Of course, the stranded human passengers have been uppermost in our minds in recent days – but a sea of pets and other creatures have also been affected by the airline industry’s volcanic ash crisis. 

Think of average travelers, separated by their cats and dogs; think of cargo shippers, that transport more exotic creatures; think of breeders, delivering pups.

Those animals and more sat out the crisis, just like their human counterparts.

Let’s meet a few of them (as described in the Wall St. Journal):

• A Slovenia resident drove 9-and-a-half hours over the Alps, to pick up his Basenji dog who was stranded in Germany. He said his pup was quite thin, “like a hyena during a summer drought in the African Savannah.”
•  The Frankfurt airport had several stranded visitors, including a turtle, a gecko and some snakes; the gecko and turtle were “not particularly demanding,” said an airport employee,  but no word on the snakes.
• Also in Frankfurt, two horses that were supposed to go to New York City were enjoying the good life, according to a Lufthansa rep: “We transported them to the countryside so they could roam around.”
• A Germany-based freight company was stuck with a lion it was trying to ship to a European zoo; the company’s manager said, “It’s a big disaster.” I just hope that doesn’t mean a shipment of zebras has gone missing…