TSA: Stop putting pets through airport X-ray machines

With travel expected to tick up for Presidents Day week, the Transportation Security Administration is urging fur parents passing through airport security not to leave their beloved pets on a conveyor belt for a dark and lonely screening through an X-ray machine that’s not suitable for live animals.

TSA officers keep their eyes peeled for small pets that can travel in the cabin of a plane, routinely advising airport passengers to remove them from pet carriers and instead, walk or carry them through the metal detector.

But in some not-so-rare instances, pet bags might be indistinguishable from hordes of other luggage and these furry friends get placed through the X-ray machine — often by passengers who may not be familiar with the rules.

“One of the most important things to know is that pets should never be screened through a checkpoint X-ray unit,” Robert Duffy, TSA federal security director for LaGuardia Airport, said in a statement.

While the TSA does not keep statistics about these instances, it happens more than non-travelers might think. Three officers recalled being caught off-guard after catching animals getting unnecessarily screened.

Mark Terry, a TSA officer for 18 years, said last year he was operating the X-ray machine at LaGuardia when one picture gave him extra pause.

“At first, I thought perhaps it was a toy. In this case, it was a cat. On the X-ray, cats look like large rodents. So, you know, I stopped the conveyor belt, and we pulled the bag out of the tunnel," said Terry of Manhattan. "It's a startling thing to see if you haven't seen it before.”

On Tuesday at LaGuardia Airport, TSA officers demonstrated how to safely clear travel with their dogs.

It comes amid two recent reports of dogs caught in airport scanning units across the country — one disclosed by the TSA in February in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and another in Wisconsin in December.

Amanda Richards, a TSA officer who lives in Queens, said she understands that the chaotic atmosphere in an airport can make people nervous, forgetful and confused.

“So they think literally, everything goes through," said Richards, holding her mini-poodle Chino. "We don't want them exposed to radiation. This is our fur baby."

Veterinarians and animal advocates agreed it’s not in an animal’s best interest to go through a long scan at the airport.

“Travel alone is very stressful for them," said John Leonard, president and executive director of Humane Long Island, an animal advocacy group. "To put them through, you know, a conveyor belt into a dark tunnel that's meant for inanimate objects and expose them to radiation, obviously isn't good for them, from a health perspective and also a psychological perspective.”

Russell Barnable, an associate vet at Companions Animal Hospital in Merrick, said the radiation exposure from airport X-rays is potentially higher compared to those used for medical purposes.

“The concern with the beams that they’re using in the airports is that it’s a constant exposure compared to the single shot that we get for our X-rays,” Barnable said, adding that animals are less likely to accumulate enough exposure over their shorter life span to cause ill-effects.

TSA officials also stressed that skittish animals that can’t be safely removed from bags can go to a private room for a security check.

Leonard said animals aren't luggage. "These are pets and their companions, and we should treat them with the same care that we treat our children and obviously we wouldn't be throwing children into that dark tunnel."