The TSA of the Transportation Security Administration reminded travelers about the proper procedure for going through security checkpoints with pets.
The agency did so last week in a press release, noting small dogs and cats have been mistakenly put through X-ray scanners at airports in recent months.
A TSA spokesman told FOX Business that the agency has seen an increase in the number of pets that have been placed and sent through the X-ray. The number of pets who have come through the X-ray in the last five months is in the single digits, and it exposes the pet to the X-ray process, the spokesperson said. We have seen it more recently than in previous years. Earlier in March, while a cat and its owner went through a checkpoint in Norfolk, Virginia, the feline was left in its carrier and went through the X-ray unit, according to a tweet from TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.
Fox News also reported on a dog that took an unintended trip through a Wisconsin airport's X-ray machine.
In another incident in New York in late November, a checked suitcase was found to have a cat hiding inside. The pets were OK in all of them.
In last week's press release, the TSA said that owners should withdraw their small furry travel companion from its carrier prior to the beginning of the screen process. They should either hold their furry friend via leash through the screening process while the carrier is fed through the X-ray machine.
The hands of the owner will be swabbed for explosive residue, according to the TSA. The pet should immediately be returned to its carrier upon the screening process's conclusion.
A private screening option is available to people traveling with pets, according to the TSA.