Swine flew: First-class pig's owner said pet had a right to fly

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- You could call it "Flying Miss Piggy."

The owner of a 300-pound pig that flew first-class across the United States won't take any baloney about whether her pet porker, "Charlotte," belonged aboard a USAirways jetliner.

"I am a big animal rights person. My pig has the right to be with me on an airplane," Maria Tirotta Andrews said in her first public comments since she, her daughter and "Charlotte" gained international notoriety by boarding a six-hour nonstop flight from Philadelphia to Seattle, Washington, on October 17.

Andrews, who suffers from a heart condition, claims the pig's presence helps relieve stress, adding that she took the animal aboard the Boeing 757 on her doctor's recommendation.

"I love this pig. She's my best friend," she told the Philadelphia Daily News, which mounted a two-week campaign to find Andrews and published its interview with her on Tuesday under the banner headline, "The Pig and I."

USAirways allowed "Charlotte" on board the plane, along with 200 human passengers, after granting it the same "service animal" classification reserved for seeing-eye dogs.

According to the airline, "Charlotte" slept for most of the flight. But as the plane landed, the animal went hog-wild and started squealing, tried to get into the cockpit and charged through the cabin discharging feces as it went. The animal then squealed and fussed through the airport.

"She is one of the best-trained, best-behaved animals there is," Andrews said in her pet's defense.

USAirways has promised that no such thing will ever happen again aboard its flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration is still investigating to find out how the pig got to fly in the first place.

But whether "Charlotte" is better at relieving stress or causing it remains unclear.

The Daily News reported that Andrews moved from New Jersey to Everett, Washington, near Seattle, for health reasons but that her apartment managers are threatening eviction after catching sight of "Charlotte."

"They don't know if it's the high-flying pig or not. They just made the threat," Andrews told the newspaper. "They said they were animal lovers, and they're not!"

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