Couple sues airlines over lost cat

Lori Learmont and Andrew Wysotski

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(CNN) -- Andrew Wysotski and Lori Learmont's 15-year-old tabby cat disappeared last August on an Air Canada flight from Canada to San Francisco, California. They are suing both Air Canada and Continental Airlines for $5 million.

According to the complaint, "At all times mentioned herein, Defendant Air Canada contracted with Defendant Continental Airlines for the loading and unloading of airplanes at San Francisco Airport."

They joined CNN's Jack Cafferty via satellite from San Francisco Thursday morning.

CAFFERTY: Thank you, guys, for getting up. Tell us what happened at the airport last August when you were waiting for the arrival. You had, I think, five cats in three containers. Give us a thumbnail of the story.

LEARMONT: What happened was we were bringing our cats over, and I was concerned that they were going to be OK, and what I did was I called Air Canada and asked them what the procedure was, and if the cats were going to be OK, and they reassured me that everything was going to be fine and not to worry.

CAFFERTY: You put them in the airline-approved containers, put them on the airplane for San Francisco. What happened at the end of the flight?

LEARMONT: At the end of the flight, we came to pick up our cats, and all of the cats were there except Fu was not there in her cage.

CAFFERTY: What sort of explanation was offered when you discovered that Fu was missing?

LEARMONT: I went racing to Air Canada and I said, "What happened to our cats -- our cat, Fu?" [The Air Canada representative] said, "Unfortunately, we have lost her, and she is on the runway." I just went berserk.

CAFFERTY: The crate apparently had been broken open, is that your understanding, Andrew?

LEARMONT: Yes.

CAFFERTY: ... in the flight, it had been damaged somehow?

Andrew Wysotski holds his cat Fu in this undated family photo.

LEARMONT: Yes, we brought the crate with us to show you what happened to the crates. It is unbelievable what has happened to them.

WYSOTSKI: Yes. This is what we found, basically, sitting at the baggage compartment, and so this one was all smashed open and there are rivets missing in the back of it. And this is the one she escaped from, and it is because they smashed this corner open. Then our other cats, another one was sitting in the baggage area, and fortunately, she stayed in her cage, but this is what was left of her cage, so she could have escaped. So, out of all of the rivets holding it together, only two on this corner were left.

CAFFERTY: Let me ask you about the lawsuit. You are suing for $5 million. I have pets, a lot of people watching this show have pets. I place tremendous emotional value on my cats, on my dog, but 5 million bucks, I mean, that is a lot of money, and there are people who are going to be critical of that number. How did you arrive at the number, and why do you think it is appropriate?

WYSOTSKI: It is appropriate in the sense that I don't think it is enough. You can't put any dollar value on a companion animal and that is part of the whole problem. Right now, the law, and the airlines, see companion animals as cargo or as luggage, so generally in the past, they get away with this kind of treatment.

CAFFERTY: All right. We contacted both Air Canada and Continental. Neither of them would specifically address the lawsuit because it is a legal matter, but Air Canada did issue this statement.

They said, "Air Canada safely carries about 280,000 shipments of animals each year. The airline views all animals as precious cargo and dedicates significant resources and energy to their careful handling."

Is it possible that the airplane hits an air pocket, the cargo shifts, this was nothing more than an accident? Accidents do happen.

LEARMONT: Well, we have built a Web site called AirCanadaAnimalAbuse.com. And on the -- we have had so many people write in and tell us stories that have happened, similar and worse cases of what ... has happened to us.

CAFFERTY: Any reason to believe that the cat is still alive, or have you given up hope?

LEARMONT: I do.

CAFFERTY: You think it might still be alive?

LEARMONT: Yes.

WYSOTSKI: There is a good chance. Basically this happens to about 5,000 animals every year. When I looked for our cat in the airport, I saw -- I don't know how many, probably there are about 200 cats living in the San Francisco airport. We saw a dog on the runway. Basically, dogs don't survive because they go crazy from the noise of the airplanes, but cats do survive in an airport.

CAFFERTY: We are going to have to leave it there. I thank you both for joining us on "American Morning." We'll follow the story, interesting to find out how the legal case winds up. Andrew Wysotski and Lori Learmont joining us this morning from San Francisco, California.

Good luck, I hope you get Fu back.

LEARMONT: Thank you.

WYSOTSKI: Thank you.