It's not easy for people evacuting Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Irma to bring their pets with them — and sometimes they are being forced to make the heartbreaking decision to leave their beloved animals behind.
Right now, American Airlines — one of the largest Airlines in the region — has placed an embargo on transporting larger pets in its cargo holds. While the airline will allow a limited number of small pets on its flight as checked baggage, any pet weighing over 20 pounds cannot leave the island on American flights.
American's competitors are already stepping up and changing their policies to help in this crisis. Delta and Jet Blue have dropped limits on the number of animals in the cabin and waived pet fees for flights leaving Puerto Rico. Delta and United also have special programs in place to help transport larger pets over 20 lbs.
Why wouldn't American Airlines also step up to help keep families and their pets together?
More than 250,000 pets and many of their owners died following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and federal policies have been created to make sure a tragedy like that never happens again. But to truly protect pets and their guardians, we need companies, like American Airlines, to do the right thing and value human and animals lives over profit.
There's no reason pet owners in Puerto Rico should have to make such a painful decision. Please sign and share this petition asking American Airlines to lift their embargo and allow Hurricane victims to transport their pets in the cargo holds of flights leaving Puerto Rico.
