in December of 1988 I flew my ferret Shasta in the cabin of a Northwest Airlines plane from Memphis to Seattle. I was not sure until we actually were given permission at the boarding gate whether I would be allowed on with her. I had called and talked a lot with the local airline staff before the trip. I arrived at the ticket counter early, with Shasta, her rabies vaccination certificate, her current health certificate, a small regulation-under-seat-size carrier and a larger cargo-type carrier with food, water, and blanket inside. Plus I had a very patient friend along to help me carry all that stuff and to take Shasta if she were refused. I tried to look confident as the counter staff told me the air temp was too cold to put animals in cargo (we had to fly through Minneapolis)...The staff went into a football-type huddle, occasionally typing on a computer terminal, and finally came back and announced she could ride in the cabin with me! Shasta and I had "rehearsed" her being in the little cabin carrier for several nights before the trip. She panicked the first time I put her in it--the thing went scooting over the floor!--but after she'd calmed, she was rewarded. We did this each night, so she was a perfect little lady on the whole long (14-hour from door-to-door) trip! We flew back from Seattle to Memphis that December, and then I flew her from Memphis to Seattle the following April, and we had no further airline problems. Staff were welcoming, pleasant and friendly each trip so I had to write a thank-you to the airline! Kate Pappas and Emmett Kelly [log in to unmask] May Cheryl & Lucretia be so fortunate! [Posted in FML issue 0595]