat buffer but touching my bags with his ass as he searches for a seat.
Childeren are screaming, dogs are being abused, the allergic woman is still complaining, and I'm about to loose my mind. The worst part of this whole thing for me was deciding whether or not to do something about the dog abuse. I know that animals don't enjoy the same comforts we do, nor should they. While the shoving did appear cruel and quite unusual, it might be deemed acceptable by the others in the airport. If I spoke up, made a scene, and called for backup from the airport people, they would likely just tell me it was normal for a dog to fit into a bag that size and that "it doesn't hurt the dog." I think the dog would suggest otherwise, if the fight it put up was any indication.
People who try to treat their pets like companions one minute and luggage the next shouldn't be pet owners. Bitchy women that are allergic to dogs and don't think they can fly next to a dog should say so and get reseated. Lastly, someone like me who sees what could be animal abuse should have the balls to say so. Which one of us is worse?
posted by Marty Stroodler at 8:52 AM
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