That's a new one

I've heard a lot of excuses from airlines about delays, but this was a first. Coming back from DC, we boarded the plane, then sat for 15 minutes longer than usual -- I was just thinking, "Wonder what's holding things up." when the pilot came on and said, "Sorry folks, we're experiencing a bit of delay ... we're shipping some military dogs to the Philippines, and the ground crew is having a bit of, um, uncertainty about how many of them there are."

After a few more minutes, we got underway. Sure enough, after we landed in Detroit, there was audible barking from the baggage hatch.

Poor guys -- I've flown from Detroit to Manila, and it wasn't fun, even in the cabin, let alone in a crate in the baggage. Come to think of it, maybe it would have been better in baggage ...